I got a crap ton of them today. And here I am doing a blog post just to get one! 
 
Suckers...

I received Need For Speed: Shift for PlayStation 3 in the mail from GameFly yesterday. After all the positive buzz about the change in direction for the series, I couldn't have been more excited. My initial excitement was instantly quelled by a few nagging issues:
 

1. Loading - Not only did the install hang at 99% (which a system update and resume install seemed to fix) but the load times are still super long. The Quick Look w/ the Giant Bomb guys proves this to be an issue with the Xbox 360 version (installed to HDD) as well.
   
2. Glitches - I'm not sure if it's the game or the PS3 version, but when the screens switch from menus to racing you'll see a screen flash in the wrong position or cars will hop around in the air.
3. Who's driving? - I understand that this game is trying to be all things to all people, but when you AUTOMATICALLY brake AND steer for me, the cars feel really crappy.
4. Double (de) clutching - Sorry Dom, I'd rather be granny shifting. When the screen keeps flashing N(eutral) in between every shift, I keep thinking that I've accidentally down-shifted into neutral. Also, this causes the engine to rev during each neutral. In other racing games that would lead me to believe I need to shift up, which doesn't work out too well in NFS: Shift.
5. Seems rushed - The British guy in your ear says a lot of the same things over and over. However, there are many things communicated through text, such as a warning about cutting the track, that should actually be voice over.
6. Controller - I am in the middle of building an R-Pod, so I had to use the DualShock 3 to test out the game. The initial control scheme is terrible. If the gas and brake are on the triggers (R2 + L2) why on earth would I want the shifting to be on the bumpers (R1 + L1)? Maybe this has something to do with the Double De-clutching and I shouldn't have my finger on the gas and shift at the same time.
7. Textures - The car models look great, the tracks look great, the cockpit view looks great. The liveries (complete vehicle graphics) look terrible. They are very low resolution. I wonder if this was because the Xbox 360 version had to fit on a DVD and they didn't use high resolution assets for the Blu-ray?
8. MICRO TRANSACTIONS - I could not believe my eyes when I went to purchase my first car and saw the option to use Cash (in game) or the PlayStation Store to pay for this car. From the looks of it, it costs $.75 to unlock each car in the game. Yes, I know that this is completely optional, but I am reminded of the days when there were unlock codes (for FREE). EA, I thought you had changed.
9. Damage Model based on tanks? - There is a damage model in NFS: Shift, per se. Parts will fall of your car, but from the looks of it, nothing really gets dented up or scraped. I ran my car alongside a wall for a few hundred feet and it still looked factory fresh. I drove head on into another car at 100 MPH and the extent of the damage was a missing front bumper. The front quarter panels were still in perfect condition, as well as my hood and windshield.
10. Rushed - The actual driving in this game FEELS good. There is a real sense of speed. The cars feel like you're constantly wrangling them. The cockpit view is a great step forward. I just kept finding myself wishing it was in another game. The car tuning and customization that the NFS series has been known for is hidden in menus. There's nothing compelling you to complete a specific race. The DRIVING is fun, but I wish they had left it in the oven a little longer to actually make the GAME compelling.
    
11. No Rewind Feature? - The excellent GRID and now Dirt 2 from Codemasters have introduced the rewind function to racing games. Forza 3 boasts and unlimited rewind function. Why couldn't we get something like that in NFS: Shift? Too many times I was pushed off the track by the other cars. Too many times I had a perfect race until the last few seconds where I got hung up on a barrier and barely made it in last place.

I don't understand why all of the news outlets are giving Lionhead a hard time about online co-op for Fable II being added after launch, or as was recently announced at launch. All of the podcasts that I listen to and blogs that I read were complaining that if it wasn't on the disc, then that was a huge deal. Here's the one minor flaw in that logic: It's Online co-op! With the Xbox 360, to even play a game online you have to have the latest title update. When you put the game in your Xbox and connect to Xbox Live you'll instantly download the update.

If it was single player content that was not included on the disc I could see ripping Lionhead, but let's have a little perspective. I'm surprised that none of the blogs or podcasts voiced this levelheaded thinking, but I guess you need something to talk about to fill time and write about to get advertising revenue for.