Gameloft races back onto the iPhone with a follow-up to last yearâs arcadey Asphalt 4: Elite Racing.
By tweaking and tuning the formula that made last yearâs entry such a rubber-burninâ blast, Asphalt 5, despite hitting one major bump in the road, positions itself as the platformâs premier racer.
Loved
Garage Full of Features: A gorgeous, full-featured title, Asphalt 5 nearly rivals even the best PSP racers. Three modes-quick race, career, local and online multi-player, 33 cars, 12 tracks, vehicle customization, and unlockable stat-boosting babes-yes, you heard right!-combine for a robust arcade racing experience. Additionally, three intuitive control schemes complement gameplay that blends Burnoutâs adrenaline-amping crashes and Ridge Racerâs wind-in-your-hair thrills. Matching the content-brimming package is a pop-off-the-screen presentation encompassing colorful environments and great details such as planes flying overhead, day/night races, and changing weather conditions.
Turn Up the Tunes: While racing to your own soundtrack is nothing new to the genre, itâs damn cool to be able to lap the competition while your iPod library blasts in the background; the slick little Alpine stereo interface is also a very nice touch. My only regret is that I didnât have the Benny Hill Show theme loaded onto my play-list to accompany my more crash-tastic races. That said, listening to the Pixiesâ Surfer Rosa while hurtling towards the finish line at mach speed is super satisfying.
Hated
The Short Arm of the Law: While most of Asphalt 5âs career challenges â Time Trial, Drift, Duel, Escape etc. â yield a well-balanced blast, Cop Chase, where you play the boys in blue and âeliminateâ opponents by crashing into them at top speed or forcing them off the track, is about as entertaining as a snipped brake line. The event gets easier-and is often skippable â later in your career, but the very first one tasks you with tackling seven eliminations in three laps. I reached âWhere is my mindâ, the last track on the aforementioned Pixieâs 30+ minute debut album, four times â yup, two hours â before reaching this frustrating goal. Any game, no matter how good it is otherwise, is docked a few points if its gameplay can actually make me dread hearing one of my favorite bands. Hopefully Gameloft will alleviate this headache in a future patch.
Tons of content, fun-as-hell gameplay, great visuals, and the ability to rock your own tunes make this one the iPhoneâs top performer on the race circuit. That said, those who lack the patience to complete that very first, brutally difficult Cop Chase wonât get to experience much of what the title offers. If you can get past that hurdle, though, this oneâs definitely worth buckling-up for.
Asphalt 5 was developed and published by Gameloft for iPhone on November 2nd. Retails for $6.99. A copy of the game was provided by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Completed the gameâs campaign and played online modes.
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