Asphalt: Injection

Introduction

Like a family station wagon, the Asphalt racing series has been around the track quite a few times since its inception in 2004. Beginning life as a mobile phone, N-Gage and Nintendo DS release, the franchise has since found itself on a plethora of different platforms, with a strong footing on Apple’s iOS devices. To say that Gameloft has been busy working on these games over the years would be an understatement, having released approximately eight different iterations of its boost-filled racer to date. The last one on that list happens to be Asphalt: Injection, a cumulative launch title for Sony’s PlayStation Vita handheld.

The Game Itself: Our Reviewer's Take

If one was to dissect Asphalt: Injection, they would find hints of other popular racers like Burnout, San Francisco Rush and Need For Speed within its digital recipe. At its core, the experience is that of an arcade racing game where speed is king and finesse is only of minor importance. Not surprisingly, boosting is the key to finding your digital automotive contraption on the podium at the end of each race. That is, if an unfortunate crash or annoying catch-up artificial intelligence doesn’t ruin the planned party at the checkered finish line.

From a design standpoint, this racer is about as formulaic as they come, with all of the aforementioned borrowed elements being quite noticeable. You have the worldly tracks from the Need For Speed series, with their branching shortcuts, which sometimes turn out to be lengthier than the main road. Then, there’s the crash-based elimination system from Burnout, where opposing racers try their best to slam their competition into the guardrails for a brief moment of freedom. Last, but not least, is intensely fast and arcade-style gameplay that is reminiscent of something one would have found on an arcade cabinet quite a few years ago. Needless to say, it’s not exactly the most original game on the market – a complaint that has been levied upon some of Gameloft’s other projects.

Upon booting up this release, racing fans will encounter a menu that is comprised of two different single player gameplay options. It’s a rather standard list, which includes genre stalwarts Free Race and Career. The first one happens to be pretty straightforward, allowing for a select race type to be played out on one of the game’s global tracks. It’s the second and third options that provide the brunt of the action.

While gearing up to start a new career, it’s important to take note that this is a mobile gaming franchise. As a result, one can expect a star-based scoring system. Each event provides five different gaseous light sources for players to unlock, with three reserved for placement within the actual competition. The other two will unlock once certain requirements are met, such as earning a certain amount of drift points or elimination crashes. Other times, the goal will be to limit the amount of crashes sustained.

Although that mentioned design features a rather basic formula, it works for this type of game. If the secondary challenges weren’t there, this would be a rather one-note experience without much in the way of variety. Those secondary objectives end up creating a need for thought when approaching a new event; something that aids the experience.

Jumping into the main mode, the goal is to earn enough stars in one championship to move onto the next. There are well over twenty different series to race through. Each series contains five different events of varying types. There’s the standard race type, alongside orb collection, crash limitation and opponent elimination challenges. That happens to only be the start of a rather lengthy list, which also includes cop evasion, time attack and drift point challenges. It’s tough to fault that list and its variety, although it can be said that there’s nothing innovative to be found.

At times, Asphalt: Injection is an enjoyable game with high-intensity racing action. However, this design includes an annoying side effect, which can lead to quite a bit of frustration. Mentioned previously in this review is the fact that this game includes rubber-banding artificial intelligence. What that means is your lead is never safe. Opponents will skyrocket ahead and one crash can put you at the back of the pack once again. Using well-timed boosts is important in order to succeed, but even then, it won’t create a cushion of any sorts.

From the beginning, opponents’ vehicles seemed to have the edge in the speed category. Buying new cars would help, but their ability to catch-up was evident in just about every race. Picking up three different boost power-ups to engage an overdrive mode was the best asset available, as any vehicle encountered could be taken out with one hit. Not only that - its speed boost and neat-looking neon effect could be used to go from fourth to first. You’d need a couple of those abilities to go from the back of the pack to number one, however, as other cars can create a sizeable cushion for themselves.

From the beginning, opponents’ vehicles seemed to have the edge in the speed category. Buying new cars would help, but their ability to catch-up was evident in just about every race. Picking up three different boost power-ups to engage an overdrive mode was the best asset available, as any vehicle encountered could be taken out with one hit. Not only that - its speed boost and neat-looking neon effect could be used to go from fourth to first. You’d need a couple of those abilities to go from the back of the pack to number one, however, as other cars can create a sizeable cushion for themselves.

Quite a few different control set-ups are available, including two that use the Vita’s tilt functionality to control your vehicle, as well as one that took advantage of the rear touchpad for gear shifting. While using the tilt to drive option, it was noticeable that only a small move was required to turn. As a result, mixing a high-intensity racer with such precise movements was a challenge. The driving worked out to be all right, but drifting was incredibly challenging, forcing me to switch back to the standard thumb stick movement controls in order to continue. Using the left stick to steer worked pretty well, although the game lacks precision.

Despite being a collaboration of digital automotive parts that we’ve seen perform better in other series, Asphalt: Injection isn’t a bad game. Sure, it doesn’t further the genre at all and lacks any sort of “wow” factor. However, there’s still some fun to be found here, with what is a serviceable and fast-paced speed challenge. It’s just a shame that something more wasn’t added to make this a launch title that’s worth showcasing. That’s especially true when you consider that Ubisoft is asking $30 for a game that is essentially a culmination of previously released mobile games. Heck, a lot of the iPhone releases sell for only a couple of dollars, if not less.