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Need for Speed: Shift | 
| From: Electronic Arts
Category: Video Games
List Price: $29.99
Buy Used: $16.99
as of 9/9/2010 06:02 PDT details
You Save: $13.00 (43%)
New (34) Used (24) from $16.99
Seller: SCvideo
Rating:  166 reviews
Sales Rank: 417
Format: CD
Platform: PlayStation 3
Genre: racing_and_flying_games
ESRB: Everyone
Media: Video Game
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Number Of Items: 1
Batteries Included: No
Age: 5 - 20 years
Operating System: PlayStation 3
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 6.8 x 5.4 x 0.6
16:9 Support
Dolby Digital
Downloadable Content
MPN: 19218
Model: 014633192186
UPC: 014633192186
EAN: 0014633192186
ASIN: B001TORSHO
Publication Date: August 31, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | A combination player tier and achievements system that ensures that drivers are matched against those of similar experience on the track and that rewards for victories match the win. | | • | All-new 'Need for Speed' release that combines the true driver's experience with real-world physics, pixel-perfect car models, and a wide range of authentic racetracks. | | • | Developed by the world's best racing game talent and real race drivers, including: the team behind critically acclaimed 'GT Legends' and 'GTR2' games and VP of EA Games and race car driver Patrick Soderlund. | | • | A wealth of highly tunable cars available in an equally diverse range of events including: quick race, standard races, manufacturer races, time trial, online options and more. | | • | The all-new driver profile system that assigns a unique persona based on a player?s driving skill and style: aggressive or precise. This system also affects career progression, unlockables and online matchmaking. |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Forget arcade racing where you can go on a rampage, knocking everything aside to win. Forget simulation racing you may be familiar with, focused more on the number of cars and tracks than the actual gameplay. Remember Need for Speed: SHIFT, where giving you the driver's experience is the first priority.
Amazon.com Product Description
Get ready to Shift your game into high gear! Designed to deliver a true driver's experience that reflects contemporary motorsports, Need for Speed: Shift is built by racers for racers. Need for Speed: Shift delivers an authentic and immersive driving experience, replicating the true feeling of racing high-end performance cars like never before. Players are thrust into the heart of the action with immersive and exciting features including a stunningly realistic first-person cockpit view camera and an all-new crash mechanic, providing an unrivaled sensation of the speed and feeling of racing a car on the extreme edge of control. 
A true high-end racing experience.
View larger. | Imagine the experience of being a race driver. The adrenaline rush of driving at breakneck speeds, the pressure of fierce competition, the fear of losing control, the intense concentration and athleticism needed to harness the power of speeding chrome and steel. This is the true driver’s experience of Need for Speed: Shift. Through the combination of perception-based G-forces, an ultra-realistic first-person cockpit view, an accurate, accessible physics-based model and the all-new, brutally disorienting crash dynamic, you'll be thrust into the driver’s seat amid the chaotic noise, intensity, and physical and emotional demands of the race. Imagine the emotions race drivers go through. The thrill of driving incredibly fast, the pressure of the competition, the fear of losing control, the intense concentration and effort needed to harness the power of a racing car. The all-new driver profile is the ultimate extension of the true driver’s experience. This system gives each player a unique persona based on a player’s driving skill and style - aggressive or precise. Driver profile impacts how a player unlocks cars, overall career progression and online matchmaking. In Need for Speed: Shift, how you drive is who you are behind the wheel. For Racers By Racers
In Need for Speed: Shift, EA has brought together some of the world's best racing game talent and real race drivers. Developed in a unique collaboration between Slightly Mad Studios--developers and designers of the critically acclaimed GT Legends and GTR2 games--Michael Mann (executive producer at Black Box) and Patrick Soderlund, senior Vice President of EA Games and part of a racing team that recently competed in the fourth edition of the TOYO Tires 24H Dubai 2009, the result is an authentic driving experience unmatched on any game system. |
Additional Screenshots:
Varied event types.
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New driver profiles.
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Extreme customization.
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Multiplayer action.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 166
 Amazing departure from the Arcade style of NFS September 16, 2009
Samer A (Texas,USA)
14 out of 17 found this review helpful
I just received the game this morning (thanks amazon for the release date shipping!) and installed it in the evening to test it out. I obviously have not gotten far into the game, but once you play a racer for an hour+, you've played 90% of the core features of the game, so I figure I can safely write a review for it.
Unlike previous titles, there is no cinematic storyline that tells of some bad guy who hates you for some reason, and how you have to climb the ranks of some underground racers to one day best him in an epic race. Also, unlike a titles way back ago, all these races are legal and done on tracks--No intense police chases here. The basic premise here is that you start off at the bottom rung of an enormous ladder tournament that one day leads you to a world championship race with some of the most exotic cars on the planet. Sounds good, lets get racing!
You start off being put into the seat of a BMW that you only get for 1 day before you start off your career. You do a test lap and the game will offer up some suggestions on difficulty level settings (turning traction control on, ABS, etc). It did a pretty good job at guessing the settings I would have picked, so I liked that feature. You can tweak it as necessary, so this isn't a one time only thing.
The racing itself is incredible. It is a huge departure from the previous arcade style racing games that the NFS titles seemed to focus on. With max simulation on, it races like a car would race. You can't take 90 degree turns at 190 mph, you can't smash into a barrier wall at 140mph, backup and still win the race, etc. To help those of us who have a true "need for speed", the game does offer a racing line with speed indicators that change dynamically as you race (for example, it'll turn red as you approach a hard turn, indicating you should slow down.)
The game also has a system of style points, which you get for things such as tightly following the racing line, passing people, drafting, etc. One thing I did like is that these style points is not just for those of us who play 100% "nice". They have split up style points into "precision" and "aggression." Precision points are for those who like to finesse their way to 1st (drafting, passing politely, nice cornering). Aggression points go to those like me, who basically smash their way through cars until I'm in 1st place and half the group is totaled. You can even get points for spinning people off the track! Awesome.
These points go towards winning stars, and stars increase your driver level, and increasing your driver level unlocks more cars, modifications, etc. Like I said earlier, it is a pretty large ladder system of unlocks and races. I am incredibly impressed so far with how the game feels and runs.
A few final thoughts:
The interior mode of racing (which I highly recommend) puts you as if you were actually inside the car, and the details are INCREDIBLE. They really spent the time to actually copy what the car interior should look like. The BMW has the iDrive system even. Also, the graphics (when played on high) are unbelievable. There is unfortunately a significant loading time between races, but that might be because I set my settings to max on everything.
Also, it is clearly a port, because it tells me not to "turn my system off while saving." When was the last time I reached for my power button to turn my computer off, mid-anything? It's not like I'm sitting there, getting impatient mid-game while it's saving ,and then flipping the switch on my surge protector and being like, I'm outta here! Oh well. Despite that, everything else runs smoothly. (I'm running it on Windows 7 and there weren't any hiccups in the install.)
So overall, I am incredibly happy with this purchase. I'm also happy to see a real racing game from the NFS guys--it's about time they get back to their roots of simulation racing. The arcade stuff was fun, but this is what I'm really interested in. If you've played NFS before, buy this title. You won't be disappointed.
A Lot of Fun and a Blast with a Wheel January 11, 2010
Jenk Man
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
After reading the reviews on Amazon I wasn't sure if this game was going to meet my expectations. With comments on compatibility with the Logitech wheel (I have a G27) and "launching" issues, I was willing to wait for Gran Turismo 5, until they pushed the release of that back to April 2010. I'm glad I didn't wait because this is the best racing game I've played, whether SIM or arcade. It's just plain fun, and what else is a video game supposed to be? The inside dashboards are very accurate, and feedback through the wheel is amazing. This may not be the best SIM game on the market, but it keeps me glued to the TV for hours at a time as I try to improve my precision or aggressive driving skills through the game. I especially enjoy the invitational events where different "tiers" of cars are available to race, rather than being stuck with the cars that you've purchased. This variety adds interest to the game and lets you drive the car that suits your talent and mood. Why pay $25 for Prologue when you can tune up for the next 4 months with this?
People sure are hard to please! April 5, 2010
Sixstring59 (Pennsylvania)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I can't for the life of me figure out why someone who (in general) likes driving games would not like this game!
Pros:
- The graphics are eye popping and run smoothly throughout on both my PS3s (80GB fat and a 120GB slim).
- The sound is top notch, especially on 5.1 (or better?) systems.
- Driving can be challenging or easy and is highly configurable to let you decide which is best for you.
- There are a ton of different cars to master that all drive differently (as it should be).
- You can upgrade each car with engine, suspension, braking and other technical improvements.
- You can customize the visual aspects of each car if you're into that kind of thing.
- You can be either a precision or aggression style of driver and you earn points for both along the way
- There are many different racing styles represented (standard, manufacturer events, drift for example)
Cons:
- At release, there were some bugs but they have been addressed now as far as I can tell.
- This game melds elements of arcade and simulation racing which may put off hard core fans these genres.
The Need for Speed series is a tale of two franchises really and that is why the widely differing reviews I think. If you are a fan of NFS: Hot Pursuit and other "cops and robbers" racing games, then you will likely not like this game because there isn't a cop in sight. You are racing on tracks and other closed courses and not in city streets with other civilian cars running around. If you need to see flashing red lights in your rear view mirror, or just have to run down a mother and her baby carriage then look elsewhere.
What this game is a pretty simple I think. It provides you with all the best elements of actually racing in environments designed for racing, plus the ability to tweak your ride to a reasonable level. This is where simulation meets arcade to me because while games like Gran Turismo allow you to tinker until your knuckles bleed, NFS: Shift dumbs all that down a bit so you can just concentrate on driving and having fun.
Bottom line is this; If you want an all out utterly realistic simulation, this ain't it. If you want chase epic scenes, running from the cops and driving crazy fast amongst the general population, this ain't it. But if you want to just have fun while driving nice cars on actual race courses with limited tweaking -- then this is the ticket. If you can accept what this game brings to bear, you will enjoy it.
One word: FUN! April 2, 2010
Bud Bundy (MN USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
First, let me say that this game has its share of technical problems. So why do I give it 5 stars? I'll get to that in a moment. Let's get the bad stuff out of the way first. Load times are rather long, and as you get farther into the game, they can get really long. There's a bit of frame rate slowdown occasionally, but it's not at all common. However if there are 10 cars ahead of you and 5 of them are having a massive collision, the frame rate can drop to 0 for a second, and next thing you know you're 100 yards farther down the track than you were before. The sound can cut out on occasion, requiring you to quit the game and restart it. Again, this is rare. There's also a problem with the replays - if you're using a steering wheel, the replays cause the wheel to turn, which in turn causes the on-screen menu to start cycling through its options, creating an annoying clicking sound. In the past, a couple of tracks had terrible slowdown problems, causing the game to run in slow motion. However, they've fixed this with a patch which you can download for free.
So now the good stuff. Technical problems aside, this game is an absolute blast to play. They start you off with a race in which your driving abilities are analyzed. The game then sets the difficulty level to suit your experience level. You can also manually choose whatever difficulty you want, from casual to professional. And you can set the AI opponents to easy, medium or hard. With casual difficulty, the cars almost drive themselves, you don't even need to use the brakes. With professional difficulty, it's a very good driving simulator, and quite realistic. And you can choose anything in between. So it appeals to just about any race fan, from beginner to expert.
As far as the cars and tracks, there's an excellent selection. Other games may have more cars, but this game has about as many as I could want. A very nice selection of American, European and Japanese cars, from low powered ones like you might actually own, to the most exotic and expensive stuff made in the world. I believe there are about 68 total. There are also two DLC packs, the "Team Racing" pack - which is free - includes some nice classic American muscle cars. The "Exotic" pack - which is not free - includes a nice selection of 7 exotic sports cars, along with a new track and a whole pile of extra events to race in. The selection of tracks in the game is about as good as anything on the market. Seriously, you will never get bored with the selection of tracks because there are just so many of them. And it's even got the Nurburgring!
The game is arranged into 4 tiers. You start on tier 1, with the lower powered cars. After you've gained enough experience, you move to tier 2, with more cars and a wider variety of tracks, and then to tier 3 and 4. The 5th group of races is the Need for Speed World Championship, which is a series of about 10 races. There's also a "star" system - you earn stars for various things: 3 stars for a 1st place finish, 2 for 2nd, 1 for third. You can also get a star for completing a lap within the specified time, running a clean lap, earning enough points for precision driving or aggressive driving, etc. There are 50 levels total, and each time you make it to a new level you get a prize of some sort. It might be cash, or access to more features. So all throughout the game there are a myriad of incentives to keep you working towards getting better and achieving a higher level.
The best part though is the driving. It's just so fun and immersive. The force feedback you get if you use a steering wheel is awesome - you can feel every bump and ripple in the track, and feel the tires losing traction and then gaining it back again. It really feels like you're driving a race car. The sound is also excellent, with directional sounds coming from all sides if you've got a surround sound system. Hit a wall on your left? You'll get a big crashing sound to your left. Collisions also cause your vision to momentarily go blurry and the color disappears, which goes even further to immerse you in the experience. And the cars are an absolute blast to drive. They all have their own unique handling and acceleration. There's no such thing as two cars that feel the same to drive. The physics are very realistic if you set it on professional or even experienced difficulty level. By the end of a long endurance race, I notice I'm sweaty, my arms are a bit tired, and my nerves are frayed. In other words, it provides that visceral and emotional experience that few others can match.
Overall, a great game. My favorite racing game of all time, hands down. I think I've got over 200 hours into it so far, and still having a blast.
Race on! May 2, 2010
D. Roberts (Battle Creek, Michigan United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I used to have a racing game that enjoyed playing when I had a PS1. Boy, does this game ever blow that one away! In fact, I've never played a racing game that was more fun than this one.
On this game you can buy & trade cars, change the paint job and customize them visually. The more you win, the better cars you're able to buy and the more upgrades you're able to do. I must concede that I'm partial to a souped-up Lamborgini that I picked up. I can dominate a lot of racetracks driving it! You can also buy more than one car > you have maxed out your upgrades.
The controls are similar to GTA, which is a good thing as the controls are fairly logical. One nice thing is that you don't have any annoying "checkpoints" of earlier racing games.
The game does a great job of providing variety in races. You can race "manufacturers challenge" where every driver gets the exact same car (that way nobody has an advantage w/their vehicle). You can do head-to-head challenges between two different cars. There are also lap eliminator & time eliminator races that are thrown in as well.
Almost all of the major car manufacturers are on the game; Nissan, Toyota, Aston Martin, Chervolet, Ford, Lamborgini, Audi, Mercedes, etc. The only major brand that is omitted is Ferrari. That's too bad as I'm a huge fan of Ferrari! Ostensibly, the licensing didn't work out as I can't see the makers of the game simply forgetting about such a major manufacturer of exotic automobiles.
If you like racing games, then more than likely you will like this one. Sure, the laws of physics are toned down in the game, but to have more realistic physics would be to degrade the playability of the game. This is at once one of the most frustrating games I've ever played, and at the same time it's one of the funnest games I've ever played. You can drive with the precision of Mario Andretti, or you can be so aggressive that you make NASCAR drivers look like downright courteous operators. In short, it's everything a racing game should be!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 166
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