Need For Speed: Shift

Need for Speed: Shift is the 13th installment of the long-running racing video game franchise Need for Speed; published by Electronic Arts. It was announced in December 2008 as part of a three-game announcement that includes Need for Speed: Nitro and Need for Speed: World. Shift was developed by Slightly Mad Studios in conjunction with EA Black Box and published for Electronic Arts. In the new franchising model for the series adopted by EA, Shift takes its place focusing on simulation/arcade racing rather than the arcade racing of previous titles in the series. According to EA, the game has sold 4 million copies on all platforms combined. Shift was commercially successful, and followed by a sequel, Shift 2: Unleashed, in 2011.


Aimed at a hardcore gamer-style audience, Shift reverts to the touring-car simulation style of its 2007 predecessor, NFS ProStreet. Although the gameplay of these two titles are similar, Shift recreates car handling much more realistic than ProStreet, and does not contain a story. Upon starting the career mode, the player must do a lap of the track to decide on car settings. Once completed, the player is welcomed to the 'NFS Live World Series', and must earn stars in races to earn money, and unlock new races.

There are 60+ cars which are divided into 4 tiers. Tier 1 refers to average cars, tier 2 refers to performance cars, tier 3 refers to supercars like the Lamborghini Gallardo, and tier 4 refers to hypercars like the Bugatti Veyron. The car customization options include cosmetics as well as performance mods and is more in depth than previous games, affecting aspects such as alignment, aerodynamics, tires, brakes, differential, and gears. Nitrous is also an option for tuning, but different from previous Need for Speed games as it is simulated more realistically. There are body kits and weight reduction, which affect the aerodynamics. There are visual customization options like rims, vinyls and paints.

There are 19 tracks in total including real world circuits such as Brands Hatch, Nurburgring Nordschleife, Road America, Spa, Silverstone, Willow Springs, Donington Park and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

developer: Slightly Mad Studios
publisher: Electronic Arts Inc.
genre: racing /
platform: PC / Windows
release date: World: 15 September 2009
 USA: 15 September 2009
 Europe: 18 September 2009
multiplayer: LAN / Internet
game language: English
media: 1 DVD
Operating System: Windows XP SP3 or Windows Vista SP1 / Windows 7
CPU : Intel Core 2 Duo 1.6 GHz or faster
RAM XP: 1 GB RAM; Vista/Windows 7: 1.5 GB RAM
Hard Disk: 6 GB
DVD Drive : 8 SPEED
Video Card : 256 MB Video Card, with support for Pixel Shader 3.0*
Sound Card : DirectX 9.0c compatible
DirectX : DirectX 9.0c compatible
Online Multiplayer : 512 Kbps or faster; 2-12 Players

Posted in: Game play, need for speed, PC Game, racing, System requirement