Asphalt 5

Posted on November 10th, 2009. Written by Trevor.

Back when Asphalt 4: Elite Racing was released it was one of the most highly anticipated games on the iPhone, so go claims that accompany it on the AppStore. Well, Gameloft are back with their latest incarnation, Asphalt 5.

Now, let’s be honest, they could have just upped the graphics, given you a couple of new tracks and called it a day. Thankfully, however, it seems Gameloft wanted to give us a bit more than that. The game boasts over 30 licensed vehicles, including Lamborghini’s, Ferrari’s, Ducati’s and the Bugatti Veyron, although don’t think you can load up and go for a spin in these supercars, you begin with access to only two cars, a Mini and a Nissan 350Z.

There are various control methods that you can pick from; accelerometer, an on screen steering wheel or tap controls. Whilst all control types are responsive the best choice is the accelerometer controls, in this mode you can choose to turn on/off the auto accelerator and whilst there is a brake pedal on the screen I wonder if anyone will ever really use it.

There are 12 tracks included in the game from locations all around the world, including Athens, St Tropez and Las Vegas, each with varying terrains and even weather conditions vary. Even with your track chosen it’s not just a case of flying round as fast as you can, there are shortcuts and jumps to find to give you that extra edge.

The tracks I’ve seen are beautifully rendered and despite reports of it being less than smooth on some devices I didn’t have any problems on my iPhone 3G. And it’s not just the track that looks great, it’s apparent that Gameloft have spent a lot of time on the visuals in this game, road signs, store fronts and even the damage on vehicles all adds to the immersive gameplay of this arcade racing game.

As with most, if not all of these racing games you’re going to have to do the time if you want to ride in the hottest cars. New vehicles become available as you progress through the career mode which can then be bought with the money you’ve earned. There are 8 different racing modes, including straight races, time attacks, drift contests and cop chases, all of which add to the variety available, although we could have done without the cop chases which just seem far too difficult and put a bit of a dampener on this otherwise great game.

Alongside the career mode there’s a single race mode (additional cars and tracks for this mode are unlocked as you progress through the career mode). Single race mode is great for a quick blast, although no money or tracks are unlocked for winning. There is also a multiplayer option (both local and online) with the online multiplayer offering various options, including single races against six other drivers. I was unable to test out the online multiplayer but reports state that gameplay had minimal lag and it was easy to join or even host a race.

Along with the ability to play your own music this game really does seem to tick all the boxes. In fact, apart from the cop chase mode I don’t really have anything bad to say about this. Whilst it may not beat Real Racing for realism I don’t think that was the intention, this is just an adrenaline rush in your pocket, a classic arcade racer.