Gameloft have presented us with well over a dozen quality racing games with their most recent addition to their Asphalt series being number 8: Airborne.
Initial impressions at the Play store indicate a continuance of good graphics, gameplay and a hot selection of cars. At just €0.89 it isn’t too pricey either so I thought it was worth a look.
The developers promise more tracks, a better career mode and live multiplayer. But does Asphalt 8 Airborne live up to its name? Let’s check it out.
Ready, Set, GO!
The first noticeable improvement is the home menu. They’ve gone for a tile interface this time around. It looks much better – particularly the live update sections showing your global rank and social media activity.
From here you’re brought into a quick tutorial to show off the new driving experience in Asphalt 8.
Nitro has been improved. As the bar drains a red section will appear; if you hit nitro again while this red bar is visible you’ll get an extra special boost.
Going around corners has a drift feature. All you have to do is press the brake as your turn to activate drift mode and rack up points.
Getting Airtime
As the title suggests, going airborne is a feature of this game. Each track has ramps which you can fly off of, and complete rotations or barrel rolls in mid air, gaining extra points for doing so.
Of course, jumping isn’t just for showing off. You can use the ramps to access hidden shortcuts and prizes located around the tracks.
The car selection in Asphalt 8 has been much improved with manufacturers from the US, Europe and Asia all represented. You can buy everything from a stock Chevy to a supercharged Lamborghini. Every car looks great with excellent attention to detail.
Enjoying the Scenery
When you crash your car the race camera will slow down offering you a full view of the impact, bending bodywork and shattering glass. Impacts are part of racing as the game enables you to spin opponents off the track.
The environment is also beautifully destructive with street signs and trash cans all fair game. Be careful, they have a tendency to fly over the car in front and smash your windscreen!
All in all, this is a visually stunning game with tracks such as Nevada (with its barren desert) and Tokyo with its wet, glimmering ground providing a gorgeous racing environment.
And while the sound effects are nothing special the games soundtrack rocks. Everything from electronic dance music to heavy metal is selectable from the in-race menu.
Go Online or Ghost Race?
The live multiplayer modes works great over WiFi connection but I still prefer the ghost mode as it has zero lag and doesn’t depend on other players being online. The games social media integration also makes it extremely easy to race against your friends ghost cars.
For game progression you need to rack up enough in-game currency. This enables you to unlock the next series of races in career mode. For the impatient you can always.
Final Thoughts
Overall Asphalt 8 is a fantastic racing game with great physics, gameplay, graphics and sound. The need to earn in-game currency as a progression toll can become tedious and annoying, particularly as the game isn’t free in the first place.
But I found the title to be extremely enjoyable and, given the selection of cars available, it’s a definite must for petrol-heads.
