Asphalt Injection

This racing game is one the Ubisoft Vita launch titles, and to say that its release on the handheld is one born of convenience would be an understatement.

Apart from an unsubstantial graphical overhaul and some minor tweaks, this remains very similar to the game that is currently available on iOS for mere fraction of the cost that this iteration is retailing for. If you have that version of Asphalt, it renders this release completely unnecessary.

If you can get past this, and look at the game underneath the comparatively hefty price tag, there remains a competent, if uninspiring racer.

To its credit, the game fits nicely on the Vita screen. Frame-rate seem solid enough, and using the first-person view made things feel a little faster and more frantic. The game also takes advantage of the touch-sensitive pad at the back of the Vita, allowing for manual drivers to switch through the gears with ease. You can also switch to the gyroscopic controls, if you want to make full use of the Vita's new features.

Asphalt has a decent selection of licensed cars and a reasonable amount of tracks for you to tear around. There's also several different race modes to provide much needed variety. Straight up racing is complimented by challenges involving hitting quotas of drift-time and vehicular take-downs.

It's clear from the outset that Asphalt badly wants to be Burnout, but to call this Burnout-lite would be doing Criterion's popular franchise a disservice. Whilst Asphalt doesn't do anything wrong per say, it is still a long way off being anywhere near what it clearly aspires to be.

For the most part, it's still a fun racer. The pace is good, the tracks distinctive and the variety in the challenges is enough maintain interest. But there are still some inescapable problems with Asphalt.

Apart from increasing in speed, all of the cars have very similar handling. There's not a lot of difference between the various rides, and apart from feeling a little extra kick when you take off, nothing much changes apart from the visuals. It makes mastering each vehicle a routine task, and this lack of variation also makes progress through the challenges much easier than it should be.

Whilst the sound is straightforward and perfectly passable, each track is introduced by annoying commentator. It wasn't long before she found herself muted, if nothing but for the sake of my sanity.

The tracks, whilst well animated and suitably diverse, lack the danger and excitement needed in a game like this. There is little traffic, making driving on either side of the road pretty straightforward. There are various short-cuts on each of the tracks that provide a brief distraction, but they don't feel particularly interesting and/or exciting.

As you burn around any of the 15 available tracks you'll encounter nitro-boosts and financial bonuses (to be used on buying and upgrading your ever-growing garage of motors); collect these to unlock bonus challenges and to speed up races.

Nitro ups the ante, but not enough to quicken the pulse. There is very little danger of wrecking your car on Asphalt, as bouncing off walls does minimal damage to both your car and its speed. This creates a lack of tension that does nothing for the games overall appeal. You never feel like you're racing on the edge, and in a game based on high-speed nitro-induced vehicular rivalry, it is a critical flaw.

There are multiplayer options available and these present a nice distraction, although the limitations of the game transfer over to the online features. You can also race on any of the unlocked tracks in stand-alone events, if you fancy a quick game. Whilst these options are welcome, they don't add significant value.

Having said all that, despite the lack of danger, the simplistic handling and the boring short-cuts, Asphalt still remains playable. It's not a massive improvement over its iOS brethren, but at least it does make some use of the PS Vita's hardware.

It's not a game to show off the capabilities of the Vita, but it is a functional, playable racer. However, there's already better available on the recently launched handheld, and that being so, it is difficult to recommend Asphalt to anyone other than existing fans of the series.