Asphalt Urban GT Preview....(Second Take)

Asphalt Urban: GT Preview

By:

Mprunty


When gamers hear about Ubisoft, they immediately think of Splinter Cell and Prince of Persia. Ubisoft has set a standard in the industry for offering amazing detail and intense nonstop action that keeps gamers anticipating their next move, the next enemy and even their next installment in that particular franchise. But for Ubisoft, this is new territory that they are venturing into. Extreme Racing titles have seldom grabbed the attentions of gamers (mainstream and hardcore), and this is something that they feel needs to change.

Early this year in August, after a stellar show by Nintendo and fellow game developers, they revealed their line-up for upcoming Nintendo Ds titles for fourth quarter debut. Several titles were mention, one of which was Asphalt Urban GT. At this time, nothing was really known about the game besides the obvious (being developed for the N-Gage). In the following weeks, new screenshots and info was released in regards to the upcoming title. At Nintendo’s conference back on October 7th, it was revealed that Asphalt Urban GT was going to be a launch title for the Nintendo DS. This wasn’t a big surprise to me, but many gamers that I talked to felt that they needed something to compete with Ridge Racer, and it seemed that Ubisoft had the answer.

Game Features:

• 23 dream cars, including Lamborghini, Jaguar, Hummer, VW, and Audi.
  
• Tracks inspired by real locations, including New York, Miami, Paris, and Tokyo.
  
• Track your turns and spy on your opponents using the bottom display of your Nintendo DS.
  
• 30 options for tuning, engine maintenance, and bodywork.
  
• Race up to 4 other players using DS Wireless Communications
  

Developed by Gamelot and published by Ubisoft; Asphalt Urban GT offers a little bit of everything. You have so much going for you when you play this game, from the many licensed vehicles (23 total) including the likes of Lamborghini, Jaguar, and even the Hummer!!!! Like in the Need For Speed Underground series, you have the ability to customize your cars, adding your own flavor and style to the game and fellow racers. You have the ability to customize your ride with the price money you win after each race, so you can give your car a new paint job, a more powerful engine, spoilers, etc… These two features bring a lot of attention to this game, and give their competition (Ridge Racer DS) some more things to worry about. There is a strong single player core with lots of elements and loads of fun, but also offers a multiplayer aspect. When playing multiplayer, you have the ability to connect with up to 4 other gamers (total of 5 players) using either a single cart or each DS owner having a copy of the game. So you know there will be a high replay value due to the heavy competition with fellow friends and new gamers.



But the strong point for this title is its truly amazing graphics that it displays. Fully 3D and running at a stable frame-rate of 60fps, it is clear that the game engine Gamelot is using strives for true beauty and astonishing fluidity. Asphalt Urban GT is only one of two titles at the launch of the DS that will actually run at that frame-rate with no problems. The game engine interlaced with this amazing frame-rate simulates the sense of speed, which isn’t see all too often on handheld. All the gaming action is displayed on the top screen, while the touch screen is used for map tracking of you and your fellow opponents. Not stopping there, you also have several camera angles that can be used, especially the “cockpit view” which gives you a more arcade feel. This game operates of the standard digital pad and action buttons, but let it be known, the controls handle smoothly and shouldn’t cause any problems for any gamer.



The replay value of this game will certainly be high, but there is one gaping hole that should be known about. When watching the playback footage of your completed race, you’ll notice that only your car is being shown (no opponents or track). So if you are bumped from behind by another car or run into the railing, the car will jolt and shake. This will be frown upon, but doesn’t take much from the overall feel and appearance of the game. Not trying to talk bad about this game, but some says that it has a small “port” feel to the game, since the game was originally announced for the N-Gage.

It is clearly shown that whether a port or not, this game is destined to bring great arcade action to the Nintendo Ds and has the potential to cause a disturbance in the sales of Ridge Racer DS. Come November 21st, the battle of the 1st generation racers will begin and will decide the fate of both titles, and future racers for the Nintendo DS.

Overall Appeal: "8.5/10"