Publisher/Developer: Gameloft
Genre: Racing
Price: $6.99
Acquired: Review Copy Provided
Verdict: A major improvement over Asphalt 4 and bodes well for Asphalt 6.
Pros: Horizon leveling controls, improved graphics, easy to use drift mechanic, fun to play
Cons: Framerate struggles, vaseline covered lens effect, Cop Chase

As a person who bought Asphalt 4 (for 10 bucks!) and felt it was a somewhat weak port, I wish I would have held out for Asphalt 5.  This feels much more like a native iPhone game, designed for the hardware from the ground up and it does everything it can to create a ‘Burnout meets Ridge Racer-like’ arcade experience on the go.

Fresh off the showroom floor.

First off, if you are looking for a racing sim, this ain’t it.  If you played Asphalt 4, then you already know the score.   This is an arcade racer  with a career mode added for a bit of longevity by earning cash and upgrading your sled.  These modes include: time trials, drift contests, duel mode, escape, cop chase and more.  The elimination mode where you take out a certain number of rivals gets a tad ridiculous when you’re in cop mode, but getting an appropriate vehicle (much like Burnout Paradise, where vehicle type changed the challenge level significantly) and overpowering them will send those boys in blue back to the donut shop fast.  There are plenty of cars to unlock, and they are real makes and models blessed by the manufacturer.  There are over 30 types including the Ferrari California, Lambo Murcielago LP, and Bugatti Veyron;  they even threw in a few bikes for good measure.  It’s like having your own Top Gear show and you get to play the Stig. Gameloft really packed a ton of kick-ass rides in this game.  Asphalt 5 also boasts 12 locales like Vegas, Aspen, and San Tropez.

The most noticeable change made from Asphalt 4 to Asphalt 5 is to the controls.  Much like Backbreaker, the devs realized that using the accelerometer to steer only really works with an ‘auto-leveling horizon’ feature.  While not as smooth of an implementation as Backbreaker, it helps tremendously to actually use this control type to help keep your ride on the road.  The standard touch and wheel controls are still here, but using the default accelerometer is the way to roll.  The car puts it to the floor on its own, you just steer, break, drift, and turbo.  By tapping the break once you enter drift mode and by tapping it again you level out.  While it is extremely unrealistic, and it feels like the whole game is just bouncing around the track with little damage, it adds a Ridge Racer drift element that make the game even more fun.  You can even move the camera back for a larger view of the action.

Bending corners.

The graphics, no doubt, will be the real selling point behind this game, as it really pushes the limits of the device.  Truth is, it’s not all perfect in eye-candy-land.  Even on my 3GS, the game did not feel as fluid as it should have and the frame rate really stuttered when there was a traffic jam around a corner.  The 3GS incorporates a graphical effect that doesn’t seem to appear on the older 3G hardware. There may have been a technical reason to add the ‘vaseline cam’, but I wish you could turn it off.  The whole game seems fuzzy and smudged; it’s not drastic but it’s enough to notice.  You may not be bothered by it, and chalk it up to style, but some will want a crisper experience.  Still, the game does look outstanding and the assets are modeled extremely well with beautifully colored environments.  Little touches like smoke from tires, snowflakes on the windshield, and the blur of neon really add to the game.  The camera will sweep through the track prior to the race, which shows off how impressive the work Gameloft has done here really is.  The track design is very well done and proves some time and work went into the design.  Like Burnout, there are shortcuts, jumps, and multiple paths that keep the replay value high.  Gameloft even added push notifications for game updates.  Overall, the presentation here is really top notch.

Where we're going, we don't need roads.

Like most of the latest big name releases, Asphalt 5 supports multi-player via Bluetooth (6 player local match) and Wi-Fi.  Global leaderboard domination is your goal and Gameloft has created a community site at asphalt-5.com where you can join the “Asphalt Academy”.  It’s not something everyone will even care about, but it is a testament to what you are getting for 7 bucks.  The game also uses an in-dash Alpine to create your own track list from your existing iPod collection.  Pretty slick.

How eclectic, and that's just the 'A' titles.

If you are even remotely a fan of arcade racers then I suggest you get this game right now.  If you felt burned by Asphalt 4, I am right there with you.  But this is where Gameloft should have started, and if they can get the engine more optimized, we could have a perfect arcade racing game with Asphalt 6.