Powerboat Challenge for N-Gage was released last week and we've managed to get our hands on a full working version to test out. This latest game takes the idea of a racing game and adds the extra element of water. So far so good, but how does it stack up against other racing games out there? Check out our Powerboat Challenge review and find out for yourself...

Racing games are nothing new to N-Gage – we even looked at Ducati Moto recently – but it's not so common to find one on water. Powerboat Challenge is being marketed by N-Gage as a game where you can pimp your ride, race against other 'cool dudes and dudettes' and generally feel as though you're living the life.

So, you get to choose from four characters with the obligatory big hair and cool names but you still need to start at the beginning. There are a variety of racing styles on offer, from four-way races to time trials. The basic premise is simple, steer your way around the buoys and you'll get a speed boost, fail and you'll power down.

We found this a little trickier than you may think, as you need to turn into a corner a lot sooner than you would with a land-based racing game. What's more, the resulting turn arc is bigger too, so making sure you don't crash into the bank and slow down is also a hazzard to watch out for.

The visuals are excellent for a mobile game with the backgrounds being obvious drop-ins but the polygon count on the boats looks high enough to offer a decent level of attention to detail. You can race in third-person mode or you can hunker down and get in the cockpit, which gives you a great view of what's going on and was our preferred view.

Sadly, the same quality can't be said for the music as it just doesn't really gel with the style of the game -  coming across more as soulless funk from some pre-club dinner bar than a cool racing game. We want the sound of engines roaring, the smell of the eco system in danger, in short we want rock!

Powerboat Challenge does have a degree of skill to it and the graphics are strong enough to carry it through. That said, it does suffer from the same problem we found with Ducati Moto in that you can let the game steer you a little too much at times, which is never a good idea. Still, we like the game and for £4 it's well worth getting to grips with.

Details

Price: £4

Size: 7MB

Download: N-Gage: Powerboat Challenge

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