Top 5 racing games for Xperia Play
Tyred out
There’s a super-competitive adrenaline junkie inside all of us - however deep it's buried - and nothing is better at bringing it to the surface than a high-speed driving sim.
Well, actually, playing sports is probably better at raising the old heart rate, but that involves actual physical exercise, and who wants that?
So, to keep you as far as possible from the football field and as close as possible to your handheld, here’s a handy list of five of the best racing games on Xperia Play. From futuristic arcade classics to conventional apex-skimming sims, there should be something to suit all tastes in this rip-roaring round-up.
Asphalt 6: Adrenaline
If you can bear the awful soundtrack, there’s a lot of fun to be had slamming your fine-tuned Ferrari into an opponent’s equally pristine Lamborghini. Thankfully, the D-pad and buttons on Xperia Play make for a more reliable and accurate control mechanism than the sometimes wonky steering wheel and accelerometer of the touchscreen edition.
Of course, real racing requires a little more finesse. Although Need for Speed: Shift isn’t exactly 'real' racing, it comes closer to it than any other game on this list. With the focus shifting from hostility and destructiveness to performance and timing, EA's more traditional racer is all about rounding those corners with speed and efficiency, following the best line possible (which is helpfully plastered in bright green arrows on the road).
Like Asphalt 6: Adrenaline, a lot of high-profile car manufacturers are on board – plenty of BMWs and Zondas floating around – and the cars can be customised to improve their stats.
Reckless Racing ticks all of the boxes when it comes to speed, action, and vehicular mayhem. Perhaps it doesn’t have as many explosions as its criminally inclined brother Reckless Getaway, but it possesses plenty of style in its own right.
The top-down Micro Machines-esque view has a lot to do with this, as players speed and weave around one another in a straight-up race or take on their own ghost image in a time trial. And as if the touch controls weren’t already well implemented in Reckless Racing for Android, Polarbit has taken advantage of the Xperia Play's hard buttons brilliantly, resulting in even tighter single- or multiplayer races.
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If it's stone-cold classics or flawed curiosities you're after, you're better off ignoring the Android Market and exploring the PlayStation Classics section, for there you will find Destruction Derby and Jet Rider. WipEout, however, holds the crown among this sadly paltry collection of bona fide diamonds. The futuristic race tracks, colourful hovercraft, and varied weapons make for a refreshing change from your bog-standard lap-based racing experience. The superlative electronic soundtrack will also bring back memories of those PSone glory days while simultaneously wiping all trace of Asphalt 6: Adrenaline’s dire music from your brain.
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit has its flaws - let that be said. It lacks a certain sensation of speed when you boost, and the occasional invisible wall makes life, well, difficult. Luckily, the premise itself remains a good one. Taking on the role of either fugitive or cop, players take part in races, elimination events, and lengthy car chases.
Both the prey and the predator have a few tricks up their sleeves, too. The hunted can boost away or trigger EMPs to disrupt the police, while the hunter can lay spike strips or call in roadblocks.
