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100If you're a number-munching automotive aficionado with a penchant for judging games the way an accountant judges a financial portfolio, know that this is a racing game dedicated to the act of racing rather than the actors, more intent on refining the experience of driving rather than celebrating car culture with scads of vehicles.
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100What EA has done here is reinvent a bloated franchise, and turned it into a product that the hardcore and the more casual among us can enjoy equally.
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91Need for Speed Shift is a surprising turn for the series, pushing away from flashy street racing to compete with the likes of Forza and Gran Turismo. Its feature-set still has room to grow, but the tight driving experience stands up with the best.
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91Did we mention your speakers will enjoy every single bit of this game as well?
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91So what is there left to say except, if you call yourself a racing fan, even if you have passed on or hated the last few outings this Need for Speed series had to offer, this is a whole new game that feels fresh. To put it in simple terms, you "Need" this game in your racing library.
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90Need for Speed: Shift is a wonderful re-imaging of Electronic Arts' classic series and one of 2009's best racing games. The combination of exquisite graphics and hardcore crashing delivers an adrenaline shot to players who drool over squealing tires, burnt rubber and exotic muscle machines.
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It truly is a must-have package. A thoroughly entertaining and pivotal part of the Speed franchise and the racing landscape in general, we want more like this. [Nov 2009, p.68]
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90Go, NfS! I had serious doubts about this one, but it delivers like a Porsche.
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90A glorious return to greatness (and even excellence) for EA's seminal racing franchise. Slightly Mad Studios has delivered a driving experience that, while not completely accurate in terms of its simulation aspects, is practically dead-on in terms of what it's like to race around some of the world's best racing circuits.
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It's both a genre leading racing sim and a mass market EA game at the same time, which is a particularly difficult balancing act to pull off. Shift is easily the best driving game so far this year and will certainly be in amongst the likes of Forza 3 (and possibly GT5, if it emerges) when the brake dust from 2009 settles.
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Overall, Need For Speed: Shift is a welcome change of pace in the long-running series, and a welcome addition to the sim racing genre as well.
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90Need for Speed: Shift is a compelling racing game that does an admirable job of balancing its simulation side with its arcade side. The combination of fun events, varied tracks and a solid racing engine make quite a convincing package.
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Need For Speed Shift does exactly what it is made for: giving any driver the experience they want in a racing game.
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90With so much provision for purist racing as well as arcade thrills, it's a delight to report that Shift strikes a fantastic balance between the two. From a thoughtful introductory race that helps define your style and skills through to a compelling career mode and constant back-patting, Need for Speed Shift is a delight to play.
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90Not without its light flaws, this great Need for Speed return is an exciting new point of view on the world of Turismo racing, mainly thanks to a well-crafted driving model. If you like the races, and you’re not a simulation fanatic, it’s the game to have.
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90The "shift" in Need for Speed series is one of the most fascinating and exciting changes of this new EA racer.
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The most substantial upgrade the NFS series has ever received, along with some of the best visuals in the genre's field. [Nov 2009, p.83]
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89The balance between arcade and simulation is nearly flawless, not to mention the graphics are jaw-dropping.
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Need for Speed reinvents itself with a game very different to the series tradition but that results in an excellent racing game, with the right dose of simulation
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88All in all, despite some awkward design choices, Need for Speed: SHIFT is still a fantastic racing game, and once you figure out your preferred sensitivity settings, everything just clicks and you'll find yourself going from one race to the next, onto the other, and before you know it...it's 4AM.
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88This is a game that a lot of people can potentially enjoy; it’s a welcome return to form for Need for Speed, and worth checking out.
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87Need for Speed Shift gets the most important part of a racing game right and it does so with a flair that’s uncommon in a frequently po-faced genre, providing driving that’s genuinely thrilling.