Real Racing review

Without any traditional button controls, the iPhone might not initially seem like a good choice of platform for racing games. However, there's a whole lot of competition for the top spot. The latest contender is Real Racing from Firemint. 

As the title suggests, it's a shamelessly realistic game that far outclasses anything currently available on the iPhone in those terms. Through six different tournaments, you get to race hatchbacks, touring cars and high-powered muscle cars, a generous 36 in total.  

Real Racing's forte is in its accurate and involving physics. Get inside with the in-car view and you can tell the very moment your car starts to lose its grip on the road thanks to the audio and visual signs. Although the graphics are fairly sober, featuring more track than larger-than-life scenery, they're still undeniably gorgeous, with cars looking lifelike and the scenery tearing past at a fair old lick. 

You can control your vehicle using one of four different control schemes- two each for accelerometer and touch controls. To start with, the game defaults to adding on a hefty amount of auto-braking to ease new players in. Although this makes Real Racing accessible, it also makes it feel a bit like a kart racer. 

Ease auto-braking back, which you can do any time thanks to a handy menu slider, and the game comes into its own. Go into a corner too fast and you'll skid off into the mud, likely to be passed by half of your opponents. Manage your turns correctly and the feeling of satisfaction you'll get is hard to beat.  

Real Racing's consistent physics engine means that when you do misjudge your turns, you don't end up cursing the game, but rather wishing you had a little more time to get better at it. The sheer quality of the content- the tracks, the AI, the overall experience- means that Real Racing lasts a lot longer than a cursory whiz through each of the tournaments. 

Each tournament has three difficulty levels, unlocked gradually as you complete more races. Play through these and you'll see your skill increase along with the difficulty curve, as long as you're willing to put a bit of effort in yourself too. The sheer quantity of cars to unlock means that you never feel like the game stagnates as you repeat the tracks though. 

Even when you have played the tournaments to death and run your personal best times into the ground, etching them into tarmac of every curve, you can go online and challenge other Real Racing obsessives.

Thanks to Cloudcell connectivity, you can compete directly with other players or upload YouTube videos of your replays. Although not the breeziest or most light hearted of racers, if you've got even the slightest interest more realistic racing fun, Real racing is a must have.