Need for Speed: Shift

 PC
User Score
5.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 516 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 204 out of 516
  2. Mixed: 157 out of 516
  3. Negative: 155 out of 516
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  1. AnonymousMC
    Sep 26, 2009
    2
    the look of the game is great while the playability is very poor. The AI are like god drivers at times while the controls for the user seem very delayed resulting in alot of over and under steering.
    maybe looking at the game play before the graphics is a better option.
    this is all based on the PC version.
  2. CornelV.
    Sep 26, 2009
    3
    Well , only thing counting for this game is the graphics . Handling is useless, with the game assists on your never really in control .When you put them of the car is imposable to control. even when you put the steering sensitivity on 1% its still way to sensitive.And most of the reviewers like cockpit camera change but whats the use of it if you can only use it with a xbox remote. ITS A Well , only thing counting for this game is the graphics . Handling is useless, with the game assists on your never really in control .When you put them of the car is imposable to control. even when you put the steering sensitivity on 1% its still way to sensitive.And most of the reviewers like cockpit camera change but whats the use of it if you can only use it with a xbox remote. ITS A PC GAME !!!!… Expand
  3. RagettyMan
    Sep 25, 2009
    8
    It's one of the best in the Need For Speed series. It runs well on my pc but frame rate drops somewhat where there are a lot of cars driving close to you.The physics are better than any of the previous versions, but not perfect. I do think racing games should be slightly forgiving due to the fact that even with a racing wheel, it's still not quite like a real steering wheel. It's one of the best in the Need For Speed series. It runs well on my pc but frame rate drops somewhat where there are a lot of cars driving close to you.The physics are better than any of the previous versions, but not perfect. I do think racing games should be slightly forgiving due to the fact that even with a racing wheel, it's still not quite like a real steering wheel. Trying to put vinyls on cars in this game is too time consuming. You don't have the ability to mirror the vinyls. This game (though there is still room for improvement) is way better than the last few NFS games that were released.… Expand
  4. InsideLine
    Sep 25, 2009
    0
    This is the worst racing game I've have ever come across. It's a complete and utter mess. There is a massive stickied complaint thread over at EA: Shift Technical forum from those using AMD hardware. Issues are but not limited to stutter, microstutter (with single video card with high FPS), pausing, warping, and lower then expected frame rates regardless of resolution with This is the worst racing game I've have ever come across. It's a complete and utter mess. There is a massive stickied complaint thread over at EA: Shift Technical forum from those using AMD hardware. Issues are but not limited to stutter, microstutter (with single video card with high FPS), pausing, warping, and lower then expected frame rates regardless of resolution with reduced IQ settings. Some tracks simply crash/loop or have black sky boxes. Other reported server input lag or the game simply doesn't work at all. The majority of complaints seem to come from those with Radeon video cards and/or using AMD CPUs. Some nvidia users are not immune to this but they are the exception not the rule. Some believe that the issue is the use of CPU physx. PC Game Hardware states that physx is used in this game for low level calculation, etc. As for the actual game play the AI is horrendous. They play as if you are online against users who are playing a racing game for the 1st time. That's the best description I can provide you. You have AI rammers, AI who slow down for no reason, will block you from passing, etc. There is an unnatural oversteer to cars that are upgraded. Or the car would unnaturally slide around mild corners at lower speeds. The tuning aspect of this game isn't working properly were under/over steer sliders may have been switched. Also some reported having to restart a race more then once to get their tuned settings to work with that vehicle. I can go on and on about this game but it's obvious wasn't ready to be released. The only truth to this game is that it has a higher poly count then Grid. This is using the original released version using the 1st patch.… Expand
  5. Tom
    Sep 25, 2009
    5
    I couldn't give the PC version more than a five just on principle alone do not let the high metascore sway you. Bad optimization, I have a medium-high end computer and this game runs awful. Serious control issues, you literally skid around the entire map as the tires consisted of melted butter. Lack of customization, I could go on and on and on but it's easier to say this game I couldn't give the PC version more than a five just on principle alone do not let the high metascore sway you. Bad optimization, I have a medium-high end computer and this game runs awful. Serious control issues, you literally skid around the entire map as the tires consisted of melted butter. Lack of customization, I could go on and on and on but it's easier to say this game isn't worth entire ones time.… Expand
  6. SabmacD
    Sep 24, 2009
    8
    Due to the fact that this game actually works on my computer, I can rate it properly. I'm lucky. I have: Phenom II X3 720 HIS 4870 1GB PC USB Xbox Controller Works fine, except for slow load times which I'll get back to. I've played a lot of Forza 2, so I come from a background of half-sims, and I personally love this game. The rewards system is not perfect but being Due to the fact that this game actually works on my computer, I can rate it properly. I'm lucky. I have: Phenom II X3 720 HIS 4870 1GB PC USB Xbox Controller Works fine, except for slow load times which I'll get back to. I've played a lot of Forza 2, so I come from a background of half-sims, and I personally love this game. The rewards system is not perfect but being rewarded for smashing into other cars is quite fun (very unrealistic but if I really wanted to race a car I'd race a car, not play a game.) The cars are excellent, they all mostly oversteer but that's fine I find it challenging, and best of all all of the tracks are extremely bumpy which is something I haven't experienced in a game before. However, the load times are immense, and for this reason I do not play it. As a game, it is very good and very fun. As a technical feat, it is a horrific failure. Only buy it if you have a solid state drive and you feel lucky. Game reviewed is version 1.1 (first patch). Score (game itself): 8 Score (game including optimisation for PC).… Expand
  7. PravinB.
    Sep 23, 2009
    9
    Hi guys, m really surprised to see negative ratings for this game by users. M playing this game from last 2 days and i must say this is definitely one of the best racing games ever. And as described by "palindrome e" in his review, i did not have any framerate issue even though i have moderate system with all bells and whistles turned on with 2x antialising. Please any one want to buy the Hi guys, m really surprised to see negative ratings for this game by users. M playing this game from last 2 days and i must say this is definitely one of the best racing games ever. And as described by "palindrome e" in his review, i did not have any framerate issue even though i have moderate system with all bells and whistles turned on with 2x antialising. Please any one want to buy the game and are avoidin to buy it by reading these reviews, please do buy it. Coz its one of the best games of 2009. My computer configuration P-IV Core 2 Duo. 2.2 MHz, 2 GB ram, Win7, Geforce 9800gt 512 mb.… Expand
  8. palindromee
    Sep 23, 2009
    0
    This game is a terrible attempt at being a Forza-esque game. If you can even make it run on your PC, you are greeted with poor framerates on a DX-9.0c game. I'm running a 955BE and an HD4890 and get 30-50fps with some goodies turned off. Physics are terrible, the AI has the ability to not oversteer, you as the player are not so lucky. EA support is non-existent on their forums. This game is a terrible attempt at being a Forza-esque game. If you can even make it run on your PC, you are greeted with poor framerates on a DX-9.0c game. I'm running a 955BE and an HD4890 and get 30-50fps with some goodies turned off. Physics are terrible, the AI has the ability to not oversteer, you as the player are not so lucky. EA support is non-existent on their forums. Playability issues are the main problem, but the moderators have suddenly disappeared when SHIFT came out... wonder why? If you need a racing game now, get Dirt 2 for xbox360 or ps3. I'd avoid this game at all costs.… Expand
  9. MadA
    Sep 23, 2009
    2
    Having just tried the demo I have to say that I'm damned glad I didn't pre order this piece of junk. I thought this was supposed to be a return to the roots of NFS, well I hate to tell you this, but the original NFS kicks this thing into the dirt (and it was all down hill from NFS2). With a steering wheel, this thing has worse handling than my 18 year old Nissan Sunny, and Having just tried the demo I have to say that I'm damned glad I didn't pre order this piece of junk. I thought this was supposed to be a return to the roots of NFS, well I hate to tell you this, but the original NFS kicks this thing into the dirt (and it was all down hill from NFS2). With a steering wheel, this thing has worse handling than my 18 year old Nissan Sunny, and that's clocked over 100K miles and so at least has an excuse for slightly naff and vague controls. The AI is a complete joke, every single one of them would get black flagged before managing two laps for their driving standards, it ends up as a crash fest throuhg being brake check on the EXIT to a corner, really realistic. All this has got going for it, is it looks nice, otherwise it would have got 0..... save your money and get Race On or if you want an arcade racer, there are plenty to go for (not my cup of tea), this half arsed concoction should have been strangled at birth.… Expand
  10. MercuryP
    Sep 23, 2009
    1
    It's rubbish! Frame rate is all over the place on an oc'd QX6700, 8800GTX SLI, 4Gb Ram. Feels choppy even when the frame rate is relatively high. Laggy controls too. Whatever your preferences about style of racer the various GTRs and Grid are technically in another league to this. I too am suspicious about the wildly varying review scores for this game - not only many review It's rubbish! Frame rate is all over the place on an oc'd QX6700, 8800GTX SLI, 4Gb Ram. Feels choppy even when the frame rate is relatively high. Laggy controls too. Whatever your preferences about style of racer the various GTRs and Grid are technically in another league to this. I too am suspicious about the wildly varying review scores for this game - not only many review sites, but also in this user review section. Any employees of EA with us here?… Expand
  11. DK
    Sep 22, 2009
    0
    Ever feel like playing a racing game where the driver is mentally handicapped? Well here's your chance! Over-done camera movements. Imagine going 100kmh/60mph and violently shaking your head from side to side for no apparent reason. When was the last time you did that on a highway? Oh right, never. Terrible car physics. EVERY single car oversteers. No amount of tuning or suspension Ever feel like playing a racing game where the driver is mentally handicapped? Well here's your chance! Over-done camera movements. Imagine going 100kmh/60mph and violently shaking your head from side to side for no apparent reason. When was the last time you did that on a highway? Oh right, never. Terrible car physics. EVERY single car oversteers. No amount of tuning or suspension upgrades resolves this. Not to mention every little bump causes your car to hop. Only adding to the already bad camera. Very poor controls. The steering always feels delayed, like the driver never used a steering wheel before. Only redeeming qualities: Good sense of speed and in-car view. That's it.… Expand
  12. MacM
    Sep 22, 2009
    4
    The media kept on telling us that this NFS was NFS back at it's best, that after a few dodgy (disgraceful efforts imo) releases the franchise was saved with Shift. Well, i'm not sure about who has been paying them to say this because NFS: Shift should have been called NFS: Alt+F4. Awful AI, dodgy handling at all levels, slow load times in places, and presentation that would The media kept on telling us that this NFS was NFS back at it's best, that after a few dodgy (disgraceful efforts imo) releases the franchise was saved with Shift. Well, i'm not sure about who has been paying them to say this because NFS: Shift should have been called NFS: Alt+F4. Awful AI, dodgy handling at all levels, slow load times in places, and presentation that would easily induce an epileptic fit to those who don't even suffer from it. EA Games once again proving that they have eaten up so many decent developers that what comes out is a mish mash of good ideas with no substance. Maybe EA are finally reaping the ignorance that they have sewed over the past few years of bully tactics.… Expand
  13. DaryooshG
    Sep 22, 2009
    8
    The game is great in any way the music is outstanding,the cinematics are great,the only thing that bugs me is the control.They wanted to make the game as realistic as possible but it makes it too hard to play with a keyboard so i think that they make the controls like MW or Carbon and turn of the realistic control for keyboard and only activate it when a controller with wheels and gas The game is great in any way the music is outstanding,the cinematics are great,the only thing that bugs me is the control.They wanted to make the game as realistic as possible but it makes it too hard to play with a keyboard so i think that they make the controls like MW or Carbon and turn of the realistic control for keyboard and only activate it when a controller with wheels and gas pedal is connected… Expand
  14. ZsomborB
    Sep 22, 2009
    6
    Without playing the game, I can tell that something suspicious is going on here. While metascore holds a score of 86 and the users claim it's only worth a 5.0, something is definitely odd here. I heard horrific stories about the bad optimization of the game, and I have a hunch that EA is yet again tries to pull some tricks here to get high reviews from official sources, or just no Without playing the game, I can tell that something suspicious is going on here. While metascore holds a score of 86 and the users claim it's only worth a 5.0, something is definitely odd here. I heard horrific stories about the bad optimization of the game, and I have a hunch that EA is yet again tries to pull some tricks here to get high reviews from official sources, or just no one dares to offend them because of their full wallets and influence on the industry.… Expand
  15. DAnielB
    Sep 21, 2009
    9
    This is a top racer - default controls (steering dead zone etc) are dodgy and as others have said cause problems with spinning on tight tracks. get the controls right and no other game gives you the same feeling on speed.
  16. David
    Sep 21, 2009
    10
    Simply put, Need for Speed: Shift is the best racing game to come out in recent years. The immersion and driving experience is absolutely incredible, the graphics are stunning and the sound is awesome. Please do not listen to the haters.
  17. jeffd
    Sep 20, 2009
    10
    Not perfect, but a refreshingly fun racing game that is well done in all aspects, something most games can't claim. Sure there are no new ideas, but when you have fallen so far, you go back with what you know works. I voted 10 cause readers are morons. No replays? all you do is slide? clearly you have something configured wrong or badly. Not the games fault.
  18. AdenC
    Sep 20, 2009
    4
    This game is absolute horse manure. When I heared there was a new Need for Speed game out I was quite excited, I was expecting an arcade style thriller similar to the likes of Underground one and two or carbon. When I actually played the game however I soon realised that this is a completely different game probably designed by a team that doesn't even know the makers of underground This game is absolute horse manure. When I heared there was a new Need for Speed game out I was quite excited, I was expecting an arcade style thriller similar to the likes of Underground one and two or carbon. When I actually played the game however I soon realised that this is a completely different game probably designed by a team that doesn't even know the makers of underground and carbon. The game itself is a poor atempt at a realistic racing simulator game. The whole engine is fataly flawed, the cars handel worse than any vehicle I have ever come across, the graphics seem like they are modern graphics pasted on to an outdated engine and the in game loading times are ridiculous especially when you think about what it is you're waiting for. A game that I generously gave a 4/10. It is unclear what style the design team were going for when creating this game and I suspect this game is the result of too many ideas with poor implementation. In summary I would recommend this game to no one, it is a waste of money and the Need for Speed franchise need to realise we dont want games like Shift or even pro street, we want games like underground or most wanted. If you are looking for a fun arcade racing classic go for Race Driver Grid (PC). If on the other hand you are looking for a realistic driving sim GTR2 Evolution (PC) is not great but alot better than this. On the other hand if you own an Xbox get Forza 2.… Expand
  19. ColinCOOLDUDE
    Sep 20, 2009
    2
    Jim two times more or less sums up this mish mash of a game...un skipable videos arghhhh!!!!!....stupid arcade style menus!! arghhhh... what is the point of going to all the trouble of trying to inject some realism into this game with gtr2 staff in its design team then give it dumb stupid menus with awkward retarded navigation!... And No option to quit the first race!...i got so fed up Jim two times more or less sums up this mish mash of a game...un skipable videos arghhhh!!!!!....stupid arcade style menus!! arghhhh... what is the point of going to all the trouble of trying to inject some realism into this game with gtr2 staff in its design team then give it dumb stupid menus with awkward retarded navigation!... And No option to quit the first race!...i got so fed up with the extreme unrealistic handling and stupid spinning ... And the pc requirements are very demanding so dont even bother unless you have an up to date top notch setup!.... i have given this a 2.....under the bonnet lies a nice game...but its spoilt by so many stupid restrictions and a daft points system which unlocks cars and tracks!...its a typical 12 yr olds wam bam race me mam type of stupid arcadey racer...it could have been so much more but in the end its not worth the frustration! How the meta score is so high i can only assume some back handers have gone on with the review sites!....still at least we get the chance to give our opinions thank god...avoid this game..it will only end in tears and frustration!… Expand
  20. Philip
    Sep 19, 2009
    9
    Jim twotimes is just plain lying... there ARE replays and you CAN skip the cut scenes! Not sure what game he was playing; and as for the the frame-rate maybe it's your PC which is the problem!? Cause on my 'recommended-spec' PC it works perfectly with everything on high. Be more accurate before you feed garbage to people who visit the site. As for SHIFT, it's not Jim twotimes is just plain lying... there ARE replays and you CAN skip the cut scenes! Not sure what game he was playing; and as for the the frame-rate maybe it's your PC which is the problem!? Cause on my 'recommended-spec' PC it works perfectly with everything on high. Be more accurate before you feed garbage to people who visit the site. As for SHIFT, it's not perfect, but it comes very very close!… Expand
  21. Jason
    Sep 19, 2009
    10
    It's a very welcome departure from the whole kiddie arcade pimp my ride flavor of the prior entries in the series. This is the most visceral racer I've played that gives you a realistic sense of speed, feel of the road, and power of the cars. It's more fun than Forza or Turismo, and more realistic than GRID or DIRT. It runs perfectly smoothly on my 1.5-year-old system. The It's a very welcome departure from the whole kiddie arcade pimp my ride flavor of the prior entries in the series. This is the most visceral racer I've played that gives you a realistic sense of speed, feel of the road, and power of the cars. It's more fun than Forza or Turismo, and more realistic than GRID or DIRT. It runs perfectly smoothly on my 1.5-year-old system. The game can be played as either a simulation racer or an arcade racer as the handling mode can be adjusted to suit professional simulation down to beginner arcade mode driving assists, and the AI can be changed in difficulty. A lot of people who are complaining about the handling simply don't know how to drive with the added realism and should probably just decrease the handling mode, decrease the AI difficulty, and increase the number of driving assists used.… Expand
  22. PasqualeD
    Sep 19, 2009
    0
    Unplayable under ATI graphic cards: 25 fps with a 4870x2. Ridicolous. And ridicolous all the review on internet giving 9 to this piece of ...STAY AWAY!!
  23. Guuzah
    Sep 19, 2009
    1
    The 87 metascore doesn't make any sense, it seems like they just copied their reviews from their console section. Anyway, realistic? I dont think spinning out all the freaking time is realistic, these are proper cars so they should handle properly. It's too easy on the easier difficulties so im stuck at the harder ones. First bend, even if you enter it at 5 mp/h gets me The 87 metascore doesn't make any sense, it seems like they just copied their reviews from their console section. Anyway, realistic? I dont think spinning out all the freaking time is realistic, these are proper cars so they should handle properly. It's too easy on the easier difficulties so im stuck at the harder ones. First bend, even if you enter it at 5 mp/h gets me spinning, and it doesnt stop spinning until I finish. Before EA tries to make a 'realistic' nfs again they should take a good look at games like GRID and DIRT.… Expand
  24. MugrosDNM
    Sep 18, 2009
    6
    With a Metascore of 85% and a user rating of 4.5 there has to be something fishy here. After the first races if have to say that i can't support the high Metascore. The games has some serious issues: - The AI Even after a very bad first race i was classified as Experienced, so i set it to Pro :) With the AI set to Medium i was easily seconds ahead. With the AI on Hard i was still With a Metascore of 85% and a user rating of 4.5 there has to be something fishy here. After the first races if have to say that i can't support the high Metascore. The games has some serious issues: - The AI Even after a very bad first race i was classified as Experienced, so i set it to Pro :) With the AI set to Medium i was easily seconds ahead. With the AI on Hard i was still doing good. Well, not all the time, read on. - The handling Well, on the first tracks i did good. On the last of the first 5 the car handled very different and i had almost no chance of winning. So i went back and set the driver level back to Experienced. Now it was just too easy to drive around. It is also a balance issue. If you set it to Experienced it is too easy. If you set it to Pro it is too hard. - more handling I know that early cars are not really good, but on the later tracks my RX8 felt really bad on Pro. No matter what i did it was spinning almost all the time. Little error here, spin, little error there, spin. In the winding and tight tracks it was useless. It felt like the game just wants to spin you and there is simply no chance of recovering. - even more handling i normally use the hood camera, but the game starts with the cockpit cam. What i immediately noticed was the sluggish response of the steering wheel. It responded like it was pulled by a rubber string. And this is exactly how the driving feels. This makes it even harder to try to catch the car's rear. And many times the car was just swinging from one side to the other like an old car. With full level 1 upgraded on a sports car this shouldn't happen. I have driven Colin McRae Dirt and GRID where the response is perfect. These are proper racing games. The car response is direct and you can immediately feel the reaction of the car to your action on the controls. Then you can struggle with the track, you improve yourself, you race the opponents. In NFSS you struggle with the handling mostly. I don't feel like i am racing, more like a test driver in a bad car. I can't concentrate on the race because the car feels so bad. But a big disappointment is the way NFS is going. I played all PC NFS titles and it was a great series. But it was going downhill. In the beginning NFS was about racing on public roads with sport/supercars, also against the police. Now it is closed circuit racing, which is rather boring. I can't understand how editors can say that it catches the spirit of NFS. It doesn't.… Expand
  25. Jimtwotimes
    Sep 17, 2009
    4
    Awful game, no replays, unskippable cut scenes, cant quit the first race, wont alt+enter for win mode, very poor presentation, frame rate all over the place, etc, etc.. There is a good game in here, but everything surrounding the racing is sub par, and not up to what we expect in 2009.
  26. DiegoN
    Sep 17, 2009
    0
    It's bad even for Electronic-Arts-console-game standards. Bad optimization, lack of realism, I hope crisis will soon finish EA and his shareholders.
  27. EdwardS
    Sep 16, 2009
    1
    ZERO... that's how many new ideas brought NFS Shift to this type of organised racing. A worthless copy of Codemasters' GRID, with an attempt at better graphics, but failed by making everything too shiny. The loading screens take way to much time, i'm sick of them. And gameplay is often interrupted by stupid cinematics. I spent more time watching those movies than playing ZERO... that's how many new ideas brought NFS Shift to this type of organised racing. A worthless copy of Codemasters' GRID, with an attempt at better graphics, but failed by making everything too shiny. The loading screens take way to much time, i'm sick of them. And gameplay is often interrupted by stupid cinematics. I spent more time watching those movies than playing the actual game. To conclude, i'll replay GRID any day, rather than spending money on this, or the last one, Pro Street... By the way, i consider Most Wanted and Carbon the best of the NFS series.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

21
#21 Best PC Game of 2009
25
#25 Most Discussed PC Game of 2009
38
#38 Most Shared PC Game of 2009

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 22
  3. Negative: 0 out of 22
  1. IGN
    90
    A 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.
    Read full review
  2. Multiplayer.it
    90
    No longer a classic need for speed game, EA made a true shift, a u-turn, developing a great game, with stunning visuals, and a lot of cars and tracks. The nightly undercover challenges are gone, but the new mechanics, borrowed from games such Forza or GT work well in conveying a great driving feeling.
    Read full review
  3. VideoGamer
    80
    Need For Speed: Shift is a brilliant new start for the franchise and has clearly been built by a team that loves racing.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »