Asphalt 4: Elite Racing bears about as much relation to real street driving as playing Space Invaders does to piloting the Space Shuttle.

This Fast and Furious-style arcade racer puts the pedal to the metal from the word go, strapping you into a choice of blinged-up, nitro-packed street racers on urban courses from Paris to Dubai. If you like smashing down the accelerator, running rivals off the road and racking up wodges of cash while sticking two fingers up at the law, you’ll love Asphalt’s cheesy but easy gameplay.

After a few rounds, though, you’ll realise that it doesn’t really matter what power-ups you buy, or even whether you’re driving a Bugatti instead of a Mini Cooper. All the cars handle exactly the same, locked to the tarmac on the straights and only letting you drift at corners.

No matter how well (or poorly) you drive, you’ll never lose touch with the other racers and as long as you finish in the top three, you’ll zip through the game faster than Aston Martin Vantage through downtown LA.

Graphics are no better than average, with races suffering jerks and a painful lack of smoothness – just compare Asphalt to Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D and you’ll see what N-gage is really capable of. At least there’s head-to-head Bluetooth gaming (annoyingly, this can be jerkier still) and a choice of quick play modes (destruction derby, duel, cash run, chase) to keep it fresh.

Now that Asphalt has reached the grand old age of 4, you might expect it to have grown up. Sadly, Elite Racing is virtually identical to Asphalt 3, with just a few new cars and tracks. If you’re not tired of the crash-bang-wallop racing scene, Asphalt 4: Elite Racing will pass a few hours, otherwise just let it drift quietly off your radar.

Details

Price: £8

Rating: 3+

Size: 2MB

DOWNLOAD Asphalt 4: Elite Racing (N-Gage)