Well it doesn't take advantage of the DS' features but I like it.
It is one of those games that seem to be very addictive no matter how bad the controls seem to be. If you've ever played it you will know that the controls are horrible on some of the cars one to be named is the Hummer H1, it seems to make the controls that bit more annoying and predictable. But if you compare how bad the controls seem to be with the Hummer H1 and the Nissan GHz then you will realise that the controls aren't all that bad.
The gameplay is obviously the games main side, the tracks can be very predictable at times because most of them seem to be the same shape and idea but it is a nice change of sceneray, the easiest track probably being New York because it has a few tight corners but also It has a large straight which is absolutely perfect for just slamming on the nitrosoxide and gliding the car to the finish line.
Back to the controls the A button is of course the Acceleration button but it can be extremely annoying when you have to brake using the X button to turn a corner and then suddenly the nitrosoxide turns on. It can be very hard to control the car when this happens which ultimately costs you to either crash or slam the brakes on and stop the nitrosoxide which makes it a complete waste of a tank.
The replay feature is actually quite horrible although most people will never use the replay feature I thought I would check it out to include it in the review and I can say that the constant change of angles is really annoying and I actually began to hate it very quickly. It's a feature that you would only ever find on the DS and find it impossible to work with of course that doesn't mean that the replay feature isn't used on any other platform it just means it's terrible on this.
Winning races is what this game is all about everytime you win a race you get something like 1500 euros and if you win the entire tournament which always consits of just 3 races, it varies depending on which kind of race it is and how good the cars are that you are racing against.
The main thing you will actually need to do if you want to make the game as comfortable as possible for yourself is to tune your car if you get the car to the maximum you can, it makes winning races about 2x easier of course I also tested out every race without using the tune feature and then tuned and used the same cars so I have first hand evidence of just how easier it is.
The graphics shouldn't really be taken into account as it is a racing game and on the DS, which instantly tells you that they aren't going to be that great. However I was quite impressed becase it did manage to make the cars look quite like the cars in real life adding in small amounts of detail to every car. One thing that brought the graphics down but helped you alot was that you could drive right through certain things like trees and stantions.
I must say I do like my racing games and this one certainely bypassed my expectations as I was expecting something like a game from the Atari 2600 but in actual fact, it managed to keep the Asphalt style while staying inside the boundaries of the DS' poor graphics and all in all bad controls. It managed to create a game that can really keep you playing it and loving it for hours.
The sounds are enjoyable and I like how every engine of all the cars is very different in its own way, which keeps the element of repetitiveness at bay and the sounds didn't seem to me to be very annoying, which was a real upside for the game as a whole.
I believe the game deserves a pretty decent 7.0 because it particularly made me feel like I was driving the car on occasions although it didn't manage to prolong it but although the maps can be repetitive it seems never to get boring because the cars also seem to get better each time you play it. Although it has these upsides the Controls really let it down and the maps being repetitive make the game that bit dissappointing and it only just manages to seel a 7.0.
Pros:
1. Replayable.
2. A bit addictive.
3. Good Sounds
4. Great Cars.
5. Enjoyable.
Cons:
1. Horrible Controls.
2. Graphics are a bit off putting for first time users.
3. Maps are repetitive.
4. It didn't manage to seel more than a 7.0.