Game: Asphalt 4 Elite Racing
Developer: Gameloft
Platform: DSi Ware, download only
Price: 800 DSi points ($8)
Pros: It’s a fun racing game, compares favorably with other DS titles
Cons: The iPhone version is only $1, the graphical resolution is a little weak
There just is no way to write this review without a little context. WAY back in the dark ages, Gameloft was the only game in town for quality iPhone racing. Asphalt 4 on the iPhone was praised for it’s graphical prowess, it’s 3d engine, and the joy of playing a “real” racer on the still-infant iPhone as gaming platform. Then came EA’s Need For Speed and, more recently, Firemint’s Real Racing. These pretty much blew Asphalt 4 off of many people’s iPhones as their racer of choice, due to the higher graphical quality and feature set. Asphalt 4 on the iPhone is showing its age.
Asphalt 4 came out on the iPhone at the price of $10, and has since dropped to $.99. If that holds true for the price on the DSi Shopping Channel (and I’ve seen nothing to support this potentiality), perhaps Gameloft will drop the price of Asphalt 4 for the DSi to something closer to the $1 it’s iPhone version is at now. Because, let’s face it, with a VERY similar game on the iPhone, who wants to spend 800 points ($8) on the DS version? Well, *I* might. And here’s why.
If we get away from the aforementioned marketing info for a moment, we might see through to what this game actually is: a competent take on arcade racing, easily downloaded, for $8. If I put the previous sentence at the top of the review, how differently would you feel? This is where reviewing games gets tricky. I’m a lucky guy – I get to review games for fun. I don’t usually have to pay for them (though I did pay for this one), and I can usually compare across versions to see which has the best value/performance ratio. Here’s my bottom line: if you have an iPhone or iPod Touch and a DSi, opt for the iPhone version. It’s a lot cheaper, and the game is almost identical. If you only have a DSi, you can do a LOT worse with the free 1000 points you got from Nintendo for upgrading your portable handheld. Like nintendo-themed clocks or calculators worse.
Asphalt 4 for the DSi gives you something the iPhone version doesn’t, and that’s control buttons. There is something comforting and performance-enhancing about having some tactile, 3D buttons to press on when racing. To drift, for example, you need to be pressing the A button for the throttle and turn the car left or right, and then hit the brake button (B) fairly quickly to go into a drift. Then you need to use the D Pad to keep the care from spinning off into the sides of the course. This is much easier when you can feel the buttons than when you cannot. That right there might be worth the price of admission.
Unlocking and customizing cars is a big joyful part of any racing game, and this one’s no different. From the BMW to the Corvette to the S50Z, the cars are fun to look at; “tuning” them up with extra engine and body parts is as much fun as you can imagine, especially when each part may or may not help or hinder your car’s performance (go ahead, read that again). Spend some time in this leveling up process and you might find yourself flipping back and forth between options for quite some time. It’s compelling gaming. There’s strategy in this process as well as in the races themselves — rationing powerboosts and knowing when to drift and brake as well as throttle are important gameplay mechanics that feel natural here.
The DS isn’t a graphical powerhouse, and the game shows it. The cars and tracks in this version of Asphalt 4 seem just a bit less solid, a bit more late-90s arcade coin-op era than on the iPhone. The racing is fun, and the many modes will keep you entertained for hours. As soon as I played this for any stretch of time, I soon forgot about the pixellated polygons, and just raced. Take downs are Burnout-style “take over the camera” style, though far less entertaining, and the voice overs are a bit over-the-top and helium-induced hilarious. It would be nice to play a custom soundtrack behind the racing, as with the iPhone version, but beggars can’t be choosers here. Let’s compare, though, to any other DS game – is this a good one? You bet it is. The whole experience doesn’t say “download game” at all. In fact, I might go so far to say that it’s worthy of a $19.99 price tag as you might see in your local DS-a-porium. This is a full racing game wiht 28 cars, a ton of race courses, and a bunch of different options and car enhancements. What’s it missing? Well, the girl in the iPhone version isn’t here, and I am sad about it (that’s sarcasm, folks).
Multiplayer? Yeah, the DSi is rockin some local multiplayer action. On the internet, though, no luck. This has been explained to me as being due to a poor matching system existing for the DS systems, but I can recall finding multiplayer games for MarioKart and Metroid long ago. You know, beFORE the Lite? That just can’t be true of this. Even the iPhone version has multiplayer and leaderboards online, though I’ve yet to actually get INTO a match, so the point is actually moot.
Silly me, I already put my bottom line near the top. Do you have an iPhone as well as a DSI? Grab the $.99 App Store version of this game. You’ll find out if you really like it that way for about $7 less. Got 800 points to spend, because you’re not a huge fan of March of the Minis (the only Nintendo-flavored download of similar pricing so far), then by all means grab this game. It has plenty to recommend it regardless of price, and the handheld itself adds to the value. Now look, I’ve already spent close to a thousand words trying to tell you what to do. Why are you still sitting here? Get out, get one version of Asphalt 4 Elite Racing or the t’other: they’re both worth your time and attention, and Gameloft will get to make more games with the money you spend on these. Case closed, right? TAKEDOWN! YOU WIN!
Popularity: unranked [?]
