yes! and I prefer both of them over Underground and the original Most Wanted tbh. Pro Street also gave you this feel of a car festival/fair or an independant racing league, which would only be captured again by Forza Horizon.
You can fix that with mods. Dame with the bloom and crazy blur. You can also remove all the "NFS" style trackside objects. Tons of liveries available to download. Lots of Forza cars have been converted to NFS Shift. Shift 2 was even better with night racing. I love all NFS games though, even the weaker ones are still solid 8 out of 10 games, imo.
@@gadjox kind of. Its more the engine is so capable that customizing cars in shift 2 actually had purpose. Clutch upgrades increased lock so u could kick the clutch more without clutch slip.
Shift and Shift 2 were my first ever experiences with a so called sim game, and I love it since the very first moment! It has one thing that make it fun and makes FM and GT feel much more boring in comparison, and that is that everything's exaggerated. The crashes, the damage model, the loudness, the camera movement, that's what stepping inside a car and going at insane high speeds feels like IRL. This alone makes it more realistic than many of the more serious sims out there (especially GT with how static and elegant everything is, like every car feels like cruising around slowly in a Rolls Royce), regardless if the physics might not be the best. Nobody honestly topped it ever since.
The cars tilting before turning reminds me of how the cars behave in the original Hot Pursuit and High Stakes. I think they did it so you could see the turn in first person.
I honestly really enjoy the Need for Speed Shift games! It’s one of those racing games where I’d be getting the adrenaline rush whenever I am racing hard. While I know that they are not perfect nor to an extent easy to play compared to what most are used from an NFS game. But it’s still interesting to see how would NFS try for making a sim racing game. For me I always enjoy the whole atmosphere of those two games, from the menus, to the soundtrack and even how the cars drive too. Oh yeah I also like how the whole HUD “wobbles” for almost every move that you make… especially when you crash to a point where you hear your driver grunt and hear his heartbeat! 😅 But other than that, the NFS Shift games were definitely fun to play if I get a feeling of some racing thrills. It’s most understandably underrated in all of the NFS franchise.
Totally agree and I really like the hud wobble as well - I think they implemented so many things like that in these games that helps to put you in the seat of the car and feel the speed and the impacts
You definitely got to give Prostreet a go. It definitely didn't deserve the hate it got back in the day and it is now considered among the best in the series and possibly the last of the golden era NFS games of the 2000s.
I absolutely love NFS Shift, especially SHIFT 2. That game make me fall in love in sim racing game. Idk how many hours I spent in SHIFT2, but I had fun.
Thank you SO much for making a video on this game! Shift was my first need for speed game and I absolutely loved playing it when I was just 4, and here I am, 16, almost 17, still playing it. (I have 1100 stars if you’re curious) Also, you missed the opportunity to mention one thing, the soundtracks in the game, holy moly the menu ambience and the post race music is just 🤌
Prostreet and Shift 1 both nailed the pant sh-tting sense of speed: Speed Challenges in Prostreet (especially at the Nevada Highway) and cockpit camera racing in Shift 1 (especially at tracks like Spa and the Nurburgring) were the most terrifying experiences I ever had in racing games and the closest I ever felt to dying in a racing game (I imagine racing a 60s F1 car in a sim racer in VR is more terrifying but I'm too broke to afford a VR headset). The sound design in Shift 1 (and Shift 2) also helped with the sense of speed and it combined with the handling model really helped to make cars feel like wild animals being barely controlled by the players. The handling model was always what prevented me from enjoying the game. It felt like every car needed to be wrestled around each and every single corner. Which is fine every once in a while but when every car feels that way in every race then it gets annoying. I also think that the Shift games have the 2nd smallest group of fans in the massively divided Need for Speed fan base after Undercover. I think maybe they should have made a spinoff series based on Prostreet with elements of the Shift games and the Grid games added in and kept the usual street racing shenanigans for the main series. That would have been the better choice for the series instead of continuing with the identity crisis the series had during the late 2000s.
One thing I never see people talk about with this game was the cockpit camera where your guy would actually look into the turn on his own. I loved that
NFS Shift was my first (and still one of the few) platinum trophy, and I don't hunt trophies at all. I just loved the two shift games. Strangely enough most seem to forget this serie evolved into Project Cars, which for me is the best console racing game ever.
The one thing that stood out to me in NFS:Shift was the sound. Something about the sound of the cars just made things feel more visceral. However, the car handling let it down for me. Earlier in the game I could manage it, but further into the career it just become frustrating. Great video!
I do wonder how Shift and Shift 2 would have been received back in the day if they hadn't been NFS entries, I feel like Battlefield Hardline befell a similar fate - great game in its own regard, but didn't 'fit' as a Battlefield entry and was received similarly poorly. I'm a big fan of Shift, it might've given Race Driver: Grid a run for its money had critics and players not written it off as an oddity in the NFS lineage at that point. The racing is visceral, chaotic, and engaging, and the immersively 'human' mistakes the AI make are on a level I've only encountered in this and Automobilista. And the vehicle damage... I don't know how they managed to convince all the licensed manufacturers to permit it but I'm glad they did.
Yup you’ve summed up everything I like about the game, especially the chaotic visceral feel to the driving. Love the ai in this game, it’s always awesome when you see the ai making the same mistakes the player can make
I remember installing Shift in Steam and it FAILED soo badly. All controls had obvious lag / high latency... Then I found Racedriver GRID and never looked back. That game is so fun with its sppppeeeeeeed!
There are three reasons I appreciate Shift 2 over titles such as Gran Turismo 7. 1. Unpredictability Simulator racing games such as GT7 focus on making the game more "predictable" in a sense where the sense of speed isn't a big factor in gameplay, as well as damage models and crashes since the sim racing games focus on clean racing. In Shift 2 on the other hand, while many of the races in the career are only three laps excluding endurance, the sense of speed and risk of crashing added to the questionable handling has a lot more variability in outcomes of the race. An added touch I do like that you did mention is the possibility of AI error, which is arguably more realistic than the AI in sim racing games because there is very rarely a crash-free race in the real motorsport world. All of these factors contribute to Shift 2's unpredictability which makes it all the more fun and even stand out when compared to other simcade/sim racing games. 2. Corner Mastery I feel like this aspect of the game is an incredible idea and should be utilized in more sim racing games. In games like GT7, there is no visual representation of corner mastery or line mastery. This makes tracks harder to learn and achieve faster times because you don't know where you are losing time and have to watch a leaderboard player's lap to identify what you need to do correctly. With the corner mastery in Shift 2, you know the corners that you need to improve on and it removes the extra step of watching another player. In future races on the same track, when you look at the mini map and see an unmastered corner, you pay more attention and actively try to find solutions as you go through the corner each lap of the race. Either that or you spend time in a custom quick race session trying to learn and master the corners. 3. Track Penalties While penalties exist in games such as GT7, and a wider range of them too instead of just shortcutting, they aren't really punishing. A big issue in multiplayer racing is ramming, which has been seen in Gran Turismo, and ESPECIALLY Forza Motorsport. While you are granted a time penalty for ramming, which the game might not even register, it isn't really punishing. You are sent lower in position, but that doesn't stop rammers from ruining someone's day down there either. In Shift 2, there only exists time penalties for shortcuts. Though the punishments are much more severe there. The first time you cut, your lap time will not be posted on the Speedwall for friends to see.This prevented you from cheating when competing with your friends for a faster time. If you cut the track enough times, you are disqualified and will not finish the race. I like this concept of "you're being a jackass so you can't race anymore" because this is the game's method of forcing you to learn the track and racing fairly. I rarely write lengthy comments like these but it goes to show how much I love Shift 2. Slightly Mad Studios made this game, so I may try to get my hands on a used physical copy of their later game series Project Cars, either 1 or 2, and see how they grew from NFS Shift. I also subscribed, as I'm looking forward to seeing more racing game content from you
Thanks for the sub 🙏 glad you are enjoying I think you’ve hit the nail on the head, particularly with unpredictability point - it feels like anything can happen in these races Love the corner mastery as well, the feeling of progression with perfecting the tracks is awesome
You nailed everything that I also enjoyed about this game. I recently dusted it off and was amazed at how difficult the handling was even after some tweaking. These days, I think its best feature is having a number of circuits that are either not in other games, or are older versions/layouts that you also don't easily come across in games anymore, like old Spa and Silverstone.
It's an Amazing Arcade Track Racing Game With Realistic Physics but Not so Good Camera and Handling Attention to detail is awesome in this Game but many people just ignore them
randomly popped up on my feed. bunch of nostalgia with this game & your content is phenomenal. liked & subbed, looking forward to your future creations!
This and NFS Porsche were my introduction into more (kinda)realistic racing games. I switched to R-factor next and, well, tried the others after that. Rallye, drift, GT, Oldtimers. I am pretty happy being able to drive any car in any way now ... quick and safe. I bought a GR Yaris when it came out 3 years ago, to try to translate my sim skills into real life. This made me realize how well you can train with Sim racers. Nordschleife and GP track were like I was sitting at home. The only difference was, I had to feel the grip instead of listening to the tyres. The helmet muffled the sound too much. This winter it finally snowed in my region and I could do snow drifts on the mostly empty parking lots. I had a blast. One Karen didn't like it. A boy at the sidewalk enjoyed it very much 😉.
When shift came out I had just begun looking for sim style racing over arcade as I never really cared for realism and physics accurate driving models before hand as I didn't see why anyone would want that instead of just fun goofy million mile an hour speed fests lol. this was the perfect game to start transitioning over to that style because it still felt very arcade like but still moved in that more serious driving direction. I went back recently and still had fun with both 1 and 2 but I would not have enjoyed them if trying them where I am now in preference my first go with these games.
The rubberbanding pissed me off so hard in an endurance race that I still dont like it. I was using a GTR got into 1st and was cutting secs every lap, basically was a whole lap ahead from 2nd, and by the last lap he wasnt catching up, the mf flied past me with a half a lap lead on the last lap, without me making mistakes.
I honestly love these games just really enjoy them. Imo it is understandable why many people don’t feel the same way especially at release tho. Great video man!
I really enjoyed Shift 2. The soundtrack was amazing and the replays with slow motion effects and zoom ins on wheels over kurbs etc was perfect. No other game did replays like this. And you can fully race upgrade cars, even the Veyron, with proper visuals unlike other games that just remove the back seats.
Wow, what a blast from the past. I remember hating this game when I first played it... until I figured out how to turn off the driving aids, then it was off to the races. All I ever did was practice my drifting on that figure 8 track. Good times. I gotta track a copy of this game down and give it another go.
Shift was one of my favourite games on PS3. NFS Carbon is easily my favourite game in the series but Shift was so good, the first person camera and the sense of speed in the game was amazing.
Another banger vid man! On the topic of immersion in these games (you said it was almost scary at times) I’d love to know your opinions on gt7 VR if you have played it. I haven’t been able to go back to flat screenracing since I first tried it Hope the algorithm finds your channel soon man
Good vid. I actually enjoyed the handling for these games as it sort of helps you to 'feel' the car better when in the cockpit view... Which im pretty sure was the intended way to play by the developers.
Here in the U.S shift came out rite as top gear was getting popular. I have vivid memories of playing this while watching top gear on RUclips. I miss old RUclips.
As a racing game fan, I think after seeing your vids on Forza, GT and now this - they just keep getting better and better. I'm sure your channel will go very far indeed and I'm here for it, great style and analysis. I never played NFS Shift but it definitely seems confused by its own identity. Having said that, there's so much playing-it-safe and the same damn content across sims/simcades that it looks quite refreshing that they tried something different with a relatively familiar track setting. Sadly the threat of getting it financially wrong is too much for some developers to step out of the groove. Yes I'm aware I'm basically praising EA here, but the point remains 😆
Thanks for the support friend, I really appreciate it. Yeah it definitely feels like shift was getting pulled in a million different directions during development but I think the result is refreshing as you said. It’s fascinating to drive around the Nurburgring and silverstone with such a different handling model and visuals
a new NFS Shift with dedicated passion could be an amazing simcade that could take on Gran Turismo and Forza if they utilize NFS's current customization system.
I remember when I played this game thru on my Xbox 360, after I played Shift 2, I had so much fun with these games, even to the fact I played all the NFS games I think beforehand (IISE, Porsche, Undergrounds, etc.), I think these games were a lot of fun, the unlocking system were satisfying too
Yeah I enjoyed all the NFS games from this era aside from undercover (that game is just weird), I must have played hundreds of hours of underground and underground 2
I can't remember whether it was shift or shift 2 I actually really enjoyed the way cars ran I had a sick R34 set up for grip but if I made a mistake and restarted the race all of my car settings would completely change and I'd have to exit to the menu and come back in. Not to mention that there was a bug in the Carrera GT one make race where the car uncontrollably bounced around the track making it impossible to progress.. at that point I traded it in while it was still new and got something else..
I love this game so much...with mods, it was so much fun. Editing car files to "stance" cars...making liveries in Gimp...taking lots of screenahots. I still play it today but now I play it on my phone using Mobox.
technically we have 3 need for speed shifts as PC3 is just a new version by the same studio and for I agree when I returned back to these games I couldn't work it out
I want the corkscrew at seca to feel familiar. That's how I know if I'm getting better at it. That's all I want, to feel like I'm driving the actual track
Shift was my first experience playing with a wheel on PC (and I was a big Forza player at the time), so it was weird but very cool, I appreciate the presentation and sort of visceral feel they managed to capture (from what i remember). Bit of a shame that these games didn't do well and are not even available on PC anymore.
Totally agree, feels weird but visceral and fun. Apparently project cars 3 is meant to be a spiritual successor to shift, but it definitely doesn’t feel like it to me
@@wimpwilson yeah I'd like to get a copy of it to play again. I only played a little of Project Cars 1 (on PS3 using sticks, no bueno) and more of 2, but PCars 3 got bad reviews so I never bothered.
Yeah I don’t think you’re missing out on much with 3, doesn’t really even feel like it’s part of the same series. It’s an interesting game to check out in terms of finalising the series but I’d only pick it up on the cheap, it’s crazy that it’s still 99 dollars (aus) on the console digital storefronts Sorry for the late reply!
For me ive grown up with underground 1 and 2 but now i enjoy shift 1 and especially shift 2 ...i like simcades so its always fun to me to race with rules on circuits,even the fantasy ones were amazing ..i never cared about story in those games
It's actually a great game! It's all in the settings. Still fun to be had. But you know sim snobs would say you are not allowed to have fun and the harder to control equals real sim.
I LOVED Shift and Shift 2. Shift was that initial bridge between the traditional NFS game and the Grid series. Tell me what else was out there at that time? Nothing I can think of. TOCA maybe? IndyCar and Nascar arguably, but ... well I don't play those now either.
I enjoyed it quite a lot when it came out and the visuals were great. I haven't played it in over 10 years but i remember enjoying the driving more than i did on shift 2. I can only tell from what experienced at that time but the handling in Shift 2 didn't feel as fun from what i remember. It felt like it had a tiny bit of Grid 1 dna in it and the progression was fun.
i only played the 2nd shift game to this day, might need to pick up the first one too. had a blast with it back then as with pro street. great video once again man !!!
Shift2 was epic. it still is! Still wishing it could get a revamp or a modern remake. Shift wasn't that bad, apart from the bonkers handling. Shift2 is the one to play
play project cars 3 if you liked shift, it's very VERY similar and vastly underrated (and overpriced ngl). i've had some of the best multiplayer races on this game with the few people that actually gave it a proper try instead of complaining about the fact that it's not a sim.
I loved Shift and was one of the few games I've been able to compete on hard. Shift 2 didn't quite work, though, with a lot of the sense of speed lost and the graphics were somehow worse, too.
Yeah I loved this game. My top 4 nfs games: Nfs Mw 2005. Nfs shift. Nfs pro street. And unpopular opinion, nfs unbound. Not sure why people hate that game.
Totally agree re unbound- I think nfs just has a bit of a stink to it these days after a couple of lousy entries, so it’s going to have to release something insanely good to turn that around Also I think unbound looks amazing 🔥
"There's definitely that certain off-shoot... Well, two really." "They kind of dipped their toe into this a little bit with ProStreet..." "A series that has always exclusively focused on arcade style racing..." Tell me you haven't played Porsche Unleashed without telling me you haven't played Porsche Unleashed. Otherwise, a great video.
In Australia they ran a promotion where they’d put pc games in cereal boxes for some reason 😆 I got a ‘free’ copy of tony hawks pro skater 2 and NFS Porsche this way - still associate the smell of Nutri grain (Aussie cereal) with that game 😁 from memory like most of the NFS games from that era it was a good time
I recently dug out my PS3, and started some of the games from scratch, GT6 and NFS:Shift being the racers. How boring is GT6? With shift I just wanted to keep going, but christ, GT6 had me clock watching by the first corner. How about doing the ridge racer series, and how ridge racer type 4 was the last brilliant arcade racer.
The Shift games and Prostreet just got shit on by the 'run from the cops' gameplay fans, but they were outstanding additions to NFS.
Cops is what NFS great
Cops is what makes nfs great
@@Motorsport-clubsure, but that didn't stop prostreet nor shift from still being a great game.
I Love both, for me they're the best! We need a Proostreet 2
yes! and I prefer both of them over Underground and the original Most Wanted tbh.
Pro Street also gave you this feel of a car festival/fair or an independant racing league, which would only be captured again by Forza Horizon.
Love how the driver in both Shift games gets shellshocked when the car scratches against barriers
You can fix that with mods. Dame with the bloom and crazy blur. You can also remove all the "NFS" style trackside objects. Tons of liveries available to download. Lots of Forza cars have been converted to NFS Shift. Shift 2 was even better with night racing. I love all NFS games though, even the weaker ones are still solid 8 out of 10 games, imo.
Yup love the collision effects in these games
Shift 2 almost had the coolest car customization in racing sims, but then went to throw it all away for pc. Pc2, and somehow pc3.
Weird way of saying they made an actual racing game instead of a pimp my ride fantasy.
@@gadjox kind of. Its more the engine is so capable that customizing cars in shift 2 actually had purpose. Clutch upgrades increased lock so u could kick the clutch more without clutch slip.
Silverstone was re developed a little while after the game came out with a different put complex and layout so that’s why it looks so different
Good to know, thanks! Kind of cool to have these older games as a time capsule to the previous layout
Shift and Shift 2 were my first ever experiences with a so called sim game, and I love it since the very first moment!
It has one thing that make it fun and makes FM and GT feel much more boring in comparison, and that is that everything's exaggerated.
The crashes, the damage model, the loudness, the camera movement, that's what stepping inside a car and going at insane high speeds feels like IRL. This alone makes it more realistic than many of the more serious sims out there (especially GT with how static and elegant everything is, like every car feels like cruising around slowly in a Rolls Royce), regardless if the physics might not be the best. Nobody honestly topped it ever since.
Yup I agree, they went over the top with everything and for me it totally works, makes the driving feel super intense
The cars tilting before turning reminds me of how the cars behave in the original Hot Pursuit and High Stakes. I think they did it so you could see the turn in first person.
I honestly really enjoy the Need for Speed Shift games! It’s one of those racing games where I’d be getting the adrenaline rush whenever I am racing hard. While I know that they are not perfect nor to an extent easy to play compared to what most are used from an NFS game. But it’s still interesting to see how would NFS try for making a sim racing game.
For me I always enjoy the whole atmosphere of those two games, from the menus, to the soundtrack and even how the cars drive too. Oh yeah I also like how the whole HUD “wobbles” for almost every move that you make… especially when you crash to a point where you hear your driver grunt and hear his heartbeat! 😅
But other than that, the NFS Shift games were definitely fun to play if I get a feeling of some racing thrills. It’s most understandably underrated in all of the NFS franchise.
The final updates on nfs shift 2 made it fun as fuck
Totally agree and I really like the hud wobble as well - I think they implemented so many things like that in these games that helps to put you in the seat of the car and feel the speed and the impacts
You definitely got to give Prostreet a go. It definitely didn't deserve the hate it got back in the day and it is now considered among the best in the series and possibly the last of the golden era NFS games of the 2000s.
Yup I’ll definitely give it a go 😊
The cool thing is that this is the predecessor to project cars since this was made by slightly mad studios just like Project cars series.
I absolutely love NFS Shift, especially SHIFT 2. That game make me fall in love in sim racing game. Idk how many hours I spent in SHIFT2, but I had fun.
Thank you SO much for making a video on this game!
Shift was my first need for speed game and I absolutely loved playing it when I was just 4, and here I am, 16, almost 17, still playing it.
(I have 1100 stars if you’re curious)
Also, you missed the opportunity to mention one thing, the soundtracks in the game, holy moly the menu ambience and the post race music is just 🤌
Glad you enjoyed it 🙏 playing it at 4 is pretty impressive 😮 the music stuff is tricky with RUclips copyright, but yeah the menu ambience is awesome
Had it on my Nokia N8 of all things. Weird times. Difficult af but was still fun.
Drift events were the bane of my existence too. :(
Prostreet and Shift 1 both nailed the pant sh-tting sense of speed: Speed Challenges in Prostreet (especially at the Nevada Highway) and cockpit camera racing in Shift 1 (especially at tracks like Spa and the Nurburgring) were the most terrifying experiences I ever had in racing games and the closest I ever felt to dying in a racing game (I imagine racing a 60s F1 car in a sim racer in VR is more terrifying but I'm too broke to afford a VR headset).
The sound design in Shift 1 (and Shift 2) also helped with the sense of speed and it combined with the handling model really helped to make cars feel like wild animals being barely controlled by the players.
The handling model was always what prevented me from enjoying the game. It felt like every car needed to be wrestled around each and every single corner. Which is fine every once in a while but when every car feels that way in every race then it gets annoying. I also think that the Shift games have the 2nd smallest group of fans in the massively divided Need for Speed fan base after Undercover.
I think maybe they should have made a spinoff series based on Prostreet with elements of the Shift games and the Grid games added in and kept the usual street racing shenanigans for the main series. That would have been the better choice for the series instead of continuing with the identity crisis the series had during the late 2000s.
The Shift games are simultaneously the most fun yet infuriating games I've ever played, it's the best toxic relationship I've ever been in.
Accurate!
One thing I never see people talk about with this game was the cockpit camera where your guy would actually look into the turn on his own. I loved that
Cant wait for this channel to blow up, good shit man
Thank you, here’s hoping 😁
This makes me look forward to a Grid (2008), Driveclub and GT7 VR vid. Good stuff here!
He will have to play Driveclub Bikes too
Yeah good idea 👍🏻
Definitely going to do all of these ☺️
NFS Shift was my first (and still one of the few) platinum trophy, and I don't hunt trophies at all. I just loved the two shift games. Strangely enough most seem to forget this serie evolved into Project Cars, which for me is the best console racing game ever.
Agree on all your points 😁 I played so much of this when I was younger, love project cars
Oh I played Shift 1 and 2 a lot. I have very good memories playing these games 🙂
The one thing that stood out to me in NFS:Shift was the sound. Something about the sound of the cars just made things feel more visceral. However, the car handling let it down for me. Earlier in the game I could manage it, but further into the career it just become frustrating.
Great video!
I do wonder how Shift and Shift 2 would have been received back in the day if they hadn't been NFS entries, I feel like Battlefield Hardline befell a similar fate - great game in its own regard, but didn't 'fit' as a Battlefield entry and was received similarly poorly. I'm a big fan of Shift, it might've given Race Driver: Grid a run for its money had critics and players not written it off as an oddity in the NFS lineage at that point. The racing is visceral, chaotic, and engaging, and the immersively 'human' mistakes the AI make are on a level I've only encountered in this and Automobilista. And the vehicle damage... I don't know how they managed to convince all the licensed manufacturers to permit it but I'm glad they did.
Yup you’ve summed up everything I like about the game, especially the chaotic visceral feel to the driving. Love the ai in this game, it’s always awesome when you see the ai making the same mistakes the player can make
Well it is indeed that the NFS Shift games are underrated. That’s a fact.
I remember installing Shift in Steam and it FAILED soo badly. All controls had obvious lag / high latency... Then I found Racedriver GRID and never looked back. That game is so fun with its sppppeeeeeeed!
There are three reasons I appreciate Shift 2 over titles such as Gran Turismo 7.
1. Unpredictability
Simulator racing games such as GT7 focus on making the game more "predictable" in a sense where the sense of speed isn't a big factor in gameplay, as well as damage models and crashes since the sim racing games focus on clean racing. In Shift 2 on the other hand, while many of the races in the career are only three laps excluding endurance, the sense of speed and risk of crashing added to the questionable handling has a lot more variability in outcomes of the race. An added touch I do like that you did mention is the possibility of AI error, which is arguably more realistic than the AI in sim racing games because there is very rarely a crash-free race in the real motorsport world. All of these factors contribute to Shift 2's unpredictability which makes it all the more fun and even stand out when compared to other simcade/sim racing games.
2. Corner Mastery
I feel like this aspect of the game is an incredible idea and should be utilized in more sim racing games. In games like GT7, there is no visual representation of corner mastery or line mastery. This makes tracks harder to learn and achieve faster times because you don't know where you are losing time and have to watch a leaderboard player's lap to identify what you need to do correctly. With the corner mastery in Shift 2, you know the corners that you need to improve on and it removes the extra step of watching another player. In future races on the same track, when you look at the mini map and see an unmastered corner, you pay more attention and actively try to find solutions as you go through the corner each lap of the race. Either that or you spend time in a custom quick race session trying to learn and master the corners.
3. Track Penalties
While penalties exist in games such as GT7, and a wider range of them too instead of just shortcutting, they aren't really punishing. A big issue in multiplayer racing is ramming, which has been seen in Gran Turismo, and ESPECIALLY Forza Motorsport. While you are granted a time penalty for ramming, which the game might not even register, it isn't really punishing. You are sent lower in position, but that doesn't stop rammers from ruining someone's day down there either. In Shift 2, there only exists time penalties for shortcuts. Though the punishments are much more severe there. The first time you cut, your lap time will not be posted on the Speedwall for friends to see.This prevented you from cheating when competing with your friends for a faster time. If you cut the track enough times, you are disqualified and will not finish the race. I like this concept of "you're being a jackass so you can't race anymore" because this is the game's method of forcing you to learn the track and racing fairly.
I rarely write lengthy comments like these but it goes to show how much I love Shift 2. Slightly Mad Studios made this game, so I may try to get my hands on a used physical copy of their later game series Project Cars, either 1 or 2, and see how they grew from NFS Shift. I also subscribed, as I'm looking forward to seeing more racing game content from you
Thanks for the sub 🙏 glad you are enjoying
I think you’ve hit the nail on the head, particularly with unpredictability point - it feels like anything can happen in these races
Love the corner mastery as well, the feeling of progression with perfecting the tracks is awesome
You nailed everything that I also enjoyed about this game. I recently dusted it off and was amazed at how difficult the handling was even after some tweaking. These days, I think its best feature is having a number of circuits that are either not in other games, or are older versions/layouts that you also don't easily come across in games anymore, like old Spa and Silverstone.
Yeah it’s definitely unique that’s for sure. Totally agree re the circuits, it’s cool to have a time capsule to play the old layouts
It's an Amazing Arcade Track Racing Game
With Realistic Physics but Not so Good Camera and Handling
Attention to detail is awesome in this Game but many people just ignore them
randomly popped up on my feed. bunch of nostalgia with this game & your content is phenomenal. liked & subbed, looking forward to your future creations!
Thank you, much appreciated 🙏 couple of new vids up now 😊
This and NFS Porsche were my introduction into more (kinda)realistic racing games. I switched to R-factor next and, well, tried the others after that. Rallye, drift, GT, Oldtimers. I am pretty happy being able to drive any car in any way now ... quick and safe. I bought a GR Yaris when it came out 3 years ago, to try to translate my sim skills into real life. This made me realize how well you can train with Sim racers. Nordschleife and GP track were like I was sitting at home. The only difference was, I had to feel the grip instead of listening to the tyres. The helmet muffled the sound too much. This winter it finally snowed in my region and I could do snow drifts on the mostly empty parking lots. I had a blast. One Karen didn't like it. A boy at the sidewalk enjoyed it very much 😉.
True story - when I was a kid I got a free copy of NFS Porsche in a box of Nutri grain (Aussie cereal) great game, great cereal
4:29 - 4:36 that is the best description of this game's collision system I've ever heard.
When shift came out I had just begun looking for sim style racing over arcade as I never really cared for realism and physics accurate driving models before hand as I didn't see why anyone would want that instead of just fun goofy million mile an hour speed fests lol. this was the perfect game to start transitioning over to that style because it still felt very arcade like but still moved in that more serious driving direction. I went back recently and still had fun with both 1 and 2 but I would not have enjoyed them if trying them where I am now in preference my first go with these games.
The rubberbanding pissed me off so hard in an endurance race that I still dont like it. I was using a GTR got into 1st and was cutting secs every lap, basically was a whole lap ahead from 2nd, and by the last lap he wasnt catching up, the mf flied past me with a half a lap lead on the last lap, without me making mistakes.
if you want to drift on shift 1 and 2 you need to disable traccion control on the settings
This was a great video, I'm glad someone else likes NFS Shift, I don't care what you upload next as long as it's as good as this
Thanks! Really appreciate the support 🙏 couple of new vids up now 😊
I honestly love these games just really enjoy them. Imo it is understandable why many people don’t feel the same way especially at release tho. Great video man!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed 🙏
I really enjoyed Shift 2. The soundtrack was amazing and the replays with slow motion effects and zoom ins on wheels over kurbs etc was perfect. No other game did replays like this. And you can fully race upgrade cars, even the Veyron, with proper visuals unlike other games that just remove the back seats.
This was where it all began for me. Have a full on sim rig today. Sloghtly Mad Studios developed Shift
Wow, what a blast from the past. I remember hating this game when I first played it... until I figured out how to turn off the driving aids, then it was off to the races. All I ever did was practice my drifting on that figure 8 track. Good times. I gotta track a copy of this game down and give it another go.
Still working on my drifting 😂 unsure how I earned all the drift stars backs in the day…
Shift was one of my favourite games on PS3. NFS Carbon is easily my favourite game in the series but Shift was so good, the first person camera and the sense of speed in the game was amazing.
I loved how each car had an individual UI. Such a great game for 2009!
Yup it’s a great little attention to detail thing that tells you the developers cared
Another banger vid man!
On the topic of immersion in these games (you said it was almost scary at times) I’d love to know your opinions on gt7 VR if you have played it. I haven’t been able to go back to flat screenracing since I first tried it
Hope the algorithm finds your channel soon man
Thank you, I really appreciate the support 🙏 I haven’t tried gt7 vr yet but I’m definitely going to, will post a vid of the experience 😊
Good vid. I actually enjoyed the handling for these games as it sort of helps you to 'feel' the car better when in the cockpit view... Which im pretty sure was the intended way to play by the developers.
Thank you 🙏 yup I think they definitely designed it with cockpit view in mind. I think the chase cam is only really viable for the drift events
9:00 Codemasters F1 game does have similar where choosing your team to handicapping yourself
Absolutely love the humor. Have a nice sunday
Thank you! Same to you 🙏
Here in the U.S shift came out rite as top gear was getting popular. I have vivid memories of playing this while watching top gear on RUclips. I miss old RUclips.
There are criminally low number of views on your videos!
You deserve a lot more!
Keep up the great work!!
Thank you, I really appreciate the support 🙏
As a racing game fan, I think after seeing your vids on Forza, GT and now this - they just keep getting better and better. I'm sure your channel will go very far indeed and I'm here for it, great style and analysis.
I never played NFS Shift but it definitely seems confused by its own identity. Having said that, there's so much playing-it-safe and the same damn content across sims/simcades that it looks quite refreshing that they tried something different with a relatively familiar track setting. Sadly the threat of getting it financially wrong is too much for some developers to step out of the groove. Yes I'm aware I'm basically praising EA here, but the point remains 😆
Thanks for the support friend, I really appreciate it. Yeah it definitely feels like shift was getting pulled in a million different directions during development but I think the result is refreshing as you said. It’s fascinating to drive around the Nurburgring and silverstone with such a different handling model and visuals
a new NFS Shift with dedicated passion could be an amazing simcade that could take on Gran Turismo and Forza if they utilize NFS's current customization system.
It already exists called Project CARS.
@@rexoid0800 as a shift player, Project cars is nowhere near Shift in almost every way except for the sounds.
I remember when I played this game thru on my Xbox 360, after I played Shift 2, I had so much fun with these games, even to the fact I played all the NFS games I think beforehand (IISE, Porsche, Undergrounds, etc.), I think these games were a lot of fun, the unlocking system were satisfying too
Yeah I enjoyed all the NFS games from this era aside from undercover (that game is just weird), I must have played hundreds of hours of underground and underground 2
Would love to see a pro street video! It's my favorite and im playing through it again on PC
I can't remember whether it was shift or shift 2 I actually really enjoyed the way cars ran I had a sick R34 set up for grip but if I made a mistake and restarted the race all of my car settings would completely change and I'd have to exit to the menu and come back in. Not to mention that there was a bug in the Carrera GT one make race where the car uncontrollably bounced around the track making it impossible to progress.. at that point I traded it in while it was still new and got something else..
I also love Shift 1 and Shift 2. They were fun simcade games, leaning heavier towards arcade.
Porsche Unleashed remains the NFS sim champ : ), especially on PC where the graphics, sound and interiors really shinned.
I got a PC copy of Porsche in a cereal box when I was a kid (Australia does a lot of weird cereal box promotions 😂) I remember it being a good time
I love this game so much...with mods, it was so much fun. Editing car files to "stance" cars...making liveries in Gimp...taking lots of screenahots. I still play it today but now I play it on my phone using Mobox.
I remember getting the platinum trophy for this game when I was a teenager. I loved this game.
Yeah I also played the hell out of this game as a teenager, I’m pretty sure I got every star available in the career mode 😁
The Battlefield Hardline effect
technically we have 3 need for speed shifts as PC3 is just a new version by the same studio and for I agree when I returned back to these games I couldn't work it out
I want the corkscrew at seca to feel familiar. That's how I know if I'm getting better at it. That's all I want, to feel like I'm driving the actual track
ive tried pc1 bcz of ur video, i guess its time to try nfs shift out now, very good videos mate, rly enjoyable to watch
Thank you! Appreciate the support 🙏 don’t expect shift to play the same as pc1 😬
Great video and channel! I'd like to hear you cover the sequel Need for Speed - Shift 2: Unleashed as well. Thanks!
Thank you! Appreciate the support. Shift 2 is coming very soon 👍
I really liked Shift 2. Game had a lot of issues, but the presentation was just incredible and I think that is what really sold me on it.
Yup I’m going to do a video on the second game soon
I’ve only played shift 2 unleashed and I loved it
Working on a video for shift 2 at moment ☺️
YT algo did me a solid today. Great vid. Great style. Keep it up.
Thank you, glad you’re enjoying 🙏
Love your videos man, love these sick niche games you bring up that no one talks about, keep up the quality work dawg🙏
Thank you friend, much appreciated 🙏 glad you’re enjoying
NFS Shift was my first PS3 game. I swear I remember there was an update that IMPROVED the damage model.
Definitely could be, it installed a big update when I launched it, the damage modelling is still so good
Shift was my first experience playing with a wheel on PC (and I was a big Forza player at the time), so it was weird but very cool, I appreciate the presentation and sort of visceral feel they managed to capture (from what i remember). Bit of a shame that these games didn't do well and are not even available on PC anymore.
Totally agree, feels weird but visceral and fun. Apparently project cars 3 is meant to be a spiritual successor to shift, but it definitely doesn’t feel like it to me
@@wimpwilson yeah I'd like to get a copy of it to play again. I only played a little of Project Cars 1 (on PS3 using sticks, no bueno) and more of 2, but PCars 3 got bad reviews so I never bothered.
Yeah I don’t think you’re missing out on much with 3, doesn’t really even feel like it’s part of the same series. It’s an interesting game to check out in terms of finalising the series but I’d only pick it up on the cheap, it’s crazy that it’s still 99 dollars (aus) on the console digital storefronts
Sorry for the late reply!
The gauges remind me of those in the PGR series. Honestly Shift just feels like bad PGR, when I think about it.
For me ive grown up with underground 1 and 2 but now i enjoy shift 1 and especially shift 2 ...i like simcades so its always fun to me to race with rules on circuits,even the fantasy ones were amazing ..i never cared about story in those games
I played so much underground 2 when I was younger - yup love the shift games
one of my favorite games on ps3 when i was a kid. i wish this was still on steam so that i could try it again.
It's actually a great game! It's all in the settings. Still fun to be had. But you know sim snobs would say you are not allowed to have fun and the harder to control equals real sim.
Yeah that’s kind of my whole view on the game, I don’t think it’s particularly realistic but it’s fun as hell
I LOVED Shift and Shift 2. Shift was that initial bridge between the traditional NFS game and the Grid series. Tell me what else was out there at that time? Nothing I can think of. TOCA maybe? IndyCar and Nascar arguably, but ... well I don't play those now either.
I enjoyed it quite a lot when it came out and the visuals were great. I haven't played it in over 10 years but i remember enjoying the driving more than i did on shift 2. I can only tell from what experienced at that time but the handling in Shift 2 didn't feel as fun from what i remember. It felt like it had a tiny bit of Grid 1 dna in it and the progression was fun.
Yeah I’m working on a vid for shift 2 at the moment and so far I’d say im enjoying it slightly less than the first game
Pro Street for PSP was a gem!
Just wanted to say I like the honesty in your video and the good production values. will keep an eye out for more. Subscribed!
Thanks friend, I really appreciate the support, glad you’re enjoying. Couple of new vids up if you’d like to check out 😊
i only played the 2nd shift game to this day, might need to pick up the first one too. had a blast with it back then as with pro street. great video once again man !!!
Thank you, really appreciate the support 🙏 working on a vid for shift 2 at the moment 😊
i really enjoy your videos man , you're funny and great at it , wish you many more subs over time
Thank you! Really appreciate the support 🙏
Just came across this video and I love the editing and content 👌🏻
Thank you 🙏 glad you are enjoying
@@wimpwilson keep em coming! Loving the Aussie content creators out there!!!
NFS Shift is my favorite Motorsports NFS Game!
Great videos my dude. keep it going
I love all the positive/negative rants especially games i never played
Shift2 was epic. it still is! Still wishing it could get a revamp or a modern remake. Shift wasn't that bad, apart from the bonkers handling. Shift2 is the one to play
Yup I’ll be doing a shift 2 vid shortly
play project cars 3 if you liked shift, it's very VERY similar and vastly underrated (and overpriced ngl). i've had some of the best multiplayer races on this game with the few people that actually gave it a proper try instead of complaining about the fact that it's not a sim.
Ironically nfs shift got me into sim racing because of how insanely fun it was I played it for so long as a kid
I can totally see this being a gateway game into sims
earned a subscription from me, quality of the video itself is very good imo
Thank you 🙏 appreciate the support, glad you’re enjoying. Couple of new vids up now ☺️
I loved Shift and was one of the few games I've been able to compete on hard. Shift 2 didn't quite work, though, with a lot of the sense of speed lost and the graphics were somehow worse, too.
Yeah I agree I’m working on a shift 2 video at the moment and there’s something missing - it feels a bit tamer than the first game
Not being an elitist, I like using chase cam in games BUT the shift games handle much better in the cockpit view.
100% agree, they were clearly designed to be played using the cockpit view - I think chase cam is only really viable for the drift events
Absolutely loved the Shift games. Racing made fun, like GRID.
Yeah it’s time for me to revisit the grid games
in times when forza and gran turismo was been console exclusives
_this is make some sense, EA tried take this nish on PC_
Shift has the best sim arcade combination
I love shift better than GT. GT was always boring and slow but shift felt different and fun
I actually love this game, especially the second. This and underground are the best in the series.
Agreed, I played the crap out of underground 2 when I was younger. Vid on shift 2 coming soon 😊
Forza motorsport 2023 has the same weird physic
Yeah I loved this game.
My top 4 nfs games:
Nfs Mw 2005.
Nfs shift.
Nfs pro street.
And unpopular opinion, nfs unbound. Not sure why people hate that game.
Totally agree re unbound- I think nfs just has a bit of a stink to it these days after a couple of lousy entries, so it’s going to have to release something insanely good to turn that around
Also I think unbound looks amazing 🔥
If it wasn't so damn buggy, and if it didn't had this weird delay on steering, it would be a great classic
Yeah agreed, I think if it drove a little better it would be regarded much more highly
"There's definitely that certain off-shoot... Well, two really."
"They kind of dipped their toe into this a little bit with ProStreet..."
"A series that has always exclusively focused on arcade style racing..."
Tell me you haven't played Porsche Unleashed without telling me you haven't played Porsche Unleashed.
Otherwise, a great video.
True story - I got a free copy of nfs Porsche in a cereal box when I was a kid (Aussie marketing is weird) haven’t played it in ages though 😂
Its better than anything available these days, EA should remaster both shift 1 and 2
Does anyone remember Need for Speed: Porsche?
Yes, I played it on my PlayStation back in the day 👍
@@arioca I had the experience of playing NFS:P on PC over LAN with full grids of 10 racers. All the players were in the same room. Good times.
In Australia they ran a promotion where they’d put pc games in cereal boxes for some reason 😆 I got a ‘free’ copy of tony hawks pro skater 2 and NFS Porsche this way - still associate the smell of Nutri grain (Aussie cereal) with that game 😁 from memory like most of the NFS games from that era it was a good time
What we really need is the opposite of this game. Sim physics in a need for speed setting
That sounds pretty awesome
Shift was awesome, and we need a third one :😢
I recently dug out my PS3, and started some of the games from scratch, GT6 and NFS:Shift being the racers.
How boring is GT6? With shift I just wanted to keep going, but christ, GT6 had me clock watching by the first corner.
How about doing the ridge racer series, and how ridge racer type 4 was the last brilliant arcade racer.
I’ve never actually played any of the ridge racer games, I’ll need to check them out 😊
now slightly mad studios has gone