Game review: Need For Speed: Shift - Sony PSP

ProStreet and Undercover, the last two portable instalments of NFS, were both widely panned by critics.

EA seems to have been stung into a response, producing a superb follow-up on Sony's handheld.

Shift restores the series' credibility and sets a new standard for racing games on the platform.

Like its predecessors, Shift throws players into the intense world of street racing.

Aside from an improvement in overall quality, there are two main differences between Shift and other games in the NFS franchise.

Firstly, the street racing in Shift is of the legalised variety, so no police chases and no silly crime plots getting in the way of the track action.

Secondly, Shift is much more of a driving simulation than previous NFS titles. Though it does still have some arcade blood running through its veins, it’s much more of an accurate and believable driving experience.

The game is laden with content, including a world tour featuring 40 progressively more difficult events, many of which contain multiple races and challenges.

Following the frustrating standard model for racing games, particularly on portable formats, the majority of Shift’s impressive roster of cars and tracks are locked at the beginning. I wish just for once a driving game would give players freedom to choose for themselves which cars they race and on which tracks but I’ll have to go on waiting because it isn’t the case here.

A VW Scirocco is the only car available at the start. Work must be put in to unlock the next motors waiting to be driven, including a Dodge Challenger, Lotus Exige and Mitsubishi Evo.

Street circuits around London and San Francisco are all that are available early in the game, which doesn’t provide much variety until a lot of effort has gone in to unlocking others.

Aside from this annoying setback of having to grind through events to get new cars and tracks, Shift is a slick, high-performance game from top to bottom. It has lots of things to its advantage over other PSP racing games.

Let’s start with the car handling and physics which are far superior to anything else I’ve seen.

There isn’t much to say about the controls – it’s the usual analogue stick for steering, button pushing for accelerate, brake, e-brake (handbrake), nitrous etc. This is no different to other games but the way the cars move is infinitely better in Shift.

The cars feel light and responsive, while steering and cornering are lively but not too loose.

There is no sluggishness about any of the cars – it actually feels like you’re in control of something fast and untamed. There is a real zip and grittiness about the driving.

The difference in handling between cars is also very good. Nippy hatchbacks handle noticeably different from big muscle cars.

The overall sense of speed is much greater in Shift than in other PSP motorsport games. The game runs at an impressive frame rate, producing genuinely heart-pounding action at times.

There are three camera angles to choose from during races. Two of them offer similar views, placing the camera slightly above and behind your car. The third perspective is not quite cockpit or in-car because you don’t see your dashboard or windscreen – it’s as if the camera is on the bonnet of the car. It’s when this view is used that you get a true measure of just how speedy the game is.

Shift has a very low error threshold, punishing rather than cushioning bad driving. Crash means crash, rather than your car simply slowing down or bouncing away from another vehicle on impact.

When you hit an obstacle or opponent in Shift the game switches to an animated sequence showing the consequences of your collision, including bodywork shattering, wheels flying off and car ricocheting across the track.

Linking back to Need For Speed’s arcade roots, it’s not actually possible to total a car in Shift no matter how spectacular a crash you have. Once the crash sequence has finished you car miraculously reappears in one piece and you can drive off again. The biggest after-effect is losing some time.

It’s the main unrealistic element of racing in Shift but given how tricky some of the tracks are and how aggressive the AI drivers can be when they choose to ram you it’s probably a good idea.

Another strength of NFS Shift is the quality of its graphics. The game has seriously eye-catching visuals by PSP standards.

As well as handling well, the cars also look the business.

In addition the design of the tracks is superb. In London there are authentic road layouts and markings even including bus lanes and yellow box junctions. The background scenery is great, featuring imposing high-rise building and landmarks such as Tower Bridge. In San Francisco there are long undulating roads and tram lines. There are nice touches like shadows on the track and the sun glinting in the camera.

The various design details are all small individually but they combine to become one of the biggest reasons for why Shift is so enjoyable to play.

I do of course have a few grumbles with how the game is set up. For instance, there is no map overlay during races so you’re reliant on roadside directions for alerting you to upcoming corners. It’s difficult knowing the tightness of a bend or whether another one is coming up right after.

Also, drifting isn’t particularly well represented in the game, not that it’s possible to drift much anyway due to the tracks being narrow in many places. Drift challenges are by far the hardest events to complete.

Additionally, car customisation is very limited considering the emphasis on simulation over arcade racing in Shift. Changing paint colour and livery is about the extent of it. Cars do get tuned up during the game as you increase your loyalty rating for each vehicle but it’s all done automatically.

Of course, as I mentioned before, my biggest grievance is with the lack of free play. Having to work up the career tree in the world tour to unlock most of the goodies within the game is restrictive and quite frankly irritating. Just give me all the cars and all the tracks right from the start, then I’ll be a happy racer.

As with most games which are released across multiple platforms, the PSP version of Shift is greatly reduced from its console and PC counterparts. You need to accept the handheld edition comes with only about a third of the cars in the other versions. You’re also not going to get the Spa or Brands Hatch experience on PSP, the tracks instead being a mixture of city, coast and mountain roads instead of proper circuits. Come to terms with its limitation and you’ll discover Need For Speed: Shift still has a lot of good stuff in it.

It would be wrong to end this review without looking at the bigger picture, as I did with my recent examination of DiRT 2 on PSP.

Following fast in DiRT 2’s slipstream NFS Shift is the second of four huge driving games being released this autumn. Shift is going to be severely tested when Gran Turismo and F1 2009 appear soon but for now at least I can emphatically state it is the best motorsport game I have played on PSP.

Though I did enjoy DiRT 2 I was left feeling slightly underwhelmed by it. Shift is far better than I was expecting.

Need For Speed: Shift leaves other PSP driving games trailing in its tyre smoke and is the real deal for motor racing fans.

Verdict: 9 out of 10 – Proudly sits in pole position as the new race king on the PSP.