While there’s an abundance of one finger gaming experiences available for iPhone, we’ve seen very few examples in the racing genre.
The act of steering a vehicle around a relentlessly twisting track whilst fending off the unwanted attention of rival racers usually requires at least two digits.
Until now, that is.
Touch Racing Nitro prides itself on being a single-finger experience: the steering, acceleration and braking of your plucky little remote controlled car are all controlled using just one pinky.
It sounds demanding, but in reality the interface is blissfully simple. Wherever you place your finger on the screen, your car heads in that general direction. The distance between your fingertip and car determines its speed - the farther away you place your digit, the faster your RC challenger will drive. Move it closer and your car will decelerate.
Finger on the pulseIn fact, the one finger boast is actually a little cheeky because you also need to bring another one into play if you want to use the nitro boost system, which only initiates when two fingers are placed on the display.
Still, we’ll forgive this little fib because on the whole the control system in Touch Racing Nitro is pleasantly straightforward. It takes getting used to but after you’ve dashed through the tutorial and done a few laps of the surprisingly demanding training track, you’re good to go.
It’s not an entirely perfect system, though. In using just one finger to direct the action, you're sure to find that your hand obscures the action when you car is driving from right to left (assuming of course that you’re right-handed – the issue is reversed if you’re a leftie).
Touch Racing Nitro also showcases some impressive 3D visuals and a surprisingly realistic physics engine. If you’re a little over zealous with the nitro boost be prepared to take a few tumbles, especially when you’re jockeying for position with other cars. The manner in which the racers bounce off one another is truly impressive.
Thumbs downJust like real RC racing, it’s not uncommon for cars to become caught up in trackside objects, so you’ll be thankful for the reset option, which magically places your racer back on the track.
One area where Touch Racing Nitro struggles is variety. You can either take part in a tournament with AI-controlled drivers or attempt to clock a fastest lap in the Time Trial mode, but aside from these two choices there’s nothing else to speak of.
Online leaderboards are almost a given in this kind of game, which makes it a real shame that they’ve been omitted here. It would have also been nice to see some kind of multiplayer component. The prospect of playing this game over Bluetooth with three other friends is tantalising, but sadly it hasn’t been included in this version.
Touch Racing Nitro is a decent game rather than a great one. The control system is definitely intriguing and while the presentation is brilliant the long-term challenge is severely hampered by a lack of additional gameplay modes.