Perhaps the game that impressed me most at E3 was NFS: Shift. Considering the piece of crap that EA shipped last year (really, some manager’s head should have rolled for that one) to see just how good Shift looks and plays already is incredible. Fast, smooth and tight. The car models are excellent and the racing is bumper to bumper. This one should be right up Mercury’s alley because bumping is actually encouraged. You are given a persistent reputation based on your actions during races. Bump and grind other guys out of your way and you’ll be known for that style (and given points for it). Stay on the racing line and pass clean and you will also be given a certain status and points for that way. Its an interesting idea and I’m keen to see if it pans out as they seem to want it.
EA was giving away a BMW M3 for the person that could record the most points in a 2 lap race. I looked at some of the qualifying points totals and I couldn’t get half as many points in my several attempts. Too bad the contest was based around points and not lap times. Kind of silly really when the top qualifier’s time was 20 seconds more than other times that I had seen. Gone were my visions of skipping my flight home for a drive home along the pacific coast in one of my favorite cars in the world.