Presentation
Changing lanes
The Need for Speed series has been through many changes over the years. It has weaved through traffic, evaded police and even worked as an undercover detective as a racing series that is never afraid to try something radical. Need for Speed Shift, however, focuses on authentic motorsport, moving away from its story-driven predecessors.
You'll spend most of the game in one of two places: the game's Home menu or the cockpit of one of your cars. It's a streamlined interface that has you behind the wheel as often as possible and with minimal fuss.
This is a good thing because on the track, Need for Speed Shift looks fantastic. There's detail everywhere from the fully licensed cars to real-world locations such as London and Tokyo. The game also does a great job of making you feel like you're driving a powerful racing car. The sense of speed is tangible as the screen shakes and blurs as you accelerate along straights and the sounds are ferocious.
Gameplay
Rising through the ranks
The first time you start a career, you're tasked with driving a test lap. Based on this, the game's Artificial Intelligence recommends a difficulty setting and suggests different levels of driver assistance, although you're free to set your own or try another test lap. Once you're happy with these settings, you're ready for your first race.
You start your career in Tier 1, with only a basic range of cars available for purchase, a modest amount of cash to spend and a handful of races to enter. Invitational Events, in which a car is provided for you, are an opportunity to try something a bit faster, and promotions are earned by collecting stars.
How you win stars depends on your driving style. You can stick rigidly to the racing line plotted on the course and try to overtake cleanly, or ram opponents off the road and slide out of every corner. Both approaches earn points towards those precious stars, and you also win badges specific to precision and aggression, which can be displayed on your profile so online opponents know your style.
Badges can also be earned for special achievements, such as mastering every corner on a circuit. The game logs your best attempt at every single corner, so you can go back and see which sections are costing you precious seconds.
Progressing through the ranks unlocks faster cars and different event types, such as Drift and Time Attack. You're also able to carry out modifications to your vehicles, ranging from basic body kits and engine upgrades to fully-customisable vinyl designs and alloy wheels. For the true petrolhead, there's a comprehensive suite of tuning options.
Multiplayer
The real-world podium
Online, you can jump into a ranked or unranked match for up to eight players or set up your own, dictating the match type, choice of cars permitted, track and time of day.
Driver Duel pits two online drivers against one another in a best of three series. The mode itself is organised as a tournament; in each round you're drawn against a random opponent. If you win, you progress and if you lose, you have to start again.
There are also leaderboards covering all of Need for Speed Shift's game modes, so you can see how your times stack up against the best of the rest.
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