lol Stephen, I'll make sure Santa is informed.

I'll definitely be checking this game out as you and I have had the same feelings about the past NFS's. Congratulations on the new card Judy, should work rather well for you. One thing you forgot to mention to her though Stephen was to make sure she had the right slot, PCI-E vs VGA. Assuming it's a newer computer, you should be ok with the 8600.

You can use the X-box controller on the PC so I assume the same will go for the steering wheel. The controller I have came with a small converter that plugs into the end of the cable so that you can plug it into a PC. I'm sure (but don't know for certain as i'm not a fan of X-box) that the same goes for he steering wheel. I have an old steering wheel, but the plug is one of hose zillion pin plugs and my computers no longer support it. I've yet to purchase one that i can use. a steering wheel will be much better for any driving game as the force feedback works well on a steering wheel. The problem with using the keyboard to play most racing games is that when you want to turn a corner you get all ar nothing with respect to wheel turn, which is probably the reason I find it difficult to play most racing games effectively. I reckon a steering wheel has to be one of my next hardware purchase together with a new joy stick (I have two decent but old joy sticks that suffer the same problem as the steering wheel)

Sorry I can't be more specific

WR

p.s.

I've just checked on the net and YES you can get a wireless version of X-Box's Steering Wheel that works with windows (I know what I want for Christmas now, lol. :)

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/x/xbox360wirelessgamingreceiver/

Thankyou Whiterabbit for the reply and that is the exact graphics card I have just bought of ebay(geforce 8600 one) about 1 hr ago.Do you know If Its true what I have been told that you can use the xbox 360 steering wheel etc on the pc.

Hi Judydog, I highly recommend all the games you mention, though a si mention above both Grid and Colin McRaes dirt are quite hard. Sytill I've had a lot of fun playing them.

I highly recommend an Nvidia Geforce 8600 GS 256Mb card if you're on a budget or if you're on an even more tighter budget get a 7900 GS 256Mb card, that's a great all rounder and covers all the bases with respect to this game. I think the minimum card they recommend in the NVidia range is the 7800 so the 7900 will be okay, though the 8600 GS will give you more scope for the next year or two with respect to newer games. If you can stretch your budget Id get an NVidia GEorce 8800 GTX card that will keep you ahead for longer in the upcoming games race (with respect to graphics).

I've played a little more NFS:Shift since I posted the above mini review and highly recommend it over Grid, though Dirt is a different type of racing game so wouldn't make comparisons. I love the Colin McRae series and want to buy Dirt 2 when I can.

NFS: Shift is definitely a big improvement on the last few NFS titles. The realism is quite astonishing. Just take a look at the screenshots from inside the cars. There's a good selection of racing cars to choose from and the audio is amazing. Playing it with surround sound really adds atmosphere to the game.

Let me know what you think once you've purchased the games. :)

redards

WR

PS

You're right about the games specifications, they are actually quite low with only a 1.66GHz dual core and 1Gb of RAKM required to run this game. The specs aren't much different to last years title (NFS: Undercover), though it specifies a 3.2GHz single core and only 512Mb of RAM

Hi Whiterabbit,I am thinking of getting this game today,but not 100% sure It would work on my P.C.It looks amazing which I am suprised about as the specs are not really that high for a racing game,Racedriver Grid and colin mcrays dirt all have higher specs,I work In Game so I know that Grid and dirt are on offer at the moment you can pick both up for £15 so may buy them and Shift,then I will have to buy a new graphics card which is whats stopping my full enjoyment of these games,could you recomend a decent one not the best just something average that will play these games the one I have now will probably just about cope with everything on low,Its a Integrated nvidia gforce 6150le 256mb

Need for Speed Shift

I wasn’t sure about pre ordering this years Need for Speed title as I’ve not been overly excited by the last three titles:

i.e. Need for Speed: Carbon, Need for Speed: Pro Street and last years flop '*' Need for Speed Undercover. (I’ve been ‘trying to play Undercover for the last few days, but it’s always been uninspiring – I gave up on it after the first day when I bought it on pre-order last year and to be honest still feel the same about it now) I wanted something that gave me a real racing ‘feel’ without it being too hard again, which last years nor the previous years didn’t give. Carbon was okay, but it still didn’t deliver what need for speed aficionados were expecting, well I’m pleased to say I think NFS is back in the driver’s seat.

When I booted up my pre ordered copy of Shift, which I always get at least a day before the official released date - at least with games bought from Game UK), I was greeted by an English sounding commentator who led me through a trial run. It turns out the first race enables the game to adjust the AI of the single player competition so that you aren’t going to lose all the races when you first play. That's a definite plus in my books. :)

I don’t know about everyone else out there, but most racing games I’ve bought over the last several years (which amount to nearly 40 racing titles) always seem difficult to win. For example with games like Race 07 , Live for Speed, Grid, Colin McRae: Dirt and GTR 2, I always come last or near last when I first play the game and hardly ever manage to attain top spot for more than just a few races. I’m not a dedicated racing fan, nd don't have a working Wheel and pedals that most of these games require for a decent ride; so they may have something to do with it, but I do like the occasional single player race despite having to use the keyboard or in some cases an X-Box controller. This games default controls are the controller, but these can be changed in the options menu to keyboard if you wish.

The car handling in all those games is super realistic, but the AI of the bot racers always beats me. This title is different. The better you play in that first race, the harder the bots are to beat. I played a reasonable round in that first test race and consequently had some excellent races against the bot opposition but, more importantly I was able to win a lot of the races. Not easily, with only a second or two between myself and the rest of the pack.

The graphics, the car handling, the menus, in fact most things about the game I like. I’m not sure about the commentator though; however, he has been useful with advice during game play. He even compliments you when you make certain moves. Another thing I wasn’t sure about was the arrow markers you get on the race track to show you the best line, though after I got used to seeing it I actually really liked the idea because when you’re driving at the correct speed or slower the arrows are green in color, when you reach the optimal speed with maybe the need to take your foot (or finger) off the accelerator it turns yellow, and when braking is needed the arrows change to Red. This really helps to get you around corners without crashing into the sides; which I was notorious for such as in games like the ones I mention above.

You earn stars from each race, with a maximum of 5 stars per race; which are awarded for speed, driving skills such as taking the correct line around a corner, position in the race, plus you are awarded skill points that go towards levelling up. There are 50 levels to attain. I’m presuming that as you level up, the AI becomes a little harder; much like an RPG game such as Oblivion or Fallout 3. (I’ve raced a few races and am still on level one). There’s a lot more to explore before I could give a full review. I wanted to post a first impressions befoe it was officially released, hence the rushed review.

Here’s a couple of videos of the game. Click HERE and

HERE

Reviews:

Read a few reviews of the new game HERE and HERE