Need for Speed: Shift

 PSP
User Score
6.6

Mixed or average reviews- based on 45 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 45
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 45
  3. Negative: 12 out of 45
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  1. lolZ0RZ
    Jan 8, 2010
    5
    After I read about what it was supposed to be, I was pissing my pants to get it at the store. When I opened it, it looked pretty good. When I got to the racing, I was kind of bored. The interpretation of "drift" is hardly real, but it fells real-ish. To straighten out your car, all you have to do is tap whichever direction you need to countersteer in, and BOOM!, your going in a straight After I read about what it was supposed to be, I was pissing my pants to get it at the store. When I opened it, it looked pretty good. When I got to the racing, I was kind of bored. The interpretation of "drift" is hardly real, but it fells real-ish. To straighten out your car, all you have to do is tap whichever direction you need to countersteer in, and BOOM!, your going in a straight line. You can't spin out, which really deters from the realism. But since it's not by Slightly Mad and by BriteLight, I guess I can't really expect them to be all the same. Most of the cars have dissapeared, too. All the tracks are just streets with barriers, the damage only happens when you slam into something, and when you do the modeling kind of sucks.Its for the PSP though so what can you really expect. Perfect for an arcade racer, but if you want a real sim, go for Gran Turismo (NO DAMAGE THOUGH:(!!!!!)… Expand
  2. DavanteN
    Dec 30, 2009
    10
    I love this game!Mostly for the exotic cars.This game aslo have great graphics and the cars in this game are really fast.and easy to drive.i learned from playing Gran Turismo 5 Prolouge
  3. DonP
    Sep 15, 2009
    4
    Wow, while they have upped their game physics wise, the handheld NFS "port" lacks any viable customization options, and has a horrible representation of drifting.
  4. Courteouspunk
    Sep 19, 2009
    3
    I am quoting right from the PSP game's description:

    "Players are thrust into the loud, intense, and athletic experience of racing a car from the driver's perspective through the combination of perception based G-forces, the hyper reality of the cockpit view, and the all-new brutally disorienting crash dynamic." There is NO COCKPIT VIEW on the PSP. We have all played this    I am quoting right from the PSP game's description:

    "Players are thrust into the loud, intense, and athletic experience of racing a car from the driver's perspective through the combination of perception based G-forces, the hyper reality of the cockpit view, and the all-new brutally disorienting crash dynamic."

    There is NO COCKPIT VIEW on the PSP. We have all played this game before. There is nothing new.    … Expand
  5. HiroM
    Sep 23, 2009
    9
    This game is much more arcade style than the other versions. The graphics and effects are some of the best I've seen on a PSP racer (reminds me a little of burnout). The rain effects are amazing! I like the livery editor too, it's cool to import your own pictures onto the cars. I am really enjoying playing through the career mode, there is a lot of variety in the events. The This game is much more arcade style than the other versions. The graphics and effects are some of the best I've seen on a PSP racer (reminds me a little of burnout). The rain effects are amazing! I like the livery editor too, it's cool to import your own pictures onto the cars. I am really enjoying playing through the career mode, there is a lot of variety in the events. The only downside is that it is not really a simulation game. But for pure fun, this is one of the best racers I've played for a long time.… Expand
  6. RonaldDonald
    Sep 29, 2009
    8
    This game is much more better than what I expected. I have been playing the NFS titles for about 4-5 years, and I've seen some up and downs. Hot Pursuit 2 was amazing, Most Wanted was okay, Porsche Unleashed was not so good, and Carbon: Own the City was fine by all means. Still if I had to rate this game of what position it is all time in the NFS category, it would be #2 behind Hot This game is much more better than what I expected. I have been playing the NFS titles for about 4-5 years, and I've seen some up and downs. Hot Pursuit 2 was amazing, Most Wanted was okay, Porsche Unleashed was not so good, and Carbon: Own the City was fine by all means. Still if I had to rate this game of what position it is all time in the NFS category, it would be #2 behind Hot Pursuit 2. These games are the best on Playstation. Shift shows you a new type of racing game that I haven't seen. And it includes cars from the Dodge Viper to the BMW M3 to the Koenigsegg CCX. I was dissapointed that there was no cops in this game. All there was really to do with getting away is to get away from the other racers. Get this game if you're a NFS fan. But if your a new racer, go with Carbon: Own the City or Hot Pursuit 2. I happily give this game a 8 out of 10.… Expand
  7. BS
    Sep 26, 2009
    9
    Ok, first of all this is not a simulation game like its console brothers. It's an arcade game that fits quite well into the handheld pick-up and play for 10 minutes scenario yet substantial enough to play for 5 hours straight. The graphics are pretty good, almost as good as Midnight Club LA Remix's, the only downside being that it users sprites for trees and spectators and cars Ok, first of all this is not a simulation game like its console brothers. It's an arcade game that fits quite well into the handheld pick-up and play for 10 minutes scenario yet substantial enough to play for 5 hours straight. The graphics are pretty good, almost as good as Midnight Club LA Remix's, the only downside being that it users sprites for trees and spectators and cars do not have translucent windows (no biggie really). The car customization is "streamlined", meaning that you have no input into deciding what gets updated, the game will reward you with engine, turbo, tires, body and custom vynils. There are certainly less customization options than previous NFS games but they do offer a slight performance boost for your car. Speaking of cars, it boasts the new VW Scirocco, Lotus Exige S, Acura NSX, Audi R8, Porsche Cayman S, Ford GT, Porsche Carrera GT, Aston Martin DBR9, Lambos, Zonda F, Koenigsegg CCX, BMW M3 GT2 and Bugatti Veyron (yes!). 26 cars in total. They all sound nice, different and real-like and the sountrack is one of the best i've seen in a racing game. It's slightly reduced from the console version but the 5 or so tracks that were removed were awful, so i see that as a benefit. Plus it has custom soundtracks, it will play whatever mp3's you have on your stick (if you do, that is :D). The gameplay is tight, pretty easy at times but very challenging at parts, perfect to get you hooked. It will last you for 15 to 20 hours, so it's pretty short but it does have some replay value if you try to unlock the upgrades for your favourite cars. Overall, a solid 9 due to being slightly short and only 7 cities with various track variations (short, standard, extended, and two sprints). But a really good racing game and thumbs up for the weather variations.… Expand
  8. McFranz
    Oct 29, 2013
    6
    Cool fast-paced game, this PSP game is actually cool (don't let the negative ratings fool you, this game is actually cool as hell.).

    Need for Speed: Shift is a great game where you can have fun for a few minutes if you're waiting for something or if you just want to sit back, relax and play Need for Speed: Shift.
  9. BiggieKhillah
    Jan 13, 2015
    10
    Longest lasing fun i've had with a PSP racer since my first play-through of Burnout Dominator.

    The game has great graphics, lots of detailed tracks and real-life locations (I mean really impressive for PSP), lots of cool cars and there's always something new happening after every race -- PLUS, there can be 7 opponents on track at once, just an awesome fun game.
  10. alexandrea
    Nov 25, 2021
    9
    It´s a different version for the home consoles but i don´t think i had this amount of fun with any racing game.
  11. DJAtomika
    Jun 7, 2018
    7
    Solid porting with lot of cars and almost every song from the original OST. But graphics are terrible (even for PSP) and the top 10 drivers are a fake mix between Pro Street racers and others.
    The game is saved by a good variety of tracks and challenging other 7 cars in the same race.
  12. Leontorres7
    Nov 15, 2018
    8
    This is really a great game, there is so much to love about it, must play for sure!
  13. The_D4RknesS
    Feb 16, 2023
    7
    it's not the best game but I like this version, it reminds me of BURNOUT when the car crashes
  14. putinzdohne
    Oct 7, 2022
    10
    An amazing game that is as the other games of the Need for Speed series well established. There is always something new you can discover and there are always new cars, which are waiting to be driven.
  15. Grabuss
    Nov 24, 2022
    6
    I had a fine experience with this version, but there are many issues with this game.. The AI sometimes is rubberbanding so hard that it's not even funny anymore, but rather very annoying. The handling is not amazing at all, but bad (drifting is way worse). The collision detector is not good either, car sounds are okay, track designs are fine (unless we are talking about San Francisco, theI had a fine experience with this version, but there are many issues with this game.. The AI sometimes is rubberbanding so hard that it's not even funny anymore, but rather very annoying. The handling is not amazing at all, but bad (drifting is way worse). The collision detector is not good either, car sounds are okay, track designs are fine (unless we are talking about San Francisco, the road design is horrendous!!) car list is fine and events are fine. Another thing is that the vibe is too similar to Pro Street (PC), I'd rather have a more serious vibe like in the NFS shift PC version.… Expand
  16. CypriotBall60
    May 20, 2023
    7
    It was an all right game tbh, it takes assets from NFS ProStreet in terms of progression and race kings/queens and Burnout Dominator in terms of Brake2Drift mechanic.

    It has quite good tracks but gets boring overtime and repetitive with these tracks, and also it has 25 cars, which is not much. In conclusion: It was a bit-mid game without cockpit view because the PSP can't handle much    It was an all right game tbh, it takes assets from NFS ProStreet in terms of progression and race kings/queens and Burnout Dominator in terms of Brake2Drift mechanic.

    It has quite good tracks but gets boring overtime and repetitive with these tracks, and also it has 25 cars, which is not much.

    In conclusion: It was a bit-mid game without cockpit view because the PSP can't handle much of its graphics.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

39
#39 Best PSP Game of 2009
13
#13 Most Discussed PSP Game of 2009
39
#39 Most Shared PSP Game of 2009

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
69

Mixed or average reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. IGN
    60
    It also runs really well, which is always a plus. However, the bottlenecked career mode is way too restrictive, and since you can't really control what cars you earn, it just feels like you're going through the paces after a short while.
    Read full review
  2. Vandal
    70
    The problem is that Bright Light has not succeeded to surprise us just like the "big version" of Need for Speed has, and Shift for PSP is an arcade game, enjoyable during some time, but not special at all.
    Read full review
  3. Cheat Code Central
    90
    If it's fast-paced racing you crave, and you don't care about adjusting every nut and bolt on your car, then Shift is an excellent game that exceeds expectations in all areas.
    Read full review
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