Gaming —

Asphalt 4 on the iPhone: cell phone racing gets real

The iPhone is a perfect place for portable racing games, and Asphalt 4 brings …

To give Gameloft its due, the company has been releasing games that actually earn their $10 price tags instead of the normal tech demos and ultra-casual games that make up the bulk of the selection on the iPhone App Store. Asphalt 4 has some problems but, as a racing game on a cell phone, it's also an impressive achievement. 

You can control the game three different ways, and the game starts you off with the worst option: tapping the right and left sides of the screen to steer. The best way, by far, is actually tilting the iPhone to steer, and the third option puts a small steering wheel on the screen for your to interact with. It's a neat idea, but doesn't work nearly as well as the virtual controls in Gameloft's other title we looked out, Real Soccer '09.  

The game also boasts some impressive features: the cars are licensed, you can take down other cars a la Burnout, and there are multiple game types to enjoy aside from the expected street races. Our favorite? Beat 'em All, where you simply have to destroy as many of the other cars as possible. There are also options for upgrading the parts in your car for more performance, and knowing how to properly ration your turbo boosts will play a large part in your successes or failures. 

The only problem is that the game sometimes suffers from some pretty heavy framerate issues, and the graphics are good for the iPhone, but not as good as any other portable gaming platform. I knew we're talking about cell-phone games here, but people who think the iPhone is competing against the DS or PSP need to check their expectations somewhat. There could also be a little more care put into the menus; some options seem almost hidden until you know where to look. 

For an iPhone game, however, Asphalt 4 has the features and polish to be more than worth the asking price. If this is where racing games are staring with the iPhone, we have much to look forward to. 

Name: Asphalt 4: Elite Racing (iTunes Link)
Publisher: Gameloft
Price: $9.99

Channel Ars Technica