Just over one month ago, we reviewed GTS World Racing, hoping it would continue paving the way for a diverse selection of quality racing titles in the App Store. Unfortunately, we were left slightly disappointed, and wanting more.. Wish granted, with a vengeance, and lovingly delivered by Gameloft (developers of the excellent Real Soccer 09) in a 98MB digital package of speedy goodness called Asphalt 4: Elite Racing. Ordinarily, we prefer to build up our reviews with suspense, refraining from a final verdict until the last paragraph, but in this case we’re compelled to spill some revelations up front.

• #1: Keeping in mind that we’re finicky - Asphalt will run you $9.99, and it’s worth every penny.
• #2: There is more depth here than the majority of DS and PSP racing titles.

A4:ER is best described as an urban arcade racer with elements of Need for Speed, Burnout, and Gran Turismo. You’ll gradually unlock 28 licensed speedsters (bikes included) and 12 worldwide locations by collecting cash earned through achievements, and on the tracks themselves, but this is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg. Our comprehensive review after the break…

License To Drive

One of the qualifiers we look for in any racing game is whether or not you develop an attachment to your wheels of choice. It may sound trivial, but your roadster is the primary focus and adequate attention should be paid to the details, the tuning, and the control. In A4:ER you’ll eventually unlock 28 licensed rides from Ferrari, Bugatti, Aston Martin, BMW, Chevrolet Corvette, Kawasaki, and others. And they look sharp. Aesthetics aside, the more money you earn on the track, the more tuning kits become available off the track. From weight modifiers, shock absorbers, ECU and transmission kits, all the way to rims and tires, multiple improvements become available to increase your top speed, control, and acceleration. While the Gameloft team has done an extraordinary job of adding noticeable differences to how your car handles based on your specific mods and upgrades, our only complaint here is that most of the vehicles feel about the same. You’ll notice better handling, for example, but whether or not your car has RWD, 4WD, or FWD won’t make a big difference.

(However, it’s surprising that we’re looking for these nitpicks in an iPhone game to begin with. It’s a testament to the comprehensive design)

10 and 2!

One of GTS Racing’s strengths was it’s steering controls. Though you could only use the accelerometer method (turning and accelerating with the iPhone itself) it controlled beautifully. A4:ER gives you three methods of control:

1. Screen Mode: Tap on your screen’s left or right side to steer, tap the nitro and brake buttons to stop and boost.
2. Accelerometer: Tilt Left/Right to steer, lean forward to boost, but you still have to touch the brake button to slow down.
3. Touch Mode: Turn wheel onscreen left and right, and touch the nitro and brakes buttons.

Options rock, but two of these methods are plagued with issues. The Accelerometer scheme is twitchy at best, and if you have thumbs fatter than a toothpick, your visibility gets hampered utilizing the Screen Mode, and it’s not intuitive to keep frantically tapping in the direction you want to turn. It took about 45 minutes to master, but ultimately the Touch Mode is your ideal control scheme. It takes patience and a light fingertip, but it pays off.

The View

You may not want to trade in your PSP just yet, but the Nintendo DS has been trumped. In the visual department, games like A4:ER lend credence to Apple’s recent and not-so-subtle claim the the iPhone is now the best portable device for gaming. Lend, mind you. We’re not fanboys here, but the iPhone/iPod Touch platform is starting to score serious points in the graphics department. This racer is no slouch visually. 3D-rendered locations like San Francisco, Shangai, New York and Paris boast detailed cityscapes, snowfall effects, destructible environments like roadblocks, and a wealth of traffic for you to weave in and out of. Driving through the Shanghai night is especially enjoyable, as the skyscrapers light up the dark. There are some notable glitches, however. On occasion you’ll drive right through taxicabs, while other times you’ll crash into them. The frame rate also stalls briefly during a 3x Nitro boost, but in the general scheme of things, these are minor annoyances, and not deal breakers.

Aside from Spore: Origins, the graphics here are unrivaled on the iPhone. On a related note, there are also four in-game camera angles to choose from; another welcome feature.

Need For Burnout Turismo

As we mentioned above, A4:ER is a blend of Need For Speed, Burnout, and Gran Turismo. Each city has 4 to 5 different modes, encompassing Duel (1 on 1), Race (a grid of 8), Beat Em All (you must place 1st to continue), Cop Chase (toss a red siren on your car and take out the leader to win), and Cash Attack (use your skills to earn as much dough as possible). In most race modes, those skills will come into focus by drifting, taking down your competitors (Burnout “Road Rage” style), crashing into traffic, evading the police, getting airborne, and using a healthy supply of Nitro. The ability to take down your competitors, and even the cops, feels somewhat tacked on, but it does give you an advantage for taking an early lead - and keeping it. No “rubber band” effect here. If you race well, the AI won’t spring forward ahead of you inexplicably.

There’s one more unlockable component to add to your arsenal: girls. In truth, it’s merely an attractive way of giving your current ride a special ability. Sandra gives you maximum boost power, Michelle helps you evade the cops and reduces the money penalty if you’re arrested, and Julia gives you multipliers for using your various abilities. Once you unlock her at $1mil+, you’ll start raking in some serious cash.

A multiplayer over Wifi is also present here, though there are no servers on Gameloft’s end. Surprisingly, we tried to connect to, or host, a match but were continually met with “Searching for server.” Perhaps everyone else who owns this racer was playing one of the App Store’s other 750 games? Still, the single player experience is deep enough to make you quickly forget about multiplayer.

The Final Verdict

It’s a lengthy review for a mobile title, isn’t it? This should be your first clue that Asphalt 4: Elite Racing has an unusual amount of depth. About 12 races in, the game’s fun factor really starts to emerge. The AI difficulty ramps up, you begin adding some serious tweaks to your car, and the levels keep increasing in visual quality. After playing for 2 hours, I was only 25% complete, and couldn’t wait to recharge my iPhone and dive back in. It’s a far cry from the overload of casual, play it and forget it games on the App Store. Sure, it has some graphical glitches, and not all the control schemes are reliable, but the depth of options, multiple modes, and addictive gameplay more than make up for it’s inadequacies. Of the 8 or 9 racing titles available, Asphalt gets our most enthusiastic recommendation. If you can purchase only one, this is it. It shouldn’t be measured against next-gen racing titles, to be sure. But the largest contributing factor to our final score is simply this: After about 30 minutes, you may forget you’re playing this on your iPhone or iPod Touch.

*Review based on Version 1.2.7, provided by the publisher.

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