The pressure is consistently on the developer to deliver a top class game, that showcases the new hardware and satisfies the hardcore gamers who have paid precious money for their new gaming product.
Asphalt Urban GT was a launch title for the Nintendo DS in America, and was a launch title when the Nintendo DS launched in Australia this year, so does it burn rubber or finish last?
For a handheld with such a small library, it is obscure that there are three racing games already on the Nintendo DS. Asphalt Urban GT joins two established racing franchises Ridge Racer and Need for Speed, so the pressure is right on for the less established developer Gameloft.
Asphalt Urban GT is actually a port / upgrade to the N-Gage version which was released prior to the Nintendo DS version. The N-Gage game is impressive, but Gameloft really have improved the game immensely for the Nintendo DS version.
Screenshots really don't do this game justice.
There are more than twenty licensed cars in the game, ranging from Lamborghini's, Jaguars, Hummers, VW's and Audis. We're very impressed with the fully licensed cars as it makes the game feel more authentic, even though the game is, at its core, an arcade racer.
There are eight tracks featured in the game, and although they are fictional, they are set around recognisable locales such as New York, Miami, Paris and Tokyo. Despite the lack of detail in the cities, they are all very recognisable.
For those who like to "tune" their car there are over thirty tunable options, such as engine maintenance and bodywork. Those who don't like fiddling around with minor settings can let the game do it for you; it is, after all, an arcade racer.
The Nintendo DS's touch screen panel has yet to be put through its paces, and this is no different in Asphalt. The bottom screen only delivers a map of the track, and most of the heads up display is still on the top screen. Gameloft could have minimised the clutter on the top screen by making a lot of the options appear on the bottom screen, but the player's position and speedometer are still displayed on the top screen. The touch screen can also be used to navigate through menus, but in reality most gamers are unlikely to take their stylus out of the DS for this game. A rear view mirror is sorely missed.
Multiplayer support is included and up to four players can race against each other in three different modes. The multiplayer modes include a single race option, a championship mode and a cop chase mode, which is by far the best multiplayer game.
For those who like to play on their lonesome there are several single player modes to choose from, with the championship mode being the best. This plays out like a "mini career", with tournaments, cash prizes and cars to be unlocked. Although it is nowhere near the scale of Gran Turismo it is still a decent single player mode that doesn't feel as rushed as the rest of the game does.
Asphalt Urban GT really does feel like the kind of game we'd get if we combined Burnout, Ridge Racer and Need for Speed Underground 2 into one game. There are ramps, nitro and car modification, including incentives for risky driving.
We can honestly say we've never come across a scenario like this in the game.
As soon as we picked up Asphalt Urban GT we were pleased with the fact it runs at 60 frames per second. It is only about half an hour into the game that some of the annoying traits of the game begin to surface.
The collision detection of the game is a little awkward, and "smashing" into a car will often just slow down your car and bump your opponent further ahead. Crashing into the traffic in the game will make your car do a complete 360 spin and you can resume the race as normal, this makes the game a little forgiving at times and smashing can often mean losing no time at all.
It's also harder for us to judge the graphics, while the frame-rate is brilliant, the detail in the cars and tracks isn't that much more updated than a Gameboy Advance title. The default viewpoint of the game needs to be changed as well so that cars don't creep up out of your line of sight.
The audio appears to have been focused on, the engine noises are authentic and sound much better on the Nintendo DS than the Gameboy Advance audio sounds. The soundtrack isn't overly loud or quiet, it takes a secondary focus in comparison to the rest of the game.
The championship mode is long enough to last most people a significant amount of time, while Asphalt Urban GT isn't as long as Underground 2 it does have a lot of replay value. We would have appreciated the game being a little longer, but the time constraints that Gameloft are under would have meant the rest of the game would have suffered.
Thank god for that map.
Asphalt Urban GT is a solid racing game that will last most racing fans a decent amount of time. At times it feels a little rushed, and the game play can become very frustrating, (especially when a bad collision loses an entire race in the last few stages) but the game has licensed cars, famous cities, runs at 60 frames per second and is very easy to pick up and play.
It really is a shame that Gameloft were under such a tight schedule because Asphalt Urban GT had the opportunity to be one of the best portable racers ever, we anticipate a sequel will spawn on the Nintendo DS eventually, and we hope the touch screen is implemented a bit better than in the form of a map.
If you're looking for a reliable racing game that is arcadey and really easy to pick up, then look no further than Asphalt Urban GT.
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