To say the least, the Need for Speed franchise has been inconsistent in recent years.  Many thought the series was past it’s prime, and for good reason.  Over the last two years, the series seemed to hit an all-time low point with the release of Need for Speed: ProStreet and Need for Speed: Undercover.  With Need for Speed: Shift, EA has taken a different route, opting for more of a simulator than an arcade racer.  It’s a bold move that EA is hoping will put Shift over the top.

Need for Speed: Shift is, as it’s name implies, a shift in the Need for Speed series.  Perhaps it’s biggest competitor this holiday season will be Forza 3.  It isn’t completely fair to say that Need for Speed: Shift is a true simulator; it still focuses on high speed, edge-of-your-seat racing.  But rather than having an arcade-feel of driving to it, the cars handle exactly the way to would expect them to handle in real-life.  Colliding with other cars is also an area in which Need for Speed: Shift excels.  You won’t be ramming into cars to slow yourself down in this game – collisions have serious consequences and can just about shake you out of your chair.  The effect is even more thrilling in the cockpit view.  It should be noted that if you choose, you can change the car view camera to a standard behind-the-bumper view.

Put simply, the in-car view in Shift is the best cockpit view in any racing game, ever.  The car vibrates you clock in speeds of triple-figures, the camera tilts as you turn sharply, and violently shakes in a significant collision.  Frankly, it simulates the feeling of being in a car zooming around the track at 100mph perfectly, or at least as much as you can expect while sitting in your living room.  The core driving experience is top-notch.

The career mode is slightly above average for a racing game.  In contrast to other Need for Speed games, there is no story in Shift.  The career mode gives you a set of races to complete, and then you complete them.  There is some variation, but ultimately there is nothing too drastic.  However, the game has a creative way of rewarding you for doing just anything.  There are numerous challenged throughout the game, which award you with stars and “profile points.”  The point you can get for a variety of tasks, and are similar to Kudos from the PGR series, albiet given much more freely.  You’ll rack up these points for literally doing just about anything; passing cars, drifting, even crashing into other cars can net you profile points.

The online mode leaves a lot to be desired in terms of features, but it is still a tremendous amount of fun, even in standard races.  The different modes are ranked and unranked races (with up to 16 players), and Driver Duels, which are set up in a head-to-head tournament fashion.  Although the features are bare, the sheer amount of fun to be had here is impressive.  I have found myself spending more time in the single ranked races more than any other part of the game.

Ultimately, Need for Speed: Shift is a change from what you would expect, and it is great because of it.  It’s closer to a simulator than an arcade racer, but it’s not exactly fair to pigeonhole this game into either category.  This is a very different game than the likes of Forza or Gran Turismo, but it’s certainly not an arcade racer either.  Shift is a game that stands on it’s own merit, and will appeal to fans of any racing genre.

A-