Need For Speed SHIFT Screenshots

We reported back in February that the ailing Need For Speed video game franchise would be getting a bit of a shake-up, and the first instalment of the reincarnated series was shown to be Need For Speed: World Online.

But that’s not all Electronic Arts has up its sleeve for the NFS franchise, because a racing simulator is on the way as well.

Titled Need For Speed: SHIFT, the newest title in the family appears to be a mix of the perennial Gran Turismo series, RaceDriver GRID, and Project Gotham Racing,

Joystiq.com – who recently played a preview of the game – described NFS Shift as “95% pure racing simulator, with a bit of arcade thrown in.”

EA’s developers Slightly Mad Studios say the game was designed specifically with the interior view in mind, and such was the desire for a realistic experience that you can see a situation-specific reflection of the driver in the mirror, and the driver’s grip on the steering wheel tightens in tense moments.

If nothing else, Shift is an interesting twist for the NFS franchise. For years, the series has been all about arcade-like street racing, with some element of the real world thrown in – other cars, police pursuits, and obstacles. To see the series head into genuine racing simulator territory… we’ll just have to see how that one works out.