Fast & Furious 5 HD

The big question mark over Fast & Furious 5 HD for fans of the movie series will be obvious: where did Vin Diesel go?

He’s barely featured in the static cut-scenes, which include some bizarre moments when on-screen counterpart Paul Walker has lonely conversations next to a blacked out car (presumably with Diesel hiding inside), while a nasally voice actor doesn’t even bother emulating his trademark gravelly tones.

This may seem like a trivial issue to pick on in a game where the core racing is both fast and occasionally furious, but the returning ‘bromance’ between Vin Diesel and Walker is what rebooted the film franchise, and Gameloft’s tie-in to the latest movie lacks personality without it.

With the Rio-set plot relegated to between chapter recaps, the bulk of Fast Five (as it’s called in-game) is reduced to a distinctly Burnout-flavoured assortment of racing challenges across Brazilian-themed tracks.

You advance the plot by earning enough ‘Fame Points’ through competing in a range of rubber burning game types.

There are basic races against five AI opponents; an Elimination mode, where you have to ram opponents off the road; and Drift challenges, in which vehicles slip around tracks like they’ve been slicked with oil.

Only Drag races offer anything original, but these are remarkable easy to win as steering and acceleration are auto-controlled and you only have to tap a gear stick icon when it turns green.

Pitched back in time

Still, after honing its arcade racing controls in the Asphalt series, Gameloft knows how to hurtle players down tracks with enough nitrous-injected speed to mean you’re perpetually a hair's breadth from metal-crunching disaster.

The racing looks gorgeous and blisteringly fast, and - while we found the default gyroscopic tilt controls caused a lot of oversteer - the alternative touchscreen steering wheel alternative proved pretty reliable on the tight, winding courses.

Auto acceleration takes adequate care of keeping you up to speed, while tapping the centre of the screen sends cars into Ridge Racer-style drifts that rack up points, but sometimes seem impossible to end - sliding you into far off walls and cruelly sapping momentum and points.

Head-on collisions with surprisingly sturdy scenery and occasional (unexplained) exploding scenery are pretty common, so it’s handy that a GRID-esque ‘Rewind’ function is included.

Limited to three uses a race, it’s an invaluable way to compensate for lapses in judgement without making races too unbalanced in your favour.

Sadly, it’s not available in Fast Five’s otherwise generous online multiplayer.

Up to ten players are supposed to be able to go bumper-to-bumper for XP, but the currently sparse servers gave us little chance to test them out.

As you progress through Fast Five’s story, faster motors are unlocked, but you can tune-up and pimp out your current car via the game’s Garage - using cash earned from bashing opponents off the track or pulling off dangerous drifts.

It’s no Real Racing, but the limited customisation adds another dimension to what is already a pretty rounded racer.

While the few control issues and repetitive game modes may burn you out after a while, Fast Five should sate franchise fans’ need for speed.