14 DAY TRIAL // Racing games are quite popular these days, as they give players the sensation of racing extremely expensive cars all around the world in some adrenaline-filled races. They can be quite forgiving, in the case of arcade-oriented titles, but when you play hardcore simulators, like Gran Turismo or other such titles, you are in for a lifelike experience that might be unforgiving.
Electronic Arts' Need For Speed franchise has always been about delivering an arcade experience, which didn't punish the player if he drove into a wall or into his opponents. But with the more recent ProStreet iteration, things changed and a full driving simulation was delivered to players with mixed results. Some loved it, but many hated it, saying that it strayed away from the roots of the series.
With the next iteration in the series, NFS Shift, its developer, Slightly Mad Studios, will implement a unique driving model, as it will have four levels designed to please every type of racing game fan. From the most casual, which will give players an arcade experience, to the most realistic, which will make every crash take a heavy toll on the car driven by the player.
Here's one of the developers of the game, Ian Bell, talking about this system: “There are four levels to the driving model, and all driving models give you the choice of using visual damage only or 'full' (performance) damage. Again, the engine supports any level of realistic visual to physical damage but we will be tuning the levels to ensure a fun experience. Bumpers will fly off, hoods will be popped open, doors will be bashed in, and if you've got full damage on, your suspension will bend, your steering will pull or get sloppy, and your engine will be destroyed, barely limping around to the end of the race.”
“We made the decision to keep the focus on action without critically severe punishment, since this is a racing game, not a crashing game. There will be consequences to your actions with full damage on, and it will likely destroy your race, but you will always be able to at least limp across the finish line to collect your profile points.” he adds.
It seems that the developers have tried to please everyone with this system and hopefully fans won't have anything to complain about, no matter what type of level they are on. Overall, NFS Shift is shaping up to be a very interesting game, which will breathe new life into the old franchise.