Nokia has been making a lot of noise lately about their Ovi Maps application and how they expect developers to start to use map data in their own programs. Ovi Maps Racing is an excellent example of this - a racing game that lets you tear around the maps of real-life cities. Sat-nav and racing games is a great idea so we had to check it out, find out how we got on with our Ovi Maps Racing review...
Racing games for your mobile are nothing new but, in most games, once you have worked your way around the carefully designed tracks there is just nowhere to go. Not so with Ovi Maps Racing, which not only comes packed with sample tracks but will let you race around real world locations using data snarfed from Ovi Maps.
Maps can be chosen in a number of ways. You can choose one of a pretty comprehensive list of courses, pick a major city and plot your own route using the track designer or - our favourite - let the game use your GPS to design a track based on your current location. Which ever way you choose, what you end up with is something a little like the earlier Grand Theft Auto games (or the new GTA: Chinatown Wars, as seen on the DS and iPhone), that is to say pseudo-3D, viewed from above as though you are watching a car chase from a helicopter.
Because this is an app built for Symbian S60 5th Edition phones and the developers can't assume anything in the way of physical keys, the controls are very simple. touch a virtual button on the left of the screen to go left, right to go right. acceleration happens automatically. Simple - but a bit of a pain. The display doesn't rotate with your turns, so you are often left trying to turn while facing the wrong way. It gets easier after a bit of practice but it could have been better, we think. Add to that the fact that you are always going forwards.. well, that just means you can't break or reverse, which makes navigating narrow streets a little tricky.
Gameplay consists of following a preplanned route through the city area of your choice. There are no other cars on the road, no obstacles save the buildings that line the roads. Your course is indicated by a directional arrow that shows you where to turn next. This arrow seemed to get confused sometimes, sending us in tight circles or down blind alleys with irritating frequency. With the control issues you could say that Maps Racing is a challenging game, its just not challenging in the way the designers intended.
On the other hand, that isn't what Maps Racing is all about. There is something undeniably cool about screeching your 2D tires around roads that you are familiar with, and the game is just about enjoyable enough to ensure that you will want to try out a variety of tracks. Even the dullest of doctor's waiting rooms could be enlivened by doing a virtual ton around the roads outside, after all. As a proof of concept, Maps Racing is great, and we look forward to future version that run even further with the idea.
Details
Price: Free (limited time only!)
Size: 8.5 MB
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