The top-down racing game is a bit of a lost
art form. The genre was born in arcades back
in the seventies, and over the next decade,
it would also expand onto consoles before
its tires blew out. Which is basically to
say, before people started caring more about
polygons than fun games.
But fortunately, top-down racers are making
a resurgence as a kind of retro take on racing
games, a trend that is reflected in this game’s
very self-explanatory name.
This is Retro Racing for the iPhone.
What’s interesting is that, while this may
seem like a respectful homage from today’s
developers to yesterday’s, that’s not
what Retro Racing is at all. In fact, this
game was created by a developer who has been
doing top-down racers since the Amiga...which
was this computer thing.
So because it’s inspired by arcade games
like Gran Trak 10 and developed by a guy who
did top-down racers like Nitro for the freaking
Amiga, Retro Racing feels authentic. That’s
one of the things that really struck me about
this game. It doesn’t feel like some watered-down
modern throwback. This is the real deal, an
old-school racer that has somehow ended up
in the year 2012.
I don’t know. This car must’ve had a Flux
Capacitor built in.
Either that or an onboard Amiga. I think that’s
what they were for. For time travel.
But of course, unlike the games that left
the tire tracks this one is following in,
Retro Racing benefits from modern technology.
Specifically, the touch screen of the iPhone.
You play Retro Racing with three onscreen
buttons—two steer left and right, and one
accelerates. And while some kind of physical
input would be preferable, the touch controls
work just fine once you get used to them.
Obviously, that took me some time.
The gameplay is very fast, and I was surprised
by how smooth and responsive it is. Once you
master its controls, Retro Racing is never
hard to actually play. Which is a good thing,
because the game is hard as hell. Not content
with simply being retro in design, gameplay
and style, Retro Racing also has a retro degree
of challenge.
Frankly, that means I don’t stand a f*cking
chance.
If you’re into old-school racing games or
even retro games in general, this one is an
easy recommendation. You have to learn optimal
routes, master every turn and grab every possible
upgrade if you want to win, and while it does
require patience, Retro Racing rewards you
with a fantastic old-school racing experience.
