iPad App BreakDown: Need For Speed Shift for iPad
Need for Speed Shift for iPad ($14.99) by Electronic Arts is the big name in racing games, and it’s EA’s iPad effort of the iPhone version of the same name. The game provides more of a realistic racing experience though there are arcade aspects including nitro, and the challenges in career mode.
The game itself: From the first race you will be instantly immersed in a racing experience like you’ve never felt on any other device before. The game looks amazing, and you hold the device so close to your face that it’s as close as you can feel to actually being behind the wheel. The in cockpit view feels like you’re right there as you tilt to steer the car which is completely natural, and effortless even on the bigger device.
This is one of the closest games to true console quality, and it offers a closer connection to driving a car than console games. As you have the iPad so close to you it’s about the same size as playing the game on an HDTV based on the distance you are from the screen in each case. All four camera angles provide a unique racing experience, and can be equally enjoyed switching off during one race.
The game is a visual masterpiece as seen from the 3D view of the shinning cars, and detailed cityscapes. Then you can go all the way in with a first person view where all you see is the road, and you can see the cracks in the pavement, and the bumper stickers of opponent’s cars. Then even at high speeds everything flows so smoothly like it should.
To further add to the racing experience there are super accurate sounds of the revving engines and squealing tires. The controls give you complete customization to race completely realistic with manual brakes and acceleration or instead put one or the other on auto, or even both. The game lets you race how you want from a more arcade feel to a more realistic feel. The iPad version also features a rear view camera by just tapping any empty space on screen, which really helps block other racers.
The game has lot of depth with eighteen different tracks, and seven events per location. There are 28 different cars as well, including 8 iPad specific ones. The best aspect of the game is the sheer challenge in needing to continually upgrade your cars to be able to compete.
There are multiple types of competitions with a normal race, sprint, duel, time trial, drift challenge, and more. One thing to note is that if you don’t upgrade your car you will lose the tougher challenges as no matter how well you drive you need a better car to win (either upgrading current or buying a new one).
The multiplayer is good if you have other iPads to connect over wifi or bluetooth with. The problem is that the game can’t currently connect to iPhone and iPod touches. When you try to do so the iPhone version says it needs an update, despite just downloading the most recent version in the App Store.
Overall Need For Speed Shift is one great racing game no matter the platform, and does such a great job utilizing the iPad. It’s one of the closest things to a true console experience, and when you think it’s $15 instead of $50 that’s quite a deal. Need for Speed Shift is a should buy overall for $14.99, but it depends on what devices and apps you already own, see below.
If you own the iPhone version: If you already own the iPhone version you won't see much new in the iPad version. The game features the same locations, tracks, and challenges in the same exact order. The only differences are 8 new cars, rear camera view, and the obvious iPad native graphics.
The iPhone version looks pretty good running at double pixel. Granted it’s not crystal clear, but it’s definitely playable. There isn’t enough to make it worth $15 on top of $7 or even $10 you’ve already spent on the iPhone version.
If you only own an iPad: If you only own an iPad, and consider yourself a racing game fan then Need for Speed Shift is an outstanding purchase. It may be the best racing game on the iPad by providing a more developed and in depth career mode than Real Racing. Real Racing has six cars on screen instead of four, but it doesn’t seem to have as fast paced fun as Need For Speed.
$14.99 is a lot with many other apps you can buy for that same amount of money.
If you never bought the iPhone version: If you never bought the iPhone version it’s a great purchase to make. The game features all of the same content in the iPad version all for the smaller iPhone package. Read our full review to help you decide on a game that is now $7 instead of $10 when it was reviewed.
