Dear Journal,

Today I played a game that didn’t seem THAT bad but we’ve all heard horrible things about.

Asphalt 3D is interesting in that it is actually a 3DS port of a iOS game originally designed for iPhones and the like and used as one of Ubisoft’s launch titles for the 3DS.  I usually try to stay clear of game reviews until I’ve played and reviewed a game, but there was no hiding from the hate Asphalt 3D has received.  Bad graphics, bad gameplay, etc., you name it, and apparently Asphalt 3D was bad at it.

So that leaves me wondering what game I played?

While Asphalt 3D is by no means a perfect game, it certainly doesn’t seem worthy of the ire it has received or the low 40’s Metacritic score.  The game is basically an arcade style racer, meaning that it isn’t to in-depth and there are things like boost to get you through the level.  A respectable 17 tracks make up the game, based on real world locations, and it features several different racing modes and an experience system that has you upgrading your cars along the way. Doesn’t sound to bad right?

Complaints of poor graphics and choppy framerates abound, but my experience was mostly positive.  While it wasn’t perfect, the visuals actually seemed above average for a 3D 3DS game. It may not pop like many of the 2D games do, I was bordering on impressed with the game’s visuals in 3D mode. Perhaps I just got lucky, but I can only review what I actually saw.

Gameplay is harder to judge.  What I played seemed rather tight with descent controls for an arcade style racer. Does it have precision steering and make you feel like you are racing an actual sports car through a racetrack in the mountains? Well no, it’s an arcade racer. You collect turbo boost and fly off jumps. The focus is more on fun than realism and it is fun; even provides a little bit of a challenge. My biggest complaint would be that it just gets repetitive and starts to get boring rather early on.

That would actually be my biggest complain about the game over all. While there is a lot to it on paper, it just doesn’t have the charm of some arcade racing games and I just got bored of it. Bored enough that it wasn’t worth completing entirely, the drive (no pun intended) just wasn’t there.

Ultimately though, when it comes to Asphalt 3D, don’t believe the negative hype and try it yourself.

 

Tomorrow I take one for the team in Secret Service: Ultimate Sacrifice.

Final Rating: 6/10

CBR Break Down:
Console Played On: 3DS
Time to completion: I put in about 3, could see it taking 8 hours to complete 100%.
Gamer Score Earned: N/A
Price Bought at: $4.99
Current Price: $14.79 (Amazon)
Recommend Purchase Price: $10, maybe. Might want to try it first if you can.
Why you should buy it: Descent but not great arcade racer for your 3DS.
Why you shouldn’t buy it: You don’t care about the 3D and are willing to just play an Asphalt game on your phone.