If you’ve just purchased the excellent Need for Speed you may be wondering if you really need another high-speed racing title for your Iphone. Real Racing gives you an entirely different racing experience. While Need for Speed falls squarely in the arcade category, Real Racing is as close to a real racing simulation as I’ve ever seen on a mobile device. The fantastic driver’s seat view places you on the track alongside five other cutthroat racers who unfailingly punish you for every little racing mistake. The AI in Real Racing is wound so tight as to seem inhuman J. This fact along with their ability to constantly bump and knock you off your line makes Real Racing a Real Challenge that makes Need for Speed seem like a Sunday drive in terms of difficulty.
Real Racing is a technological marvel that makes use of everything the Iphone has to offer in terms of controlling your vehicle. There are 4 control methods that offer every conceivable combination from tilt or touch control to brake assist or a manual accelerator that moves to wherever you place your finger. Each method works flawlessly. Yet even with the great control this game challenges you every step of the way. If you’re new to racing games, this is not the place to begin.
The career mode offers 57 races in 3 divisions of increasing difficulty over 12 closed tracks with 36 different cars to unlock. Unlike Need for Speed, there is no vehicle tuning, story, flying crashes or cops which makes the career mode a straight-forward no-nonsense affair of intense white-knuckled racing. This intensity is amplified by the terrific sound and outstanding graphics that are as stunning as anything that’s been seen on a mobile device. Yet Real Racing flies along without the slightest misfire.
The game physics are great both in the handling of the cars, the jostling of the pack and the different road surfaces: grass, gravel, asphalt or the warning strips. If you get fatigued by the intensity of the in-car view you can switch to a behind the car camera that provides a better view of the road ahead. Real Racing provides local WiFi multiplayer, an online leader board and league play. You can also upload your best laps to YouTube via Firemint’s cloud cell and the game will automatically provide the camera views.
If you’ve completed Need for Speed and crave more of a racing challenge then Real Racing will fill your tank with hi-octane excitement. Both games are terrific 5 star racers for your Iphone and owning both will give you the best of both worlds: arcade and simulation. Sony has recently announced that they will begin development on a new game-oriented cell phone in response to the Iphone’s impact on their PSP and DS sales.
Iphone owners don’t have to wait as Real Racing is here, it’s live and it’s lapping the field. Virtual mobile racing doesn’t get any more real.