On rare occasions I will tell you to go and grab a game immediately and then come back and read this review…….this is one of those occasions and to be honest what do you have to lose when all you’ll be spending is 99 cents on a universal app that will work on both your iPhone and iPad should you be lucky enough to have both.
You may be thinking, especially if you already have Asphalt 6, why should I even spend more money on the next version of Gamelofts arcade racer and the simple answer is this, it’s Bigger, Better, Faster and there’s more of it, so much in fact this review may only scratch the surface of all the features that are packed into this racing game.
If you have played any of Gamelofts games before then you will know what to expect when it comes to sound and graphics, and in Asphalt7 Heat they continue to lead the way a rainbow of electric lights that illuminate 15 different tracks from all around the world and with a pumping soundtrack the game is a dream to both see and hear.
There are four control options to choose from so you are bound to find one that suits your driving preferences, from using the accelerometer, on screen steering wheel or the screen itself the controls work very well, and you can also choose from auto or manual acceleration depending on your preference.
The quality of the controls are highlighted due to the fact that you can jump straight into Quick Play mode and start winning races immediately. Quick Race is just the beginning though, as the Career, Online and Multiplayer modes are where the real value comes in.
The Career Mode is spread over 13 cups each with 4 different races and these include normal races, elimination, knockdown, paint job and king of the hill which all offer slightly different variations on driving as fast as you can around the streets of the world.
As you work your way through the career mode you’ll have the ability to unlock and upgrade a great range of licensed cars, from a Mini Cooper S to the Shelby GT 500, from a BMW Z4 to the Lamborghini Countach and everything in between. There are 60 cars in total so there should be something for everyone.
The cars handle as well as you would expect for an arcade racer, the game relies heavily on drifting but this is relatively easy to control, early on at least, only when you start to unlock the bigger, faster cars does it get a little trickier, by the time you unlock them though you’ll be well practised, right?
Of course you don’t have to work through the game and earn your racing stripes to unlock all the flash cars, instead you can purchase your in game dollars by spending your hard earned dollars via in-app purchase but it’s well balanced, meaning that if you are willing to put the time in you can achieve your rewards without the need of spending above and beyond the original $1 outlay.
The online options are really where the game comes to life and it does this in two ways. First up is the online multi-player where you can race against your friends, and enemies, in any combination of race types and locations. The online mode works well, the games come thick and fast and there is relatively little slow down, it adds a whole new dimension to the gameplay that will keep you playing Asphalt 7 for a long time to come, or at least until Asphalt 8 comes out!
If you don’t want to want to race against people online in real time you can choose the weekly event that makes up the Asphalt Academy and see how far up the world rankings you can get.
With the game being a universal app it’s good to see that your progress can be transferred between devices. Asphalt Tracker allows you to transfer your progress between devices using either Facebook, or Gameloft’s own servers and while this isn’t quite as seamless as iCloud syncing would be it works and prevents you having to play the game twice across all of your devices.
Asphalt Tracker also enables you to send offline challenges to your friends via Gameloft which just adds more depth to an already deep game and that’s before mentioning the goals are Gameloft’s equivalent of GameCenter Achievements.
After all this eulogizing you’d think that perhaps I didn’t have anything bad to say about the game, that’s not the case. Asphalt 7’s all about social gaming and this takes the form of Facebook integration, the problem with this is though that between races and for every earned goal you are prompted to confirm whether or not you want to publicize the achievement and if you don’t want to bombard your Facebook newsfeed with your progress it can get a little frustrating.
If you’ve got this far and have not been simultaneously downloading Asphalt 7 on your iOS device you have permission to do so now!
[rating: 5/5]What we like
What to know
[rating: 4.5/5]
Taco Master Review: The latest game by Chillingo is a fun time management game. Take orders and create delicious tacos as fast as you can to complete the game.
The gameplay is simple. You are given orders to make which you then select the correct ingredients and create the taco and finally give it to the customer. All must be created within a time limit and you have to reach a set amount of orders on each level.
The main game mode is career mode. When you first start at the beginning of each level it will tell you how many orders you need to make to move on to the next level. Then you will be shown the ingredients of items that can be placed inside to make the order. At the top of the screen is where your order will appear. You tap on it and it opens up to tell you what that customer requires. Then you get on and create it.
To create a taco you drag and drop a taco shell first then do the same for what ever ingredients are needed inside it. When it is ready then drag it to the order card and it will make the order disappear if you have completed it, if there are still more needed for the order then you just carry on until all are completed.
The customer orders will not stay there all the time though. After a set amount of time if they have not been served the order card will begin to shake. A sign that you need to hurry up and start making it for them. If you make one taco and pass it to them then it will stop shaking for a short while, but watch out as it will start up again. If you don’t make the order in time it will disappear and it will then be one less order on your target sheet.
The first handful of levels are very easy and I wasn’t sure if it was going to be any of a challenge at all but then as I progressed further it did quicken the pace a little.
You can make several tacos also on your tray at once which is ideal for when making a lot of the same orders. Another tip is to drag more than one item at a time just so you are working faster. The orders will disappear quick.
Once you have completed all the orders then the level ends. If you have enough orders you move on to the next level. If you have not then the game is over and you have to try that level again.
The career mode is where you work your way through the whole of the game. The other modes to play are Arcade which is where you play a level and see how high you can score in orders and money. This level needs to be unlocked first by completing several levels in the career mode. The last mode is Time Attack which again is locked. To unlock this you have to gift the app to several friends, although as you progress the amount of friends you have to gift reduces.
Taco Master {$.99} is integrated with Crystal to compete with friends online with your high score. It would have also be great if they added Game Center too. The game is accompanied with some catchy music although there was no Mexican feel to it which may have been nice to add the right sort of atmosphere.
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