Feb
28
2013
The Real Racing Series has gained a reputation for pushing boundaries on the iPhone. The series pushes what is graphically possible on the iPhone, with every game pushing the hardware to look beautiful and on par with main stream game consoles.
The game also pushes realism for a smart phone with delicate handling and realistic car handling and performance, an arcade style racer this certainly is not, and now with Real Racing 3 everything is taken to the next level.
Now under the EA banner Real Racing is 2013′s first major mobile gaming release, and it’s clear from the moment that the game loads that this is certainly one of the most polished games available in the App Store.
To familiarise you with the game when it loads for the first time you are talked through a tutorial in the guise of your first race. The default controls are simple to use, turn the iPhone to the left and right to steer the car, touch the screen to break and acceleration is handled automatically, there are several different control settings so that you can pick the one that feels right for you.
The high quality of the graphics hit you straight away with incredibly detailed and well defined models, the real time light shading, shadows and reflections are akin to a AAA game on a traditional games console. This does though take its toll on some lower end iOS devices with reduced draw distances, even the relativly recent iPhone 4S sometimes hints at struggling under the strain, whilst on the iPhone 5 the game runs very smoothly an option to reduce detail on screen would have been nice. A nice touch is that second screen mirroring is supported so you can play the game on a big screen
Once in the game the structure will be familiar to those who have played a Real Racing game before, your first task is to choose your car from a number of cars available although not all cars are within your starting budget, you then race through a number of races and classes earning money along the way. Several new game modes are included in RR3, including a drag racing mode and knockout where every 20 seconds the car in final place gets disqualified from the race, these new modes are certainly welcome and add variety into the game.
Real Racing 3 takes a fascinating approach to multiplayer gaming, every single race is against real people but rather then having to worry about maintaining connections to many players, Real Racing 3 provides the racers track data so that you are racing against their ghosts. The game does as good job of finding equally matched opponents for you and as you invite your friends to the game you will find yourself racing against their ghosts as long as its a fair race. It’s a brilliant system and works very well indeed.
Real Racing 3 is free of change in the App Store and revenue from the game is generated through in App purchases with the user buying in game currency. Without spending in game currency repairs to your car take significantly longer then paying for a quick fix and it will take longer to acquire new cars. Whilst it doesn’t stop you playing and you don’t have to remain in app during down time, to have the game an option the buy the game outright would really be appreciated.
If your iPhone is up to the task and you don’t mind the in game payment system them Real Racing 3 is an incredible gaming experience.
By me075064 •
Games •
• Tags: iOS6, iPad, iPhone, Mulitplayer Games
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