The much needed reboot to a franchise which has been desperate for it for years

Some of the best sound and graphics from an EA game to date; A real sense of speed when in the cockpit view; Continues to reward the player; No matter how they drive

Short career compared to other racing simulators; The cars are incredibly frustrating to control

Shift is a fantastic new direction and clearly EA have taken the time to think, ‘What are the serious options we can take?' and although it is trying to compete in a saturated racing market, it does so with good stead.

In-car view is the best in any racing game; Awards in-game for driving style; Customisation options are vast

Terrible default handling with bad oversteer; City tracks lack depth; Soundtrack is lacking variety

After the below par Need for Speed: ProStreet and Need for Speed: Undercover , EA isn't prepared to weigh anchor and calmly abandon its once popular racer franchise. The latest NFS game marks a fresh start for a series.

Definitely a better experience than both Pro Street & Undercover; enough cars; events and tracks to keep you occupied for days; the reward system works well in multiplayer and single-player

In the end not much of a challenge; still not the comeback we were hoping for; certainly hasn't restored the series' former glory

Leave your Fiat Punto at home son…. I think the word ‘shift' here is pivotal, not only does it pertain to the manual task of physically disengaging a given gear in mind to select and alternate gear whilst driving, but also in respect to the expectations people have of NFS; maybe NFS has finally gone...

Pretty extensive selection of cars to choose from; Rims; paint; and vinyls are now free of charge; Easy to make money; More upgrades than you can shake a wrench at

Wooden and empty feeling; Not exactly top notch driving physics; Slow automatic gear changing leaves you high and dry; Irritating opposition

The first hairpin on Laguna Seca is always a test - in just twenty seconds you instantly sort the noobs from the vets as the noobs plough through the corner into the sand trap at high speed.

Need for Speed has been having an identity crisis. EA's premier racing series - a guaranteed Christmas number one not so long ago - ought to be successful enough to feel confident in itself. It had the girls, it had the cred in a crude, streetwise way, it had the sales. But it wanted more.

Best thing about this game was the demo with the 'helmet camera' and crashes. The actual game itself rapidly becomes boring. The tracks and career progression in the game are just not very interesting or compelling.

If you absolutely need to own every "Need For Speed" game, I guess no review is going to stop you from buying this game. Otherwise, sit this one out and wait for "Forza Motorsport 3″ later this month for a real racing experience.

-Attractive scenery; -Can be played by a 3 year-old on easiest settings; -Everything can be unlocked fairly early

-Car customization hurts more than it helps; -Physics are far from realistic; -Car visuals are lacking; -Events feel re-used far too often

i put in in and it refused to load i think its broken and i cant be bothered in going to the trouble to return it but none should buy from this person

This game to put it simply is a mix of sim and arcade racer in both catagories. Like most sim racing games though of today your able to turn off all assits to make the driving experience and realistic as you wish and challiinging at the same time, Though in this game with all driving assists off it...