So far this are the two racing simulations that you can buy for the iOS platform, except that the Real Racing 2 is not yet available for iPad. GT Racing Motor Academy is delivered by Gameloft which has been around a couple of years in developing games for mobile devices. So their installment of their Gran-Turismo-like game, is now in the iOS platform, in high definition, utilizing the new iOS devices’ retina display. Firemint, on the other hand, had their go on the racing game business in the iOS platform by developing their amazing Firemint 3D engine for their game. The first game they developed was Real Racing which was good in any way but only had the Volkswagen Golf GTi as the realistic vehicle and the rest are imitations of the real ones. Now, they released the second game with the menu of realistic production cars. So let’s review the two games.
First, Gameloft’s racer. This is the first attempt of Gameloft to produce a simulation racing game.
The game includes a variety of cars, a magnificent 100+ cars in its database with all of them pack a cockpit view while driving. The tracks are also many and this time, includes the Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway and the Monaco GP circuit. The graphics are also nice, and the vehicle geometry is quite good despite the platform it is running on. There are a couple of views, including an outer view, bumper, and cockpit view. The controls include touch and use of accelerometer. You can also buy upgrades for your car to improve its performance and gives you enough information about the upgrades. Just like the GT franchise, there’s a license test so that  you can access multiple events. There are races which requires specific details and a test track to see how your car fair before and after an upgrade. All of these can be seen from a map, just like Gran Turismo.
The main issue here is its driving physics. Yes, the grip on tarmac and the grip on snow and gravel is no problem. However, the handling physics is what worries me. The response of the controls are not as good and when you turn off all assists, ALL of the cars are literally unmanageable. I don’t like the response of the car when counter-steering. It’s like a never-ending counter-steering and takes a lot of time to get the car back into stability. The cars are also wobbly, as if each and every one of the cars are fitted with soft suspension. As a result, the AI can always out-perform you once you make a mistake because all of your mistakes are multiplied to a certain degree. Also, the cars are also wall magnets and it’ll also take quite a significant amount of time, with respect of the speed of the game, to get out and go back to the track.
Everything else is quite good, which is a shame when the core of the game, which is the handling experience is not so good. To think this game would be so exciting since there’s a wide range of cars from old up to now. You even have Ferrari and Lamborghini, thanks to Gameloft’s efforts to get the licenses for their Asphalt Game series. And just knowing that their handling is a bit of a failure spoils everything. You really would not know if the physics are patterned to be like Gran Turismo or similar to the Asphalt arcade game. If there’s one thing that I like, it’s the option to shift the gears. A lot of racing games in the iOS platform don’t have manual transmission and this game has. Though it’s difficult to race with the manual transmission together with all other parameters you need to watch but I think it only takes a couple of practice to get used to it.
I am not saying that this is a bad game, it’s just that the handling is a bit handful even for someone like me who plays the Gran Turismo series. Like I said, everything’s good, the graphics, modelling, driving conditions, and the rest of the physics engine. It’s just that the handling experience did not click to me that much.
Now, to the Real Racing 2. I’ve played the Real Racing trial which featured only one track and a couple of Golf GTi’s in different models and colors and it was really nice. The same formula comes in handy for the second installment which featured real cars. Only 30 cars were rendered for the game. However, unlike the GT Racing’s 100+ production-only cars, the 30 of Real Racing 2 featured race-spec versions of the featured production cars. So for example, the iconic Nissan GT-R is in the game together with its Super GT Motul Pitwork GT500 car. How do the cars look like? Check this out:
Yes, that is some car right there. 😀 Like I said earlier, Firemint uses their 3D engine that utilizes and optimizes the Retina Display, the A4 processor and the OpenGL. As a result, tada~! Wonderful graphics, much better than what Gameloft can manage. The game also features a couple of tracks though not one is realistic but no matter. 😀 The graphics is so good that the reflection updates on the car is accurate based on the environment.
What is not here is that Gameloft has is the off-road tracks which are gravel and snow. That’s a bit of a down side including its short list of cars. But you do get what I want from GT Racing : The realistic handling.
Let me just say this before I continue with the handling: Look at the solar flares. 😀 It’s just so nice and they go off once you hit something that blocks it from your view and goes back again when the block is gone. 😀
The handling is like the best simulations you can try. You can actually feel the limit of the grip in the game and it doesn’t make you feel so much detached from the car. If you still grip, you still grip and if your car has the tendency to slide at a particular moment, it will really slide. Upgrades are also available which is quite significant once you apply them. Not as extensive as the one from GT Racing but you see, what’s important is the significant change. For example, try upgrading the suspension, if there’s an available upgrade and you’ll notice that there’s a reduction on body roll, meaning the car can turn harder without letting itself slide. Another is an engine upgrade, either ECU or stroke, you’ll notice a significant increase in acceleration.
Just like the GT Racing, it has multiple views including the cockpit view. The cockpit view in this game is more accurate compared to GT Racing. For example, if you change into cockpit view in a Nissan Skyline  R34 GT-R in GT Racing, you’ll eventually see yourself inside a Nissan 370Z. Also, the dials are not accurate for some like in Nissan GT-R, the tachometer and speedometer exchanged places. In Real Racing, emphasis on accuracy was done well. Everything is in its supposed places. Also, Real Racing has damage modelling but happily, doesn’t affect car performance. You wouldn’t want to destroy your iOS device’s touch screen so I guess, letting the damage modelling not extend its effects is quite good and it does look good to see that you car doesn’t have its side mirrors and bumpers after a race and you don’t have to pay for repairs. Repairs are automatic. Other features include multiple control methods just like GT Racing.
What I don’t like here is the absence of manual transmission. But I guess that’s fine as the rest of the game makes up for it.
Overall, the GT Racing is a good game, nearly all features of a simulation game is at the package except that it’s a handful to handle one. Real Racing takes up its name, REAL from graphics to handling physics. The absence of manual transmission and more cars might kill the joy but the amazing handling, graphics as well as the selection of cars including race-spec and rare ones can easily make you forget the flaws. For me, I choose Real Racing. The realism is not on the features of the car but on how the car drives within your range of controls.
To finish this, a feature of Real Racing 2 using Cloudcell is that you can upload your time-trial replay vids. 😀 This is me driving a 370Z though the sound might be bad and the graphics might also not that good because the replay was meant to be light in size. The replay looks good on the iOS device especially when you have the retina display. Here you go:
LifeDrive 
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