AppGamers

Okay, this game is pure genius. The gameplay consists entirely of timing moves for your little man in a business suit to execute, WHILE BREAKDANCING, in order to keep his pace and reach the goal before the timer runs out. It is loaded with wacky Japanese goodness, including a rhythm section at the end of every level. The crazy factor most closely resembles that of a old playstation game I have called Incredible Crisis (which is a must-play); while the gameplay is completely different, the humor and style is similar. Over the course of the 9 game levels, you will accomplish all of the following important tasks:

1. Moonwalk with Santa…on the moon
2. Ski down a dinosaur’s back
3. Disco-dance with a panda
4. Play Baseball with a man in a Godzilla suit
5. Get a kiss from a Swedish maid
6. Line-dance with Japanese schoolgirls
7. Slam dunk on a 20’ rim
8. Do the robot…with a robot

By the way, if you play through the whole game, you will be able to visit both heaven and hell. Buy this game and make Konami filthy rich.

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As you can see, interior graphics = acceptable, exterior graphics = horrible, but what really matters here is the gameplay and I like it. You drag race against an opponent, hopefully win money, upgrade your car. Wash, rinse, repeat. The upgrades are actually quite useful and range from simple paint jobs to necessary performance mods, such as exhausts systems, nitro, and engine upgrades. All mods follow a strict rule-set with regard to weight and such, which is actually somewhat believable. The shift controls are sometimes wonky, which can be frustrating, but you can make up for a miss-shift if u got skillz. It’s definitely not for everyone, but if you are looking for something different, this could be it.

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This is a hard one to review. The graphics are amazing, not quite on par with Real Racing, but close, with all the rain effects and such. It’s a rally game, though, in which the developers focused intently on car damage, but then included no other cars. Yes, rallies are all about your time, but games are all about fun and beating an opponent is more fun that beating a clock. Your car will take damage not only from slamming into walls, which I personally do all the time, but just from running along the dirt edges of the track. It is a good game otherwise, so I’ll stop slamming it, but you’ve been warned.

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This is a really fun game that is a good showcase for the technical abilities of the platform. The developers were able to get quite a few racers on-screen simultaneously with lush backgrounds and kewl dirt effects. There are several modes to play and tons of content to unlock, so it seems like it will have staying power. The tilt-to-steer controls work fine and it actually feels kinda like you are steering an ATV. You can preload for jumps to get extra boost and allow for trick completion. There are several tricks you can perform, but I really wish there was more ceremony associated with them; all you get is an animation, no effects or shout-outs. All in all, this is a really solid entry into the racing genre and feels very console-like.

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Rock ‘n Roll Racing with somewhat awkward controls.

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Basically, MicroMachines on your iPhone; attempt to loosely steer your miniature car around the kitchen table. It has tons of levels and clean graphics, but the complete lack of other racers is a bit off-putting. Just You vs. Celery Stalk.

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This is a somewhat low-rent obstacle race that came out of nowhere. The accompanying graphics, as you can see, are very Wipeout/Designer Republic influenced. The gameplay consists of flying insanely fast, through a series of obstacles. Speed increases over time and barrel rolls increase it as well. Hit the tilt button to squeeze through 90 degree slots.

Update: The developers have added two new ships and have promised more content too, but it has yet to surface.

This Firemint racing sim finally dropped and it is outstanding; tons of cars (48, although not licensed), tons of tracks (12), good controls (with several control types), good AI, decent feeling of speed (especially in cockpit view), and online league competition. The career mode is extensive, with almost 80 events in which to participate. An impressive local wifi multiplayer mode allows 6 players to battle it out. Yes, I wish it had a mini-map, but it’s a sim (and I’m a cry baby). This game raises the bar.

Update: Just a point of interest: the shipping version allowed 6 cars on-screen with no slowdown whatsoever, but the Firemint crew did a test to demonstrate the capabilities of the iPhone 3GS and they were able to handle 20 cars on-screen simultaneously!

The latest Wipeout clone to hit the iPhone, with 16 tracks and 10 hovercrafts. It was hyped to be the game that would blow Low Grav Racer outta the water…or air, rather…but it’s not all that. While there was annoying wall-drag in the original Wipeout, it seems particularly annoying here and you’ll find yourself popping your shield to mitigate damage from the walls, not the other racers. Which brings up my other point; enjoy the view of the hovercrafts in the above screenshot, as it’s the last time you will see them. You’ll either be well in front of them in Easy mode or well behind them at the top level of difficulty. You rarely see other racers and, since they have no top-view, mini-map track display, it rarely feels like a race either. Another annoying problem is that the tilt controls turn the screen red, when it is tilted too far, for some unexplained reason, so you find yourself tilting until it is red and then easing off repeatedly, which sucks. The feeling of speed is lacking too, unless you hit every boost pad. P.S. – the weapons suck. The devs could build a solid game on this framework, if they would do a balance pass and some polish, but right now it’s not a top-tier title, as was promised.

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This is one of the best looking racers on the app store and it is full-featured to boot; 8 different modes, 20 licensed cars, performance mods, exterior mods, intentionally dated Miami Vice style FMV cut-scenes, and boosh nitro. The AI rubber-banding is a little overkill, but it keeps the action level high. My biggest complaint is that there is no gas pedal. HUH? Yeah, your car just speeds up constantly unless you brake. I know you want your iPhone game to be approachable, but come on, that’s the point of racing! I’m probably over-critical of this point, but maybe it is because no one really seems to care. Anyway, it is a good racing game, regardless.

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