The racing genre is a pretty competitive area for app developers. With existing games such as Need For Speed and Real Racing, new racing titles have much to live up to. Unfortunately, Extreme_Formula ($3.99) just doesn’t have what it takes to become a great racing game. It’ll only grab your attention for a short while before you go back to the really great racing games.
This game is all about racing in the future. The cars have some standard designs, but the racing capabilities are more futuristic. You can engage boosters to increase your speed and collect cubes for special power ups. These boosters are important, because most of the time, your car feels like it’s moving so slowly that it’s going to stall out. That’s one of the odd parts about the game. The racing speed feels so slow that you’ll find yourself constantly sliding your finger upward to trigger the boosters.
You have three options for controls. To steer, you can use the accelerometer, virtual steering wheel, or left/right turn buttons. The car will automatically accelerate, but you can slide your finger up to use the boosters. Sliding your finger downward will turn the boosters off before they overheat. You can change the steering sensitivity in the options menu. The default sensitivity level is 50 percent, which makes the car feel very sluggish. So, you’ll definitely want to increase that number.
One of the positive things this game has going for it is the wide variety of game types. You can play “Career Mode,” “Time Attack,” “Thunderbolt,” “Burnout” and “Danger Zone.” There is even an online multiplayer option via Game Center.
Extreme_Formula is not a terrible racing game. The graphics are not the best, but the gameplay is mildly entertaining. However, after playing top-of-the-line games like Real Racing or Need For Speed, this game feels like a step backward. It’s just not as fun as it should be.
