LOL Moment# 1 (NFS vs GT5 and Forza3)

Hello friends, long time no post...I'm a lazy man so deal with it. I've been too busy doing other things, like your mom. I digress.

I have come up with yet another segment to this domain: "LOL Moment" in which I will make a brief post on a moment or event that is worthy of letting people know about. This can be a funny video, article or anything random that I encounter in my day to day operations. I guess it can also be somewhat of a brief rant session so we'll see. Let's begin.
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Yesterday and this morning, I began seeing articles around the interwebs (thanks Google Reader) about the 'smack' that was attempted to be laid down by the producer of the upcoming Need for Speed: Shift 2 Unleashed title. Here are some links:

http://www.lazygamer.net/need-for-speed-shift-2-dev-gt5-and-forza-graphics-bland/
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=276019
http://news.softpedia.com/news/NFS-Shift-2-Unleashed-Will-Be-Better-Than-Gran-Turismo-5-or-Forza-3-167292.shtml

In case you're too lazy to look at any of the above links, the producer basically called out GT5 and Forza by claiming:

"You have to make a choice with today's tech. Either you go for - and this is harsh but it's what I think - the bland graphics of GT and Forza, or you try to push the bar for what consoles can do," said Nilsson."

Now, before I explain why this is an "LOL" moment, let me remind you about the first NFS: Shift title. Critically, the title gathered an 84 (xbox) and 83 (ps3) Metacritic. Forza Motorsport 3 obtained a score of 93 while the last numbered entry in the GT series (4) obtained an 89 on Metacritic. Sales wise, it has a little under 4 million lifetime which is good but not great when comparing it to the other 2 series.

Now, back to why I LOL'd. First of all, NFS is a series that has always been synonymous with arcade style racing. The first installments back on the ps1, pc etc. featured gameplay that was basically 'linear' or a non-closed course where you either raced against other opponents or in later installments, ran from the POH-LEECE. Shift was their first true entry into the racing simulator genre. I personally tried out the Shift demo last year and while it looked nice, I wasn't that impressed with the vehicle responses. Nevertheless it was a good try to enter the racing simulator genre and hopefully the 2nd title polishes up things from the first.

So going back to the quote. I don't know what 'bland' means to him but to call graphics on 2 of the best racing simulators as such is just well...laughable. Especially with the GT series that's constantly been able to set the bar on each console it hits, you have got to be blind to not admire the attention to detail and visuals. While I haven't personally played any Forza, I do acknowledge that their last installment was good on the eyes.

The second part of the quote is where I realized this dude was full of it. "You try to push the bar for what consoles can do." Oh, and he also added the following statement:

"That's what Slightly Mad is doing, and hence the decision was made to aim for 30 frames."

This was just icing on the cake in my book. First of all, both consoles (xbox, ps3) have strengths and weaknesses none of which are identical and so to say that one is going to push the bar on the xbox does not mean it will have the same effect on the ps3 and vise versa. The architecture behind the game design on both consoles varies and so while one may excel at a certain type of graphic detail, the other may not match it etc. Basically, his claim is B.S. because if you really wanted to push each console you would have 2 different games which in a time where multiplats are edging closer and closer to that 'identical' comparison, you can't have 2 versions of a game without having 1 or both sides feeling that they were shorted somewhere.

Finally, that last quote...the frame quote. Where do I begin with that? To my knowledge, Forza 3 DID run at 60 frames per second, so to say Shift 2 is going to run at 30 and yet push the bar on the console is just a big 'Derp' in my mind. As far as GT5, we know it will run at 60 (with very few exceptions on weather changes during a race) and it will also be running at 1080p. So how is it that Shift 2 is going to push each console, because apparently GT5 and Forza 3 aren't doing it enough.

In closing, this dude should just STFU. Release your title and see how the critics and gamers respond to it. I respect NFS as a series but Shift as a sub-series is quite n00bish and shouldn't bite off more than it can chew.