They're three corners that have featured in many a racing game before, but rarely have they been evoked as thrillingly as they are in Need for Speed Shift, EA's bold new direction for the long-running series that comes courtesy of Slightly Mad Studios, a developer who has proved its prowess in the racing genre with the sublime GTR games. Many other racing games treat the corners with nonchalance in Codemasters' brilliant yet somewhat lightweight GRID, Eau Rouge and Blanchimont are reduced to mere kinks, while Pouhon asks nothing more than a downshift and a yank of the wheel.
Not so in Shift, and those fearing dumbed-down handling can take solace in the trip to the tyre wall that awaits drivers who treat Spa's trinity of corners with anything other than a fearful respect. Eau Rouge's violent incline becomes a living nightmare, asking for pixel perfect placement while Pouhon requires the utmost attention from entry to apex to exit. Blanchimont is the most terrifying, with a wide entry setting up a full-lock drift, with the tyres squealing like a chorus of burning kittens as the game's trademark exaggerated oversteer kicks in.
At times you have to pinch yourself can this really be a Need for Speed game? The series may have taken some wild turns since its inception in the early '90s, but arguably none have them have been as bold as this. Ditching the open-world pretensions and point-to-point runs of previous games, its focus is solely on circuit racing.
Definitely gonna pick this up as soon as it's released and really looking forward to it.
