Need for Speed SHIFT Races To Stores September

Electronic Arts announced today that Need for Speed^TM SHIFT, the all-new authentic racing game in the Need for Speed series, will hit stores in Europe on September 17 and North America on September 22, 2009. Need for Speed SHIFT brings a true driver’s experience to some of the world’s most iconic racing tracks, including the storied Brand’s Hatch in the UK. The game also features the largest roster of high-performance cars in Need for Speed history including race cars such as the Pagani Zonda F, Porsche 911 GT2 and Lotus Elise.

“With Need for Speed SHIFT, we set out to create a racing game that pushes the genre and delivers something never before seen in a Need for Speed title,” said Patrick Soderlund, Senior Vice President at EA Games Europe. “By focusing on the driver’s experience through the first-person view, we are able to capture the high-speed intensity and gripping emotions of racing.”

Players are thrust into the loud, intense, and athletic experience of racing a car from the driver’s perspective through the combination of perception based G-forces, the hyper reality of the cockpit view, and the all-new brutally disorienting crash dynamic. Need for Speed SHIFT features an accurate, accessible physics-based driving model that allows you to feel every impact, every change of track surface and every last bit of grip as you push yourself to the edge.

Need for Speed SHIFT is being developed by Slightly Mad Studios in collaboration with Black Box and Patrick Soderlund. Slightly Mad Studios includes developers and designers that worked on the critically acclaimed games GT Legends and GTR 2.

Not sure about everyone else, but so far the Need For Speed games have been pretty hit or miss for me. Which games have you liked in the series, and are you looking for to the upcoming version?