![]() ![]() The game's also slow to cycle back to your garage or load the next race. ![]() There were some screen twitches during gameplay, too, which was a little surprising for the polished experience Gameloft has developed. The mark of a good game is how well it gets under your skin, and Asphalt 6 is addictive enough that you'll want to go back and get all those stars, if you can. You can easily go back and try any race again to try for a better finish. I didn't manage to get all the stars I could have, so finishing the last race was anticlimactic. There are star ratings you earn for each race, and the higher the total, the more stuff unlocks. It doesn't take a lot of determination to move up to the final race, set in Los Angeles. ![]() The XPERIA Play I tested used Verizon's 3G network, and online performance without a WiFi connection can be frustrating. Multiplayer racing is supported by Asphalt 6, and you can play against local phones or play online with a Gameloft Live account. Other events include "collector" races, where you're tasked with picking up as many items laid out on the track as possible "beat 'em all" races, in which you actively seek out opponents and run them off the course and traditional races. Some races are drift events in which sliding sideways through the entire circuit is the goal. The screen is also too dim for environments like bright outdoor settings, even with its brightness turned up all the way, making it that much harder to not crash. It also makes figuring out where to go a little easier because the course becomes clearly marked. If you're lucky enough to get a purple bar across the top of the screen – indicating maximum boost – it'll help you sweep aside any competitors who cross your path. The nitro boosters you can pick up make it especially confusing because the speed then goes through the roof. This might be a quirk exclusive to the graphics ability of the XPERIA Play, but it seems more deeply rooted in the game than that, and it's likely to be the same experience on the other devices that the game supports, like iPhones and other Android phones. Even with adjustable sensitivity, the accelerometer isn't a satisfying way to try and drive.ĭespite the high-quality visuals, there are times when, at high speed, you can't make out where the track goes. Either I suck at using that kind of controller, or that kind of controller sucks. Trying to steer via accelerometer with the phone's sturdy slide-out control pad stowed resulted in me crashing a lot. For an old guy who's thumbs still bear the scars of hours spent driving 8-bit NES cars, the classical controls were immediately familiar. I chose to bomb around the tracks using the classic Playstation controls, though the game can also use the phone's accelerometer to detect steering input if you're cool with flailing around and treating a five-inch rectangular slab like a steering wheel. As you have success racing, you pick up new sponsors, decals and tuning enhancements to your vehicle's speed, handling and nitro capacity. There are 12 different circuits, including New York, Havana, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Reykjavik and the Bahamas, and it's easy to advance from the bottom ranks and start winning money, unlocking vehicles and filling your virtual garage with 40 different pieces of coveted iron (car list below). There's also multiplayer and free-race modes that enhance the Asphalt 6: Adrenaline experience by letting you race without messing with your career earnings.Īsphalt 6: Adrenaline, the XPERIA Play's flagship driving game, is engaging, with good video quality. They might not have been amused, but I was. I sat across from a client at lunch one day, conquering a tricky drift race in Shanghai. ![]() In this way, the XPERIA Play lets you get a driving fix anytime, anywhere. Running the Android Gingerbread (2.3) operating system, the Sony Ericsson XPERIA Play has most of the conventional smartphone tricks up its sleeve, but what makes it unique is the way it slides open to reveal a Playstation-style controller. This smartphone is a great companion for the gadget-savvy car lover who loves games and tech. Instead, this test-drive of the new XPERIA Play smartphone proves that a home-based gaming system is so 1988. I don't own a console, and I don't have any plans to change that. This is what happens when you play a good driving game, and I have towering pillars of unfinished assignments surrounding me in the real world to prove it. As you probably suspect, none of it is real, not even the crazy Ducati motorcycle. In the last two weeks, I've managed to start out with a Mustang GT and race my way to more than $4.2 million in cash reserves and a garage filled with a tricked-out Porsche 911, a couple Ferraris, a Lamborghini Estoque (one of my favorites for drifting) and the workmanlike Nissan GT-R, to name a few. Because of Asphalt 6: Adrenaline on the new Sony XPERIA Play, my productivity is down. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |