Asphalt: Urban GT

"A SOLID racing title for the DS!"

This is a review for Asphalt Urban GT for the Nintendo DS. With so few DS titles out at this moment in early 2005, it is hard to come by a good game for the DS save for Super Mario 64 DS. I was thinking of getting a racing game, and my choices were Ridge Racers DS or this Asphalt Urban GT.....thank God I got Asphalt Urban GT. This game is a superb racing game, with such realism it amazing me it could be done on a handheld.

Graphics: (9) As a first-generation DS title, this lives up to its graphical power of a N64. This is by far a great looking game. Released earlier this year was Asphalt Urban GT for the N-Gage which almost looks like this. DS BLOWS it out of the water with it's superior updates. All the car models look well done and look sharp. As for the tracks themselves, realism in a portable like this hasn't been seen before, just W0W!

Sound: (7) This is where Asphalt Urban GT falls a little short. It has a lot of cool tunes but some can get pretty repetitive. There is a little voice-acting in here, but that is only subject to the 3 2 1, which you can BARELY here even with the volume all the way up. As for the car sounds, that is the high point because it really immerses you into this game.

Game Play: (9) Another high point of Asphalt Urban GT is the actual game play itself. As the touch screen of the DS is ONLY used for the menu, and that really isn't saying much. There are a LOT of different game play modes like Evolution where you can go and try to win championships which consist of a 1st, 2nd, 3rd place prizes. There are also such plain straight modes like Instant Race and others. While driving you can use boosts which are showcased as the blue capsules on the bottom left hand screen. Turns can be troublesome, but you will get used to it. As for the bottom screen, it is strictly a map screen of where all the cars are. The best part of the game play is actually customizing your cars to what you want, kind of like Grand Turismo.

Storyline (If any): (8) Not really much of a storyline, but the Evolution mode will keep you entertained for lots of hours. Especially when you want to update your car, even by color choice and different logos to choose from, which are many.

Summary: (8.25) As one of the first-generation DS titles, I say this is a great game to pick up for first time DS owners, and others who have not bought it. If you had to choose from Ridge Racers DS and this, I would go for this. Though the wireless multi-player requires everyone to have a cart, that won't stop from the cool multi-player that Gameloft has put in.

Pros:
+Slick and realistic graphics
+Lots of customization
+Game play modes are endless

Cons:
-Music can be better
-The voice-acting needs to be LOUDER

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/18/05