Asphalt 5 Review For iPhone and iPod Touch

So, you like environments whizzing past you at break neck speeds, beautiful women telling you how well you’re doing, and glamorous cars waiting to be driven as fast as possible. Sounds like you have the need for speed… oh, wait – I mean Asphalt. Ashphalt 5 by Gameloft is there newest version of the hit series Need for Speed.

Review

Asphalt 5 is another game released by Gameloft that includes almost no innovation by itself, but that’s not a bad thing. While there are plenty of Indie developers developing fantastic, one of a kind games, Gameloft copies what has already been done well on PC and this generation consoles. Gameloft makes no exceptions with Asphalt 5. With its solid graphics and great gameply, Asphalt 5 tops the list of racing sims on the iPhone and iPod Touch platforms.

There are three game types to keep you busy in Asphalt 5: single race, career and multiplayer over Wi-Fi or bluetooth. The only caveat with multiplayer is you must be connected via Wi-Fi in order to race over the Internet as 3G is not supported. With the most popular play mode, career, there are 12 locations to play through with eight different racing events like drift contest, cop chase, time attack, duel mode, last man standing and escape. Sound familiar? It is if you’ve played any of highly popular Need For Speed games. The goal of career mode is to win money, advance your level, and unlock new cars and car upgrades. New car upgrades include engine, handling, boost and of course paint upgrades. The higher the level you earn, the more cars that are unlocked for purchase, and the more upgrades you can purchase for those cars.

The controls in Asphalt 5 are accelerometer driven. I’m always very skeptical any time a game uses the accelerometer to control any aspect of a game on the iPhone or iPod Touch, but on Asphalt 5, the controls work very well. In fact, they work just as well as any other top racing sim for the iPhone and iPod Touch. As with any racing sim that uses the accelerometer, it does take some getting used to, but the time it takes to learn it is very minimal.

Multiplayer in Asphalt 5 is there, but it’s hardly anything to be excited about, but it works. If you’re really into racing with people online, hop on and give it a try, but don’t expect anything above average. Stay with the single player because the depth and and overall racing simulation fun keeps you coming back – especially for an iPhone game.

Recommendation

Ashphalt 5 by Gameloft is a fantastic value for $6.99. It’s a great racing sim that keeps you on your toes just like the Need For Speed series. If you’re at all into racing sims and you’re looking for one you can take anywhere, pick up Asphalt 5. You won’t regret it.