"Excellent graphics, huge selection of cars, fast action, but there are minor flaws."

The Nintendo 3DS came out on the 27th and already people are complaining about it. What's so bad about it? Good portability, larger screen, analog joystick, compatibility with original DS games, Virtual Console market similar to the Wii, where can you go wrong? The only problem I've heard about the 3DS is the awful battery life, at an all-time short 3-5 hours. Nintendo announced that they're going to offer Game Gear games on Virtual Console, now that's awesome!

To celebrate the release of the Nintendo 3DS, it's time to take a look back at what made the regular DS so great. Asphalt Urban GT was one the early DS games, in fact it was one of the launch titles. This game was such a success, a sequel was made a few years later, Asphalt Urban GT 2. Nothing better than satisfying your need to drive fast cars. Lets take a look.


Gameplay

Asphalt Urban GT is a racing game which heavily borrows from Need for Speed; the game's mechanics, game variations, car selection, and overall feel is similar.

There are several game variations, instant play which randomly sets you up with a car and a level to race on, and of course the competition mode. There are also several racing modes, including the usual finish line mode, the police car mode where you try to keep speeding cars on your radar for a certain period of time, and there's also a lot of race tracks to pick from. There's also a mode where you have to be at a certain MPH when you cross a specific spot, it drives me crazy. You also have the ability to boost your car using blue tanks. It adds to the extreme speed element, make me feel more alive.

There's also a championship mode where you bet money to win races so you can buy more cars. If you get at least third place, you move onto the next race, but if you fail the mission, you have the option to try again. Therefore the game is pretty forgiving.

I hate the camera angles. You can set it to be behind your car or through the windshield. When it's behind the car, it's literally directly behind the car. Most racing games will set the camera slightly above your car so you can see the road better, but not this game! There's also an option to look behind you, but I never understood the point of that. Every time your car jumps a ramp or some other incline on the road, the camera likes to change the point of view so that you see the front of the car. It's cool to be able to see my own jump, but I'm already in last place, the bad camera angle is only going to mess me up more!


Controls

The only beef I have with this game is the fact that you can't make sharp turns. This is a major problem! Look at F-Zero X on the Nintendo 64, holding Z or R will makes your turns sharper. Even Mario Kart games have a button to make sharper turns. Why couldn't they do that in Asphalt Urban GT? Instead, now you either plan ahead and drive slower in order to make a sharper turn, or you can hit the breaks. That's cheap, you shouldn't have to do that! 90% of turns you make in this game have to be sharp, otherwise you will crash and you'll fall behind in the race.

Another minor problem is the lack of analog controls. There's a touchscreen, why not use it? Regardless of if it's the Nintendo 64 or Nintendo DS, analog is much easier when it comes to racing games.

Otherwise controlling each car is fine. The acceleration, even on the worst car, is still decent, steering cars is pretty good, no real problems. Like with Need for Speed you can purchase better cars with better controls. There are also settings to change the point of view of your car. If you're a fan of virtual reality, you can set it in first-person to make it feel like you're driving the car yourself. If you like to be able to see your car at all times, you can change the settings as you wish.


Difficulty

This is one of those kind of games that is not only difficult, but near impossible. Most of the races are pretty straight forward, it's some of the other racing modes that throw you a curve ball. When you fail a mission, you have the option to try again. Oh trust me, you'll be trying over and over and over and over again. It's unbelievable how difficult some of these missions are. I'm not just talking about a reasonable challenge, I'm referring to anger, frustration, the urge to throw the DS as hard as you can. Yeah, that kind of challenge. Trying to keep your car over a certain speed limit is a ridiculous idea for a mission and near impossible to pull off! I sound a 3-year-old complaining about how hard a game is, but so be it. It's generally a frustrating game, but still loads of fun.


Graphics

Wow, this game does such a great job. Look at the detailed colorful environments, grasslands with houses and buildings full of texture and color, this is amazing! The cars are full of detail, not boxy by any means, and several variations of cars. I was stunned when I saw this. Nintendo 64 had pretty good graphics too, but not like this. I never thought a handheld console with games the size of an SD card would be superior to the N64.

The game is nearsighted, i.e. you can't see very far in head of you. It looks like the game is still putting itself together when you look from a distance, most early 3D games suffer from the same problem.

Playing this on the original DS in 2004 was awesome. Playing it on the DS Lite only made the experience better with more definable color. Overall, Asphalt Urban GT has excellent graphics; it showed the true power of the Nintendo DS.


Replay Factor

With the huge selection of cars, the many gameplay variations and all the stages, the game has extremely high replay value. Even if you were to beat the game, there's also the instant play which randomizes your car, race track, competitors, and type of race. There's also a ton of championship races to be involved in which will keep you occupied for a long time. Overall there's a lot to do.


Music and Sound

What catches the mood of illegal street races the best? Why of course, extreme techno! The catchy tunes will keep you on the edge of your seat while you roll through stop signs, jump over ramps, and slide your way to first place. The extreme tunes are quite nice to listen to, along with the perfect sound. Honestly, the music fits the game perfect, it almost gives you the energy you need to focus and win the race. It goes back to what I said about the Nintendo DS' extreme capabilities.


Final Verdict

Asphalt Urban GT did a good job showing the extreme capabilities of the Nintendo DS, which is what a launch title is supposed to do. The inability to perform sharp turns sucks and it makes the game less enjoyable, but this game still has a lot going for it. The excellent graphics, huge amount of cars, gameplay variations, fun and exciting gameplay, fast action, it's still worth checking it out today. If you got yourself a 3DS, check it out, it's compatible. Are there better racing games out there? Of course, but for an early DS game, it's quite remarkable even today.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/08/11

Game Release: Asphalt: Urban GT (US, 11/17/04)