Need for Speed: Shift looks and sounds promising

[BenSkywalker]

The point is that there isn't room for a hardcore sim so limited in scope. I mean 75 cars, really?

GT5P sold 5 million copies with a comparable amount of cars but less tracks. No, Shift won't be going toe to toe with GT5- but we still don't know when that is coming out. I would imagine the game at least has a fairly strong potential market in the PS3 segment for those that don't own a 360. This game is also the first 'sim' to ship with the Veyron included, may not sound like that big of a deal but I've been waiting to 'drive' one of those for quite a while

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: viivo

Originally posted by: destrekor

Originally posted by: Sadaiyappan
Isn't burnout also made by EA? Seems like EA is making too many arcade racers, they need more clear distinctions, one sim racer and one arcade racer.

I think that's why we can be safe to assume this is going to be more hardcore sim with arcade flash. They've got other Need for Speed games, not to mention the Burnout series.

From the way they've discussed the game, it sounds like it will be able to be played somewhat like an arcade game if using a certain control preset with various driving assists, but there will be the option to turn all that off, or use a different control preset, for pure sim driving. It just appears the graphics and style will make it more arcade-flashy, but I think those same visuals will lead to an amazing hardcore sim experience, since it's all about helping the player perceive the speed, and immerse them in the experience... notably by visual cues from impacts and stuff.

It sounds like it could be amazing. Or it could just be a let down with too much arcade influence left. But I cannot imagine the dev's working on it, ones who have only made sims, would be creating too much of an arcade experience. I think the end result is going to be based on whether it all came together into a great product, and not whether it had too much arcade style.

The point is that there isn't room for a hardcore sim so limited in scope. I mean 75 cars, really? They can include all the camera gimmicks and flashy graphics they want, they're going to alienate the arcade racers with the realism aspects, and the pure sim racers with the limited cars, tracks and arcade elements.

I dunno - the PC sims have done quite well, and they had a similar number of cars and tracks as Shift. And those sims are what some of the devs of Shift had worked on.

It's not always the quantity, but it's the quality. Remember, Forza and GT aren't perfect sims. Forza is more "arcadey" than GT, and GT is great but still isn't an entirely perfect sim.

If you can top either of those two at the hardcore sim "core", then everything else matters a little less. If Shift's cars sound better, and just feel better (both through visual graphics and Force Feedback in wheels), then it's going to rock. GT5 will still sell more, no doubt. But it's a potential entry in a series for EA, and if it does bad, then it's a single game.

But remember, for arcade flare, Burnout is EA's big dog. Need For Speed has kind of dropped to the side, as with each new game, EA has struggled to put a unifying theme to the NFS series, about what it really is.

 

[BenSkywalker]

I dunno - the PC sims have done quite well, and they had a similar number of cars and tracks as Shift.

To be fair to the counter point, Shift will be a staggering, abject failure if it sells twice as well as the best selling PC racing sim ever. The budget and franchise that this game is getting has it firmly placed in the 'must sell in the millions' range to be viable.

That said, the PS3 market is very hungry, and there are a whole lot of people that will buy this game because it has the NFS tag on it on the other platforms. The hard core sim guys will buy it because we know what it is and who is doing it, so I think that them clearing 2 million units across all platform is completely reasonable.

 

[imported_K3N]

I myself got sick of Forza 2 because its so difficult to find people who are actually into 30+ minute races and the makers of the game are trying to make Forza 3 appeal to casual arcade race fans instead of improving the racing experience (MORE than 8 cars, 24 hour day/night system, pitting strategy).

I decided to try out race 07 and gtr evolution but for some reason couldn't get into this game. And then i tried out GTR 2 (after seeing youtube videos) , and wow this really is the best racing game i have played. It has 60 car grid in single player (28 in multiplayer and lag free), a day night system for all the tracks.

And most important of all, USER CREATED CONTENT. The game is very MOD friendly that there is basically hundreds of unique tracks and cars available for the game. If the game is too hard for you, you can modify a file that lowers the grip of the AI cars . But seriously though , although the graphics are a bit dated, everything else makes up for it.

Also people play on leagues with this game, so 28 people online really plays a huge role instead of Forza's miserable 8.

BTW SHIFT isnt even going to have tire wear, and from the looks of the videos, the cars handle retardedly.

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: K3N
I myself got sick of Forza 2 because its so difficult to find people who are actually into 30+ minute races and the makers of the game are trying to make Forza 3 appeal to casual arcade race fans instead of improving the racing experience (MORE than 8 cars, 24 hour day/night system, pitting strategy).

I decided to try out race 07 and gtr evolution but for some reason couldn't get into this game. And then i tried out GTR 2 (after seeing youtube videos) , and wow this really is the best racing game i have played. It has 60 car grid in single player (28 in multiplayer and lag free), a day night system for all the tracks.

And most important of all, USER CREATED CONTENT. The game is very MOD friendly that there is basically hundreds of unique tracks and cars available for the game. If the game is too hard for you, you can modify a file that lowers the grip of the AI cars . But seriously though , although the graphics are a bit dated, everything else makes up for it.

Also people play on leagues with this game, so 28 people online really plays a huge role instead of Forza's miserable 8.

BTW SHIFT isnt even going to have tire wear, and from the looks of the videos, the cars handle retardedly.

I dunno, some of the shots have looked pretty predictable in terms of handling, which is good. It's going to take a demo, and a chance to make sure all the assists are off. It's been described as offering a bunch of assists for the attraction of non-sim players, and the option of turning them all off in a professional mode for pure sim fun. I'm hoping it works well.

But regardless, I just found out a little detail I hadn't known: GTR2 wasn't developed directly by SimBin, rather, they basically contracted Blimey Games to develop it for them.
Blimey Games was bought by Slightly Mad Studios, the main development effort for NFS: Shift.