Although Firemint’s superb Real Racing leads the pack of iPhone speedsters, there’s always room for a little variety in the marketplace, and with its eye-catching vector visuals VectorRacing certainly attracts attention.
This fast-paced title intentionally throws back to the primitive graphics era of the early ‘80s and is a world apart from photo-realistic visuals and accurate handling. It’s likely to find favour if you can recall the first time you saw Disney’s Tron and had to pick up your jaw from the floor.
Beauty is skin deepAlthough it's not throwing around anywhere near as much graphical data as its more realistic-looking rivals, VectorRacing manages to feel suitably exhilarating.
There are seven tracks to dash around, each with its own set of devious twists. Knowing each bend and straight offers an unquestionable advantage, but you can also rely on the speed pads – which give your craft a temporary injection of pace – to overtake the more wily opponents you may face.
In addition, you also have six different craft, complete with different capabilities, strengths and weaknesses.
VectorRacing rewards a clean and steady driver, as contact with the trackside barriers depletes your energy gauge. This is topped-up when you complete a lap, but if it drops to zero your craft explodes in a shower of vector visuals, and you’re forced to restart the race a little way back from your previous position.
Acceleration and braking are handled via virtual buttons, but steering is customisable. You can choose between either a virtual pad (in digital or analogue varieties) or tilt control. It’s here that the pace slackens because neither of these choices offers a convincing degree of control.
The virtual pads feel clumsy and unresponsive. Although the sensitivity of the accelerometer interface can be tinkered with in order to find the perfect balance for your play style, it never seems to offer the responsiveness needed for racing.
Interface quirks are compounded by an unfortunate lack of content. Single Race mode is just that – you compete against several computer-controlled opponents in a one-off race. There’s no championship mode or career path to unlock: your aim is ultimately be the best on all seven tracks.
WipeoutTime Trial mode is supported by OpenFeint leaderboards, but outside of these challenges there’s little else to keep you occupied.
VectorRacing feels like a lightweight game concept stretched over an admittedly impressive tech demo. The graphics are unique and definitely earn a double-take - however, there's not enough gameplay to back up the appealing graphics.
Had the option to race against human opponents been included – either locally or online – then it would be easier to recommend. Even if this were the case, you'd still have to contend with a less-then-perfect control scheme which makes performing that flying lap frustratingly difficult.
VectorRacing
The retro-tinged visuals are a real talking point, but VectorRacing is sadly undone by frustrating controls and lack of compelling content
Damien McFerran
Damien's mum hoped he would grow out of playing silly video games and gain respectable employment. Perhaps become a teacher or a scientist, that kind of thing. Needless to say she now weeps openly whenever anyone asks how her son's getting on these days.