It's tough putting down something you've stuck with for a while. A little short of a year ago I officially announced the Need for Speed franchise "dead" after playing the abomination that was Undercover and the news that three new games in the series would be coming out this year alone only made me further sigh and roll my eyes in despair and contempt. Even so, after I heard and looked a little bit into Shift, the only non-Wii console game of the bunch I got a little bit interested. Then, after some waiting, scores began coming in with IGN and GameTrailers being among the first, earning a 9.0 (US) and 9.1, respectively. After hearing this and finding out the game might actually be worth the money even after its two recent predecessors I decided to (once again) bite my lip and purchase the game (if after trading in three games to put towards it). So far I've played through a decent bit of events and what I'll say is that Need for Speed Shift is actually not all bad.
Yes, Need for Speed now has a current generation game besides Most Wanted and Carbon that isn't complete trash. But other than a few or some parts to it the game is just that-essentially a small step in the right direction but I must emphasize the word "small" here. On one hand, going back to the series roots by heading the simulation route makes for an intriguing experience, especially given the emphasized cockpit view which actually manages to help make the game engaging. However, this game still has issues that have plagued other recent NFS games and, as a result, finds itself in-between the games in the series for this generation so far (it's well ahead of Pro Street and Undercover, but still below Most Wanted and even Carbon).
Normally I'd get a little more in-depth but I'll save that for my intended review (not to mention it's late and I'm tired), so I'll leave you with what I like and don't like so far:
Makes Me Smile:
+ Visuals usually look quite good (especially the car models)
+ Cockpit view is really something else and gives the game a much-needed edge
+ Framerate mostly holds up with the sense of speed; meaning the game does have its fast AND fun moments
+ Career mode organization, design and means of progress is rather welcoming overall (really dig how you don't need to race or even win every single event, perfection isn't expected-which I REALLY like)
+ The driver level/style is a great idea
Makes Me Frown:
- The racer AI is still abysmal-at-best (eg. oblivious to your position, intentionally ram you off the track or shove you aside yet typically treat each other quite nicely, etc.)
- Glitches are still littered throughout the game
- Car selection is disappointing (no old school muscle; most of the selections are fairly recent models)
- Driving model isn't exactly approachable (no tutorial or practice to be found here if you want/need it)
- Drifting is annoying and not worth the aggravation and inconvenience (makes Pro Street's drifting model feel like Underground's)
-Customization options are disappointing and condensed overall
That's what I can recall right now. If I had to give the game a first impression score, it would likely be around a 65-75.