We’ve got preview code of Need For Speed: Shift. We’re playing it right now. We thought we’d share our experiences with you in the build up to the game’s release next month.
Today we’re going to take a little look at Need For Speed: Shift’s Upgrade menu, which allows you to enhance the performance of every car in the game.
Stages I, II & III
Each car in Shift has access to numerous upgrades, with further upgrades gradually unlocking as you progress in the career. From what we can tell, every car in the game has access to the same upgrades.
Each upgrade Stage (of which there are three, pictured above) allows you to upgrade specific parts of your vehicle, including the drivetrain, engine, turbo, brake, suspension and tires. It comes at a cost, of course and each stage’s upgrade is slightly more expensive than the last. To give an example, the Stage I Drivetrain upgrade costs $6,000, Stage II costs $12,000 and Stage III $15,000.At the start of the game only Stage I is available, with the remaining too gradually unlocking upon reaching a certain point in the career. When that is, we couldn’t tell you. We’ve not got there yet.
Upgrading your car isn’t as black and white as you may expect, though. For example, while an engine upgrade may have a profound effect on your top speed and acceleration, it also marginally increases your brake time. Something to think about, then, rather than simply splashing your cash at the earliest opportunity.
Aerodynamics
The fourth tab in the Upgrades menu allows you to upgrade your aerodynamics, with options to improve your body kit and cockpit, as well as reduce the weight of the car. There are three stages to each upgrade. Upgrading the cockpit appears to be a purely aesthetic upgrade, with custom steering wheels, custom seats, additional gauges and replacement material unlocking upon purchase.
Race Parts
The final tab is for Race Parts. From here you can purchase a Nitrous Kit allowing for a good boost in speed (Kit 1 allows for 10 seconds of boost, Kit 2 20), while options for a race exhaust and wider tyres offer significant improvements. Oddly, paying for a shorter final drive appears to have more of a negative impact, reducing your top speed and your acceleration, without any obvious positives. That may well be a bug in our preview version, of course.
That’s it for Upgrades. Next week we’ll be looking at the Car Lot, Visuals and Tuning.
cool game
cool man im defently bying this
dee dee dee
Where r the spoilers/wings.Are they a part of body kits. I don’t see a separate tab in the aerodynamics tab, even though the pic on the tab is that of a wing.
Great you have preview code.
Can you confirm the game working with Fanatec GT3RS? or G25 on PS3
The game well be giving free to 1st 100 who donate 1$
[...] on from last week’s look at Shift’s Upgrades menu, today we’re going to be taking a look at the game’s Tuning options, which allows you to delve [...]
Well, it is great that you have the preview edition of SHIFT
It is great that you tell us about the physical tuning. But you don’t really tell about the visual tuning. Is it for free like in ProStreet? Can I put letters on the car? Can I design my own Bodykits and Vynils?
But now to the positives: You tell us a lot about the III stages, like for example in Underground2.
I think it isn’t easy to get enough money for good tuning kits at the beginning. So the game may be quite hard for people who don’t play race simulations.
But all in all, it will be a quite good game, I think.