Table Top Racing Review

Table Top Racing is an arcade combat racer from Playrise Edge Ltd., a group comprised of the co-creators of the futuristic combat racer WipEout for the PlayStation. Much like its futuristic predecessor, Table Top Racing pits players against each other in races where driving skills are only one piece of the puzzle for success. To truly master Table Top Racing, players must use their driving skills in tandem with strategic weapon and power-up use to finish as the leader of the pack.

As its name implies, Table Top Racing presents itself as a game where tiny, toy-like cars wind their way around eight table top race tracks. The cars and the tracks are both varied to keep the game visually interesting, and the game runs very smoothly--even on legacy devices--which is a critical reason why Table Top Racing is so fun to play. Add these ingredients to a game that also contains quality item variety (e.g. rockets, bombs, turbo, etc.), persistent upgrades, multiple game modes, and competent design, and you've got a great racing game for iOS.

While the game is mostly great, there is an issue when it comes to controlling the cars that keeps Table Top Racing from reaching stellar status. The cars accelerate automatically, and players can choose from one of two control modes, touch or tilt, and neither are perfect. Tilting the device to steer vehicles causes the cars to feel "swimmy" in their handling, while using touch controls make it sometimes difficult to steer and use items at the same time. These problems are minor frustrations at their worst though, and take very little away from the overall experience.

Table Top Racing offers hectic combat racing for a very reasonable price. There are many ways to play, including challenge modes that ask players accomplish tasks other than simply finishing first. It is really this variety that keeps the game interesting and fun to play, despite some control issues. Just as players get tired of the mayhem of rockets and EMP blasts, the next race can change up the formula. Put simply, Table Top Racing is a high quality package that delivers a satisfying and varied combat racing experience.