A Look at my First NFS Game

Several years ago, when I first started playing on my new PSP, I got three games to play along with it. This game was one of them.

Now, I’ll distance myself from these memories as I critically analyze the game for its flaws and help you decide whether it’s something you should look into.

Released in 2009, Need for Speed: Shift provides a quick-to-play race experience for PSP that engages new players and veterans alike. Different game modes allow you to race against opponents or beat your own records.

Without further ado, let’s jump in!

Graphics: 8 / 10

A strength of the game, the graphics look decent. With the inclusion of reflections of light, detailed colors, and realistic course appearances, impressive graphics grab your attention as you start playing.

While backgrounds have detail, some parts look less realistic than others. Some of the buildings have very simple flat surfaces on which images with windows and iron bars appear. The lack of 3D for those parts, while inconsequential to gameplay, make the city scenery feel phony while playing.

On the other hand, 3D representation of natural surroundings use impressive 3D templates. Tunnels and boundaries have excellent detail. While the track uses low quality graphics for the road, it’s not noticeable when the car is in motion.

The 3D models used for the cars have fine detail make the cars look realistic. However, the lighting reflects off the cars unnaturally, making them look either too bright or too dark in comparison with the surrounding scenery.

A simple, clear HUD makes it easy to check times as well as work as fantastic overlay that looks great.

While the graphics are not perfect, only negligible problems bring the score down. 8 / 10.

Sound / Music: 4 / 10
I didn’t enjoy the music tracks. Many of them included vocals much louder than the other music. It only made things worse when the car motor and sound effects of the race drowned out the tracks. All you can hear of the music is someone yelling behind the motor. At that point, you’re not listening to music anymore and it plays no true role.

While many of the songs were annoying, the sound effects weren’t. However, they did sound excessive in comparison to the music tracks. It’s merely a matter of loudness.

Optimally, the sound effects would have been softer and the music would create an atmosphere of excitement through instruments played at comparable volume to the vocals.

Needless to say, music / sound was a weakness.

4 / 10.

Addictiveness: 5 / 10
With several racing modes, I quickly found the game addictive. I would play it for more than an hour at a time, which equates to at least 20 different races per sitting.

However, this initial excitement quickly died down as the difficulty kept rising. Simple mistakes lose first place easily and this made playing for extended periods difficult the farther I got along in the game. As someone who had trouble avoiding the sides when turning, the difficulty turned out to be very problematic for me, personally.

The single-player modes, while initially evoking excitement through their variation, get repetitive with harder opponents.

On the other hand, the option for multiplayer allows for opponents closer to your level, making it a helpful factor for addictiveness.
While I played the game for months after I bought it, the time between each play grew steadily.

While for the first for the first few days the game is incredibly addictive, the single-player reduced in addictiveness quickly over time. So the score lowers to 5 / 10.

Story: N / A
Without a story and a lack of need for one, NFS: Shift focuses on racing as the primary and sole source of entertainment for the game. With few options to alter cars, your best choice is to race several times with the same car to change your bodykit with earned loyalty points.

Depth: 6 / 10
With options for single-player races, world tour mode, and multiplayer mode, the game has depth. With 15 tracks, my PSP NFS game outnumbers the number of tracks on my Wii NFS.

On the other hand, the superficial coverage of career mode, while arcade-like, severely limits it to repetitive racing in order to try to progress. Few options for customization of vehicles also lowers depth in comparison to other NFS games I’ve played.

While they eventually get repetitive, the decent options for an arcade styled game makes depth rate 6 / 10.

Difficulty: 9 / 10
From the very start, it takes practice and concentration to stay in first. One of my first NFS games, I had to practice using the controls. After months without practice, I quickly lose control of my speed, especially when using Nitro.

As you progress, you’ll find that playing for the win gets increasingly difficult and it’s no longer fun to play for hours, since you’ll need to restart after small mistakes. It helps to take a break for a day or two, then return, but it’s common to be stuck for days or weeks at a time.

However, getting accustomed to the controls is a quick process and if you’ve played other racing games on the PSP, then you’re definitely at an advantage, since the controls are standard.

Multiplayer, on the other hand, may provide easier gameplay, since you get to face another human, who makes several mistakes too. I haven’t had the chance to play with anyone else, so I only know about the difficulty of single-player mode.

With increasingly difficult races from the start, I’ve wasted hours without progress. Since the difficulty reaches the point where it hinders gameplay, it scores 9 / 10.

Overall: 6 / 10 (kudos to the staff member who displayed this method)
Graphics : 8 *  25% = 2
Sound / Music : 4 *  20% = 0.8
Addictiveness : 5 * 25% = 1.25
Story : N/A * 0% = 0
Depth : 6 * 25% = 1.5
Difficulty : 9 * 5% = 0.45

Sum = Overall Score = 6 / 10

This mathematical comparison of important categories leads to a respectable overall score of 6 / 10.

While the game was not horrible in any one section, mediocrity across several categories lowered the score. The only laudable feature of the game was its graphics, but even that had its faults. While I had fun playing it, I would not buy it new.

However, you might decide to buy it because you:
1. love difficult racing games and have decent shot of winning without too much trouble

2. want to get another NFS game for your collection

3. quick, arcade-styled fun; you won’t burn yourself out but play at a slow pace

In these three scenarios, I would recommend this game. If you’ve had experiences with it, please share! Any comments are appreciated, too!

Thank you for reading!

Wow. That is a very impressive review man. Very detailed and yet clear. It was also very informative and interesting to read too. Awesome job on that review man. I especially liked how you decided to end the review.