Game Review: Asphalt 6: Adrenaline Part 1

This is going to be my first full review of a big game on my Galaxy S2. If you're also lucky enough to have a Samsung Galaxy S2, then you can download this very awesome title from the Samsung App Market.

It appears to install quickly, but as with most of Gameloft's games, the installation is only the installer for the game. This one is a whopping 563MB download - so take care if you're using your cell network's data connectivity, and get charged as much as we do here in South Africa!

Ok, now to get to the actual game - at the time of writing this post, Asphalt 6 is available for free, and it's a full featured title. Here are some screen shots:

Now, you have to admit, these are very awesome looking graphics for a phone! Luckily the Galaxy S2 has the hardware capable of running games like this.

Anyway, I have only played the game for a few races, and this first part of the review will cover what I've experienced so far.

You start off the game with 3 cars in your garage - a Mini Cooper, Nissan 370Z and a Fiat Abarth, but there's lots more to unlock.

There are several game modes available, and I only played a few normal races so far, will cover the others as soon as I've done some!

The controls are really easy, and you can customize it as well. You drive the car by tilting the phone in the direction you wish to turn, and with the default control scheme the accelerator is on automatic. If you tap on the screen on the left you brake, and tapping on the right activates your nitro boost.

There are also different camera positions available, which is quite nice.

I was quite surprised to see Cape Town as one of the available tracks, and since I live here, I decided to drive there first :) - I was shocked to see snow, something we never have haha!

Each track has various shortcuts, and there are bonuses you can collect to, for example, recharge your nitro's charge.

Anyway, the graphics are really cool, and the Galaxy S2 really handles the game well. The phone does get a bit warmer, cause I'm sure pumping out graphics like this is quite hardware intensive!

While racing you can knock-out the other drivers, which gives you a cash bonus at the end of the race, but they're not out of the race completely though, it just buys you a few more seconds.

To "win" a race, you must place at least 3rd, and with your winnings you can buy new cars, apply decals and upgrade your cars as well - I have only unlocked one car so far, but haven't even started with the tuning and so on - will let you know how that goes!

So far I'm very impressed, and I see it even has multiplayer, both Local and Online. You also have a career mode, with lots of other cars and bikes you can unlock as you complete races.

The sound is also very cool, and a woman commentator keeps things interested with comments about your driving and close calls, etc.

This is a big game, so I'm going to stretch out this review over a few parts - I must admit, I look forward to review it completely - so far I'm very impressed! Not only by the game itself, but also by the Galaxy S2's capabilities in running it so smoothly!

Will keep you posted!