Firemint’s Real Racing is the most expensive game I’ve downloaded from the App Store to date. Priced at just shy of ten bucks, it put a ton of pressure on itself to outpace the competition significantly. It’s like slapping a $100 price tag on a console game whose other titles are in the $30-$50 range. It’d better be good.
But, it appears to be worth every penny -- at least if you’re a fan of racing games. It doesn’t bring anything radically different to the racing world, but there’s no question that it looks and plays better than any other racing game for the iPhone. And if there is something that you don’t like about it, all you have to do is change it. Virtually every aspect of the controls is customizable. You can take full control of any of the 36 available vehicles, or you can sit back and let the game decide when to accelerate and brake for you. Not crazy about the up-close-and-personal first-person view? Take a step back by tapping a corner of the screen. And if you don’t like the ultra-tight accelerometer-based steering (which I highly doubt), you can customize that, too.
Real Racing has just about everything that you could ask for. A bunch of the other racing games that I’ve tried for this device offer say, five to ten courses and events. Real Racing gives you 12 tracks and an unbelievable 57 events in its career mode. Plus, you have your choice of four other modes as well – including a vastly impressive WiFi two-player mode. If you really get into it, you can set up a YouTube channel for Real Racing to automatically post your best laps.
The intensely crisp graphics really are remarkable when you compare them to the competition, and gameplay is about as smooth as you could hope for. And, Real Racing sounds just like, well, real racing. Check out a video here.
It’s a bit salty, but unless you hate racing games, you won’t be looking for a refund.
PROS: incredible graphics, tight handling, overflowing content
CONS: steep price, but worth it
