It seems that the companies producing applications for iPhone/iPod Touch have caught the taste of racing games, and they are doing well because driver it totally lived up to expectations and Need for Speed Shift is announced to be a real contender for the title of Game of the Year 2009 for iPhone/iPod Touch.
Let's return now to Ridge Racer Accelerated, the application created by the famous company Namco, is a port of the famous console game, released almost 15 years ago, resembling it in almost all details, while offering the same feeling of arcade racing range that was all the rage among console owners in the mid-90s. The control of the game is based on the accelerometer in terms of the steering, it seems that there is no virtual joystick or any other method of driving the car, the acceleration is by default automatic but it can be set to be used from the phone screen, only the braking and changing gears by default can be done directly from the screen. For those who have not yet played a game in the Ridge Racer series, the controls might seem a bit difficult because being an arcade game, it takes some skill to keep the car within the limits of the road, so until you learn the correct technique of driving the car you will spend more time with the decoration, but don't be afraid, if you like it, you will surely get used to it. To begin with, the game will put you in front of only 2 routes on which you can race (or 4 if you take into account the fact that in 2 races you go on the same 2 routes only in the opposite direction) and 18 car models belonging to Classes 1 and 2, 6 unlocked and 12 more that can be unlocked by finishing the races, and additional tracks + other cars can be bought directly from the application.
From the point of view of graphics, the game does not excel at all, on the contrary, for a game of 2009 it looks quite "ugly", especially the details of the cars, and what's more, it moves quite hard on the iPhone 3GS, it is said that iPhone 3G/2G owners have no chance to run the game due to the very low framerate. I will post a video below with the gameplay on an iPhone 3GS, and from what can be seen in that video, the game moves a bit "jerky" and from my point of view a company like Namco should have had more be careful what you put on the market. To conclude, the game from my point of view is a disappointment because, firstly, it is not playable and secondly, in terms of graphics, it is below the standard set by games like Driver or Need for Speed Shift.
If you are still fans of the series and want to buy the application, you can find it for $2.99 in the US AppStode here and for €2.39 in the RO AppStore here.
