Overview
Real Racing is an authentic racing sim built for the iPhone. This game seems very similar to Gran Turismo in a lot of different ways. This is deluxe championship racing on the iPhone with 8 different championship events.
Get behind the wheel of nearly 50 different cars, and experience racing like you never have before on the iPhone. Race through beautiful landscapes for the gold either against the computer, your friends, or anyone around the world.
Features
A boat load of features are included in Real Racing. Firemint has done a great job in listing all the features in the
item description. The main highlights are five gameplay modes: career, wifi multiplayer, online leagues, quick race, and time trial.
In career mode you advance through four classes of cars: Hatch, Sedan, Muscle, and Exotic. Each class has a time trial and two events, and each event has three divisions: A, B, and C. So in total there are 76 events to completely immerse yourself in. With the 1.10 update there are now 48 cars with 12 brand new exotic ones.
One of the best features is the control method with five different types allowing everyone to find one that fits their racing style. Also with the 1.10 update you can now use the OS 3.0 feature of incorporating your own playlist in the game. Maybe the neatest feature is the ability to play six cars in wifi multiplayer. Another feature is break-assist which can be cranked up to feel like arcade racing, or turned off completely for a truly real racing experience.
The Good
There is a lot to like with real racing beginning with the outstanding racing experience. You actually feel like you're driving in a realistic competitive race. In turns you need to apply the breaks, you speed changes based on the type of terrain you're on, and the AI doesn't make mistakes.
The visuals are absolutely stunning, and even more so for the iPhone. I haven’t seen a better looking game to date. The cars are designed nicely and the tracks and backgrounds are amazingly detailed. The best aspect is the racing graphics as the six cars speed along the track grazing each other, skid around curves, and their tires smokin’.
In every single race, every aspect of racing sounds authentic. When you take off, your tires are squealing, and depending on the sharpness of the curve your tires also squeal appropriately. The car accelerates in perfect harmony, with each gear shift having the appropriate sound. Not only are there real racing sounds, but a ten track library is included that play nicely in the background.
The game is also made to fit any person that plays it. There are five control modes, a calibration feature, tilt sensitivity adjustment, and two camera modes: in-car and external. I found that playing with Control B, and in car camera mode made a perfect racing experience.
There is plenty to do in this game, and you’ll find yourself playing it for a long time. Just simply going into career mode provides hours of entertainment, with four classes, two circuits per class, and three divisions per circuit. The game saves your career progress, but not in race progress. Then there is the outstanding wifi multiplayer allowing you and five friends to burn rubber.
The Bad
It was tough to find some bad things with Real Racing. I guess the biggest problem is the price of $9.99 which may seem like a lot currently in the App Store. You could buy ten $0.99 games that are really good instead, so it’s up to you.
The game works perfectly at what it sets out to do: provide a realistic racing experience on the iPhone. Some people might be arcade racing fans though, and this game could be a turn-off. Granted you can crank up break-assist, and it feels like an arcade racing game. Also there was occasionally slight choppiness (though I'm using a 1st gen iPhone).
The Verdict
Firemint truly has created ‘Real’ Racing on the iPhone. This is absolutely the best racing game on the iPhone, and rivals Gran Turismo for the PSP. The visuals and sounds may be the best on the iPhone, and there are hours of fun to be had. The price is the biggest concern with this title, but if you’re even remotely interested in racing on the iPhone $9.99 will feel like a bargain.
The championship races are as fun and intense as can be. Real Racing is an amazing game for the iPhone that is an absolute must not only for realistic racing fans, but anyone who owns an idevice.
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