Need for Speed Shift coming in September

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The latest iteration of the Need for Speed is set for a September 17 release in the UK and on September 22 for the US. The game's couldn't come any sooner as the last two were not up to the quality that the franchise's fans were accustomed to. From rumours that the series itself was dead, to this complete revival of the series, their hasn't been any lack of drama for the team over at EA.

The series has taken a new direction, one of which seems similar to Codemasters brilliant raicing title GRID, in terms of gameplay. The game is now being done by Slightly Mad Studios, the ones responsible for simulation titles such as GT Legends and GTR2.

The game will feature an in car view, the first since the Porsche Unleashed title and will focus on simulation and pleasing the hardcore fans of the series, something that seems rare in an industry that is trying to cater to the casual gamers. The game is set to be released for Sony's Playstation 3, Playstation Portable, Microsoft's Xbox 360 and the PC.

(2 replies) #1 Amano on 23 Mar 2009 - 18:40

Cool. I hope it's better than the previous releases!

#1.1 Sam Symons Live on 23 Mar 2009 - 18:46

Amano said,

I think that even if they released a game that was in 8-bit color, and wasn't 3D, it'd still be better than previous releases :p

#1.2 +Xerxes on 24 Mar 2009 - 04:25

The fact it has brand new engine (instead of the aging NFS6 engine) already makes it better, I have no doubt this title *could* save the NFS franchise, but as a "hardcore" NFS fan myself, this game doesn't meet my expectations, I want cops and epic police chases dammit!

(1 reply) #2 +what on 23 Mar 2009 - 21:29

The game's couldn't come any sooner as the last two were not up to the quality that the franchise's fans were accustomed to.

Hahahahahaha. That's some good sarcasm right there.

Coming sooner rather than later will just make it even worse, if that's even remotely possible.

#2.1 +Xerxes on 24 Mar 2009 - 04:29

I don't think so somehow, a new dev team who know how to make a simulation and a brand new engine...this game has potential to kick some serious arse.

#3 PGHammer on 24 Mar 2009 - 03:28

And once again, it's the more *simmy* fan that is being catered to, as opposed to the arcade-racer/more casual crowd that are fans of NFS Undercover/Hot Pursuit series and the two Underground titles, for example. (Both Hot Pursuit titles were roundly castigated by sim-style fans for a *lack of realism*.) One thing I have noticed, however, is that NFS titles tend to release in *alternating* cycles (the last *simmy* title was Porsche Unleashed), so a *sim-style* racer was actually overdue. However, I'm NOT a fan of *sim-style* racing titles (I avoided Porsche Unleashed for precisely that reason); instead, I'll stick to NFS Undercover (which is shaping up to be quite interesting) and Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box (which makes for a good stress-abatement title).

#4 Xeta on 24 Mar 2009 - 18:06

Meh. I enjoyed the Undergrounds and Most Wanted, the follow ups to those seemed... rushed. I think EA is about 2 releases from just giving up on the unique subtitle name thing and calling them Need for Speed 09, 2010, etc. Like all their sports games.

And they should get rid of night racing! Or at least make it playable. The brightness setting doesn't go high enough to counter the combination of darkness and their graphic stylization.

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