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[eso76]

It looks like PGR4 with customization and motion blur.

not that PGR4 lacked in the motion blur area, to be honest.

btw, for anyone wondering about the framerate, the motion blur gives it away: it's obviously 30fps+mb
Looks very good, still waiting to see Bizarre's new racer though

But most of us also know Race Driver GRID was horrible

it most definately wasn't.

 

[FirewalkR]

btw, for anyone wondering about the framerate, the motion blur gives it away: it's obviously 30fps+mb

In consoles, no doubt about it. But graphics whores will want this on PC.

 

[Dibbz]

Looks pretty good but it looks like it plays the same as Grid. Need to see some more gameplay videos to see what it's really like. Hopefully it's more sim than arcade but we'll see.

 

[shpankey]

This x 1000000000

I would buy NFS1 HD in a heartbeat.

3DO version and I'm with you 100%! (playstation version sucked by comparison).

 

[Blimblim]

*sends out the blimblim signal*

now we wait...

Edit: or maybe not

*watches youtube clip*

Too late, but still:
http://www.gamersyde.com/news_7635_en.html

 

[FirewalkR]

Too late, but still:
http://www.gamersyde.com/news_7635_en.html

Not too late at all, I was searching for a good quality version. Thx blim!

 

[Mohonky]

Definitely jaggier in the video but otherwise the visuals look very nice.

 

[Animal]

Too late, but still:
http://www.gamersyde.com/news_7635_en.html

*wipes drool off of chin.

Please please please don't fail me NFS.

 

[dark10x]

3DO version and I'm with you 100%! (playstation version sucked by comparison).

Ha ha, come now, do you really think such a game still holds up to this day?

Even slightly newer, and arguably better, games like NFSIII-Hot Pursuit are pretty much trash by todays standards.

 

[Blablurn]

Too late, but still:
http://www.gamersyde.com/news_7635_en.html

looks really really good.

 

[Stop It]

Pretty much everyone here.

But most of us also know Race Driver GRID was horrible, while the original Race Driver was pretty damn awesome. So if it takes Blimey and the NFS name to bring us another decent Race Driver, so be it. But this sure ain't Need For Speed.

I wish I could say that Race Driver GRID was horrible (I bought and loved every Toca game from the BTCC games to Race Driver 3, after those games, GRID was heracy) but I can't. It may handle like...buggery but there's something there that not even the previous RD games had, I can't put my finger on it, but it's so much more awesome than it really, really should have been. (Playing at 1920 x 1080, 8xAA @60+ FPS helps the experience lots.)

Anywho, onot the topic at hand, NFS:Shift could be the singal that shifts (sorry) the NFS games back to being more of a sim than an arcade racer, and in fact, possibly out do GRID as a racer that tippietoes the fine line between Sim and Arcade.

For now, I'll reserve judgement, but if done right, this could be the racer of 2009.

 

[DieNgamers]

GRID was (is) awesome! It's not a sim for sure but a damn good racing game.

 

[Goldrusher]

GRID was (is) awesome! It's not a sim for sure but a damn good racing game.

You can't have a "damn good" racing game if the cars don't even handle like cars. In GRID, they handled like they didn't have 4 wheels, but a unicycle somewhere in the center.

I really hope Bizarre is working on a decent multi-platform racer.
And that Test Drive Unlimited 2 isn't cancelled.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

I wouldnt go as far as saying that it is the racer of 2009...however I think that the game will be quite good with these motion blur and other images that we have seen thus far.

 

[DieNgamers]

You can't have a "damn good" racing game if the cars don't even handle like cars. In GRID, they handled like they didn't have 4 wheels, but a unicycle somewhere in the center.

I really hope Bizarre is working on a decent multi-platform racer.
And that Test Drive Unlimited 2 isn't cancelled.

I had no problems with the handling. There are many damn good racing games without realistic car handling and GRID is one of them.

 

[Wax Free Vanilla]

Die-hard Need for Speed fans don't need to be worried. Shift is no simulation like GTR, it combines arcade racing with simulation-like physics comparable to Race Driver GRID.

http://www.gamestar.de/preview/sport/rennspiel/1955142/need_for_speed_shift.html

 

[Veins]

Die-hard Need for Speed fans don't need to be worried. Shift is no simulation like GTR, it combines arcade racing with simulation-like physics comparable to Race Driver GRID.

Those two words don't go together.

 

[Goldrusher]

Those two words don't go together.

Maybe if they make a game featuring these:

 

[R0nn]

Keywords here are 'combines' and '-like'. Of course what they mean is that they strive for a middleground between sim and arcade, like GRID and PGR. Doesn't mean it will control and feel exactly the same as GRID. I mean, the unicycle feel is typical of games from that dev, doesn't mean EA will follow suit.

 

[Goldrusher]

I mean, the unicycle feel is typical of games from that dev, doesn't mean EA will follow suit.

Yeah, Blimey probably knows what they're doing.

 

[Teknopathetic]

Ian Bell's been very contradictory as far as whether this is a sim or not, he says it's very pick up and play but is also the most realistic sim ever made:

http://issuu.com/autosimsportmedial...dColor=800000&autoFlip=true&autoFlipTime=6000


Of course, he makes some compelling arguments (interview starts around page 31-32).

I am like *90%* sure this is Blimey's secret Project Falcon renamed.

Also, Eero Piitulainen (physics lead on Richard Burns Rally) is still with them and working on Shift.

 

[Diablohead]

I like what I see so far.

 

[Ranger X]

What a shit description. Kills hopes of a great sim racer + arcade options in the console world once again.

I really hope it's the journalist not knowing the hell he's talking about (I wouldn't be surprised by that).

.

 

[Rapping Granny]

http://www.gamestar.de/preview/sport/rennspiel/1955142/need_for_speed_shift.html

AH FUCK! pre order cancelled.

I was hoping it played like the PGR games.

 

[FirewalkR]

Ian Bell's been very contradictory as far as whether this is a sim or not, he says it's very pick up and play but is also the most realistic sim ever made:

http://issuu.com/autosimsportmedial...dColor=800000&autoFlip=true&autoFlipTime=6000


Of course, he makes some compelling arguments (interview starts around page 31-32).

I am like *90%* sure this is Blimey's secret Project Falcon renamed.

Also, Eero Piitulainen (physics lead on Richard Burns Rally) is still with them and working on Shift.

You give me more confidence in the game than their own PR.

 

[Ranger X]

This fear of sim racers on consoles is ridiculous. Like it was different people wanting them. Make a sim and put arcade options if you like but this stupid middle ground semi-sim style needs to fucking die. Right now we have thousands of arcade and semi-sims and we don't have any fucking sim. I really hope Blimey doesn't fuck this one up. They have so much potential!!

Oh well, at worse there's a chance Supercar Challenge will be good and that GT5 might not suck.

.

 

[brunoa76]

http://www.jeuxvideo.fr/need-speed-shift-videos-exclusives-actu-273054.html

2 ingame videos (the first one is on PS3 and the second one on 360).

Quite impressive for such an early build !!!

 

[twinturbo2]

http://www.jeuxvideo.fr/need-speed-shift-videos-exclusives-actu-273054.html

2 ingame videos (the first one is on PS3 and the second one on 360).

Quite impressive for such an early build !!!

The framerate's pretty good, it's got that going for it.

 

[ram]

looks good but on the same time very boring, since you could drive similar stuff already with grid and pro street. where is my hot pursuit 3???

 

[SolidSnakex]

At EA's recent spring press event in San Francisco, the company had two stations running builds of its upcoming Need for Speed: Shift, the latest in the long-running racing series. Depending on which version you sat down to play, you got a very different picture of what the upcoming game is all about. The developers at Slightly Mad Studios are focused on making this perhaps the most realistic and true-to-life driving experience ever seen in a Need for Speed game, while still maintaining the approachable learning curve that has always been a part of the series. Both aspects of this intriguing racing game were on display at the press event and, in certain ways, the differences between the two couldn't have been starker.

The game was running at a mostly rock-solid 30 frames per second, but the pace of the cars on display didn't feel sluggish in the least.

So, though slick graphics were on display in both version of Need for Speed: Shift, the contrast between the two games was felt in the cars and on the road. One version of the game featured a three-lap race at Willow Springs raceway in the central California desert. Unlike such tracks as Laguna Seca and Road America, Willow Springs is a lesser-known American racing gem full of twisting turns, some high-speed corners, and fun elevation changes. The car on-hand was a race-trim McLaren F1, one of the more powerful cars in Shift, with a beastly amount of power and tight, responsive steering. Despite its power, the car wasn't a complete nightmare to handle thanks to a ton of driving assists toggled on to help contain the mighty McLaren. Traction control, braking assist, and the now-standard color-coded dynamic driving line made completing the three-lap race fairly easy, and some low-end AI racers were of very little challenge.

Compare that to the other station running the game, which featured a race full of 1970s-model Nissan Skylines running a street race in Tokyo. In contrast to the McLaren race at Willow Springs, nearly every assist seemed to be toggled off in this version of the game, resulting in a Need for Speed game that felt completely unlike any other, save maybe for the classic Porsche Unleashed. Here was a car that was slow off the line, loose in the corners, prone to drift at the drop of a hat, and completely uninterested in making up for your driving mistakes should you lose momentum through a turn. Here, too, were unforgiving and demanding race opponents, not at all afraid of bullying you in corners or ashamed of leaving you in the dust if you couldn't keep up. This was about as far from traditional rubber-band Need for Speed-style racing as can be imagined, and it felt very good, even if we did get our proverbial butts handed to us.

http://www.gamespot.com/events/ea2009/story.html?sid=6208604

 

[Stop It]

http://www.jeuxvideo.fr/need-speed-shift-videos-exclusives-actu-273054.html

2 ingame videos (the first one is on PS3 and the second one on 360).

Quite impressive for such an early build !!!

Well, it already beats the last few NFS games in the framerate field, that's for sure.

Aside from that, the game looks like a crossover between GTR and GRID, which, as long as the driving model is from the former, would make this the best racer of 2009 (GT 5 is 2010).

Brands looked a bit meek compared to how evil the track can be in Race/Race 07, but that may not be a bad thing for 90% of people.

*Reads solidsnakexs' post*

Oh YES. Also, it's nice to see how my PC version that I will end up buying will look, great looking, better than GRID in my view.

looks good but on the same time very boring, since you could drive similar stuff already with grid and pro street. where is my hot pursuit 3???

Well, considering that GRID has a piss poor driving model and Pro Street was awful, I'd say this game could be very well received indeed as long as it does the job right.

 

[Teknopathetic]

First video certainly puts the nail in the coffin about going flat out on brands hatch with no problems.

 

[Diablohead]

Going by those jeux videos I like what they are doing.

Turning (for that supercar at least) is not huge so that makes the racing line more important compared to grid's turn on a 50p steering.

Going fast in the cockpit view starts to shift the camera focus to the track more blurring out the interior until you slow down or crash, which also blurs your vision after a hard collision.

 

[Ranger X]

In contrast to the McLaren race at Willow Springs, nearly every assist seemed to be toggled off in this version of the game, resulting in a Need for Speed game that felt completely unlike any other, save maybe for the classic Porsche Unleashed. Here was a car that was slow off the line, loose in the corners, prone to drift at the drop of a hat, and completely uninterested in making up for your driving mistakes should you lose momentum through a turn.

http://www.gamespot.com/events/ea2009/story.html?sid=6208604

Faith in the game RESTORED!

.

 

[Tiduz]

shiiiiiii this game looks hot, cant believe im excited for a NFS

 

[Ranger X]

First video certainly puts the nail in the coffin about going flat out on brands hatch with no problems.

The video is amazing. Doesn't feel like some arcade bullshit cross-over too much. Certainly doesn't feel like GRID.

THERE IS A GOD! ...maybe.

.

 

[brunoa76]

Looks like a well mastered arcade gameplay à la PGR

 

[Rapping Granny]

http://www.jeuxvideo.fr/need-speed-shift-videos-exclusives-actu-273054.html

2 ingame videos (the first one is on PS3 and the second one on 360).

Quite impressive for such an early build !!!

Oh god I am getting Grid flahsbacks from this. that car looks like it's about to go airborne in the corners.

 

[twinturbo2]

Looks nice.

 

[Threi]

that looks ace :O

 

[SolidSnakex]

Here are two interview

HD: http://www.gametrailers.com/player/48486.html
SD: http://www.gametrailers.com/player/48487.html

http://www.gamespot.com/events/ea2009/video.html?sid=6208580

There's some gameplay footage in the GameTrailers interview. Also the producer confirms that there will be a demo some time this summer.

 

[Goldrusher]

Oh god I am getting Grid flahsbacks from this. that car looks like it's about to go airborne in the corners.

Exactly. The videos looks like shit.

The car handles like it's made out of paper with the suspension of a monster truck.
And I don't like that dynamic camera that shoots back 20 feet with each push on the throttle.

I expected a lot more Blimey. Looking forward to the demo though.

 

[PjotrStroganov]

They manage that visceral effect of racing very well. Very nice!

 

[op_ivy]

those videos look seriously amazing.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

The hands on sounds promising. I am assuming we will be able to determine if we want all those "Assists" turned on or off.

 

[DestinRL]

Geeze this game looks good.

 

[AgentOtaku]

Saw the interview just now .....yeah, this has got me really excited ...especially how there's ONLY the cockpit view (right?)

 

[Goldrusher]

Saw the interview just now .....yeah, this has got me really excited ...especially how there's ONLY the cockpit view (right?)

Uh, no. Watch the first video here: http://www.jeuxvideo.fr/need-speed-shift-videos-exclusives-actu-273054.html

 

[Domino Theory]

Big racing fan here who's been out of the racing loop since marathoning TDU.

Last NFS game I had fun with was Underground 2. Can't wait for SHIFT.

SHIFT + Forza 3 =

 

[Easy_D]

Remember when NFS was all about racing in sexy cars on the country-side?