I’m usually inept at anything requiring good hand-eye coordination, so it was no surprise that I performed poorly on Audi’s A4 Driving Challenge app. Regardless, this app is a visually eye-catching commercial for Audi’s sedan wrapped around a driving game that puts the iPhone’s accelerometer chip to good use.
At the same time, it reinforces the sporty brand image of the A4. You see this immediately upon launching, as a slick animated movie showing the A4 racing down the highway segues into the main screen. From there you are presented with buttons to learn how to play the game, start the game, adjust settings, or go to the Audi A4 site.
The game offers five simulated race tracks of varying difficulty. Players see a view of their car on the track, which they control using a gas and brake pedal shown on screen. Once the car accelerates, players steers left or right by simply turning their iPhone accordingly. The game keeps track of elapsed time and penalizes players for straying off the track. As players improve their performance, the app lets them upgrade to drive more powerful models of the A4.
As interesting as the game is, I got bored and wished the app did more to sell me on the features of the A4. Ironically, clicking the button to go to Audi’s website didn’t help much, as the iPhone Safari browser couldn’t display the flash animation on the A4 page.