If you’ve enjoyed the previous editions of Gameloft’s arcade racing Asphalt series you’ll be glad to know nothing has changed.  Lots of exotic cars and motorcycles to unlock from Lotus’ to Lamborghini’s and Ducati’s along with 12 good looking locations with 4 different types of races at each locale.  While some may wish for a little wrinkle in the formula, the motto “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” has served Gameloft well for 5 editions.  Unfortunately, they’ve added one new wrinkle that very well could of been left out.

  

The action is fast, furious and well detailed as you boost your way around the colorful courses but the game is quite demanding on my 1st generation Iphone causing a slight stutter at times. There’s a large amount of tune-up kits to unlock which becomes bothersome after awhile as you must buy and install each individual kit for each of your cars.  An auto upgrade would’ve been nice.

Tuning up is necessary due to the extreme difficulty of the cop chase events where you need to run down and take out 7 cars in 3 laps to advance.  This event is totally unbalanced when compared to the other races and will likely cause even the most avid racer to slam on his brakes.  Casual gamers should be aware of the extreme difficulty in advancing Asphalt 5 past the first four locations.  Gameloft needs to update this race mode or do away with it altogether.

  

Like all the Asphalt racers the police will try to ruin your day according to the degree of destruction and havoc you’ve caused and there an escape race where you need to avoid getting busted.  There’s a replay feature after each race and three camera views (far, close and bumper). Strangely, during the replays, the police aren’t visible so your takedowns only show you slamming against the side of the road. The accelerometer handling is good with adjustable sensitivity and you’re given the option for touch screen and steering wheel control along with auto acceleration. Asphalt 5 also offers Wifi and online multiplayer.

  

With nothing really new to offer for $6.99 except for different courses and a higher degree of difficulty from the earlier editions, you might want to wait for the inevitable price drop and an update of the insanely difficult elimination mode before jumping into the drivers seat of Asphalt 5.  Even so, the games offers good looks, a lot of cars and a lot of arcade racing for the determined driver and gets 3.5 stars.


goyami@comcast.net