What does the hottest 3D mobile racing franchise do after its lapped the field of

contenders? It puts the pedal to the metal and tries to get further out of sight!

The Asphalt series from Gameloft has never lost the lead in high-speed mobile racing

and with the recent release of Asphalt 4 Elite Racing it unveils its latest road beast.

 

If you’ve played Asphalt 3 Street Rules you know what to expect. Gorgeous graphics, possibly the best ever seen on a mobile device, coupled with great sound FX and game play that combines the best of the Need for Speed and the Burnout series’ for consoles. All this being shoehorned into a multi-functional handheld cell phone amounts to a pretty impressive achievement.

 

Unbelievably, Asphalt 4 looks a little better than 3. The modeling of the cars appears smoother and more detailed and by the time you unlock the awesome Bugatti and Shanghai you’ll have to say your cell never looked better. Besides which, Asphalt 4 gives you a better way to enjoy this graphical goodness - a landscape mode! All mobile games need to offer this option to narrow the gap with the PSP.

 

While there is a slight improvement in graphics it comes at a steep price. There is considerable lag and loss of frame rate from Asphalt 3. This is the kiss of death for a frantic high-octane racing game. On my Nokia N73 I had to turn off the takedowns and worst of all, turn off the fantastic music and sound FX to smooth out the game play. Gameloft is to be commended for pushing the envelope in mobile game development but they may of reached the point of diminishing returns.

 

The game play in Asphalt 4 is nearly identical to Asphalt 3. The new courses are LA, New York in the snow, Paris (revived from Asphalt 2), Monte Carlo, Dubai and Shanghai at night. All the locales look great with the possible exception of the flat and curvy Dubai course. Again there are loads of upgrades to unlock along with numerous exotic cars, races, cops, helicopters, takedowns and overhead news flashes. This has all been seen before in Asphalt 3 making Elite Racing more of an add-on than a new game, unfortunately at a lower frame rate. Maybe they could do without the overhead real -time news reports to gain some speed even though Asphalt 3 had this feature without a lag. The overhead shot tends to remove me from the frenzied racing anyway making me miss vital nitro bottles or cash. I much prefer the cool stop action shots from Asphalt 2.

 

In terms of difficulty, this is a hard-core racing fans delight. Do not enter these races without a good nights sleep. Luckily, you don’t have to come in first in the street races as you can nose into third place and still collect cash and advance the game. Some of the other modes are easier (beat down, cash and 1on 1) while some are harder (cop chase). Like Asphalt 3 there are no difficulty settings and you advance through winning cash in any of the races. One nice addition to Elite Racing is multiplayer via Bluetooth.

 

As it nitros past the wreckage strewn on the side of the road, the Asphalt Series remains comfortably out in front of the current crop of mobile street racers. Yet, as all champions learn, once you reach the top of the mountain there’s only one way to go. Asphalt 3 was the definitive 5 star game. Asphalt 4 Elite Racing is undeniably fun, challenging, addicting, beautiful to behold and slow. Which gets it a 4 on my handset. While your experience may vary depending on your device, I’ll probably continue to play 3 while glancing longingly at Asphalt 4. Although the cars do look sweet!

 

Reviewed by Glenn Yamaguchi