Need for Speed Shift Available, Post Impressions Here

[Pappy Knuckles]

I never cared much about extensive damage modeling. I only drive in cockpit view, so I wouldn't be able to see it anyway. It's pretty good to me though.

[gbx34]

Got it, Been playing most of the day.

I am playing with the DFGT wheel it is okay at best, driveable, but does not feel as good as GT;PL.

I cant seem to change any of the buttons for the wheel. I cannot look around inside the cockpit which is terrible.

[Triggerfish]

http://www.xbox360digest.com/2009/09...r-speed-shift/

nice review!

[goh]

Upon further play I've decided it's a good Forza instead of a bad PGR but I'm still not impressed with the graphics.

Are those boss battles rigged or do they just have max upgraded cars? I had to put the first one into the wall to win.

[SouthernBrick]

Damn I was't expecting this many good compliments about the game. I was interested in getting this game because it looks fun as hell and this may be the first time the cockpit view has caught my interest. The last couple of games of the NFS series has been terrible as the Madden series but this game looks and sounds like its worth getting. I like the way the series has tried to take it more sim than arcade but, keep a little arcade in the blend.

With all the reviews and most of the opinions of OSers I may just go and spend some money on this game at gamestop. I like the pro racing but, I hope they take it back to the streets soon. Hopin to get this game soon.

[Glenn33]

Quote: Originally Posted by Flawless

But does the damage affect the performance of the car in a realistic manner? That's all I would care about. Damage modeling looks fine to me from this shot.

I would say no truth be told. The damage in this game is very forgiving.

[LucianoJJ]

I've avoided the last several NFS games. Running from the cops just didn't appeal to me. When I read Slightly Mad Studios (ex-GTR people) were on board to go the sim route, I followed all of the updates, read the reviews, and checked the forums. I could not hold out any longer and bought the game last night.
While the game isn't perfect, without a ton of cars, a realistic damage model, or an infinite amount of tracks and street circuits, it is fun, and it is impressive. The in-car view is great, the tracks and cars are great eye candy, and the structure of the career mode keeps you playing. Scoring points easily and often means just about anyone could unlock something while playing this game. There is a bit of an overemphasis on trading paint and aggressive driving, which prevents this from truly being considered a sim.
I've played Colin McRae Rally games for years, tried a few NASCAR games (Sierra being the best), Forza on original Xbox, PGR, and I am a big fan of F1:CE and GTR2. DiRT was a huge letdown for me. While Shift isn't exactly the sim I was hoping for, it is a good set of wheels that will tide me over until GT5 and Codemasters' F1 games are released.

[lnin0]

Picked it up last night and played with the controller to get a quick feel for it (wheel stand it setup for iRacing and was too lazy to switch it out with the 360 wheel).

Initial feel was horrible. I don't know what they are thinking but the default setup just feels twitchy and wrong. I don't know how anyone could enjoy it right out of the box and will be game killer for those who don't investigate settings. But maybe that is just me. Lots of people liked Grid and I loathed the feel of those controls.

I put my steering deadzone down to 12% (was at 50%) and turned the sensitivity up to 50% (from 25%). I think they had such a large dead zone and low sensitivity that the only inputs it registered where drastic moves. I feel like I have much more subtle control now although it still feels a bit twitchy at times.

I turned the breaking sensitivity down to 25% and the acceleration sensitivity down to 35%. Both were at 50%. This helped with less lock up and being able to apply power evenly without coming unglued.

The physics are alright. Not in league with Race Pro or Forza. You can sense they wanted cars to power slide a bit more than normal but unfortunately didn't achieve this with the finesse of a PGR. You abruptly lose traction. It comes unnaturally early and then your car finds this uncanny drift grip that holds far to well. Kind of like a less arcade version of Grid leaning a bit more toward the old Race Driver series.

Didn't play online but did look at options. Max 8 racers and you can mix in AI for non-ranked games. No host options to lock handling or damage settings which seems like an oversight. Damage is subtle even on max so it might not matter online. Someone who has played maybe able to answer what the default seems to be. You can lock cars to a specific class or all same and if AI is involved you can set their skill. Didn't check max laps. No pits, gas or tire wear in game at all.

I'll get the wheel setup by the weekend and post some impressions. Hopefully this improves the feel. Overall its fun but probably not going to keep anyone's interest for more than a couple weeks. I cannot see myself coming back to it like I come back to Forza or Race Pro. The driving just does not demand that type of respect.