Speedway Racers Review

At this point racing games on the App Store are nothing new. There are certain modes, graphical styles and even controls that are expected with the genre. Speedway Racers doesn't break any of these molds but it lives up to expectations just fine.

Speedway Racers' feature-set is fairly standard. Players can race in career, quick play, arcade, and online mode. It's a formula but it's a good one that satisfies pretty much every basic racing desire one could have. The tracks on the other hand feel formulaic in a bad way. Outside of a few varied standouts, like a race through Aztec ruins, the experience seems too much like off-brand NASCAR. The same goes for the cars themselves. Overall, the game just lacks creativity. The cheesy, generic rock soundtrack drives that point home even further.

However, while it may not have the most dynamic style, the visuals are surprisingly appealing on a pure technical level. Sure, it doesn't rival something like Real Racing, but the saturated, cel-shaded looking graphics are vibrant, crisp and clear. Everything from the cars to the backgrounds to the roaring crowds just pop. They even do a good job at distracting players from the pop-in.

As for the controls, players tilt to steer like in any other App Store racing game. However, instead of having two virtual buttons for braking and accelerating, there is only a brake button as the cars accelerate automatically. On one hand, this puts more of a focus on tactics like braking and drifting. With fewer virtual buttons, the screen is also less obscured by one’s thumbs. One could conceivably play one-handed in fact. It is that easy and streamlined. However, more advanced players may feel needlessly constricted by the lack of freedom and control. Still, it is an interesting and mostly successful spin on the standard iOS racing game controls.

Speedway Racers is a perfectly competent racing game. There are better ones out there but there are certainly worse ones too. Consider this a safe bet.