Top 5 Racing Games for the New iPhone 5

The release of the new iPhone 5 and fifth generation iPod Touch will bring a flood of new gaming enthusiasts to Apple’s platform. If you’re new to iOS, you are likely on the hunt for some apps to make use of your fancy new iDevice. Here are five suggestions for great racing games to get you started…

Real Racing 2

When Australian developer Firemint set out to make a sequel to the critically acclaimed and surprise hit Real Racing that originally appeared in 2010, they made sure to include stunning 3D graphics and incredible gameplay that makes it hard to believe you’re playing this on a portable device. Real Racing 2 has everything you come to expect from a racing game like championship cup racing, head to head, time trials and elimination races. A welcomed multiplayer mode allows users to play over local wi-fi or online with a 16-player mode. Best of all, you can take control of 30 officially licensed customizable cars.

Reckless Racing 2

Children of the 80s are likely to have fond memories of pumping quarters into Ivan “Ironman” Stewart’s Super Off Road in the arcade. Reckless Racing 2 brings an incredible top-down racing experience reminiscent of Super Off Road. Core gameplay includes a comprehensive career mode complete with 18 different unlockable cars and a plethora of upgrades. There is also a challenge mode where you advance if you can beat the A.I. and place third or higher. Rounding out the local play options are single race and wi-fi enabled multiplayer. What makes Reckless Racing 2 stand out from the pack is the dynamic difficulty system, which raises or lowers the overall difficulty based on performance.

DrawRace 2

DrawRace 2 presents the same isometric or top-down view that Reckless Racing 2 does, but this game differentiates itself by providing a racing experience unique to touch devices. The game mechanic involves drawing a line around the track with your finger, moving quickly or slowly depending on how fast you want to go, then you watch your car follow the line you’ve drawn. The trick to mastering this game is to obey the rule of the racing line, like in real life. You simply cannot opt for the shortest path around the track and expect to win. Fundamentally, you have to obey the physics of the car in correlation to the track you are racing on. You’ll find yourself racking your brain trying to plot the most efficient racing line. Even better, DrawRace 2 is massive with over 180 different challenges on 36 tracks and a gymkhana mode.

Mini Motor Racing

This game is another in the top-down racing genre that cannot be ignored. The first thing you’ll notice when playing this game are the high quality visuals that include added touches like weather conditions, detailed vehicle models, and well-designed tracks. Mini Motor Racing features tons of content to keep you playing for a while. The objective is to win races and earn money, which you can use to upgrade your vehicle. Gameplay modes include quick play and a career mode, which has dozens of maps organized into cups. With sound gameplay, gorgeous visuals, great music and a ton of worthy maps, Mini Motor Racing is a worthy candidate to help you waste tons of hours away.

Final Freeway 2R

If you were a fan of OutRun then you’ll likely love this homage to Sega’s classic arcade racer. Final Freeway 2R provides 13 different environments to race through in different branching paths. Each complete game has you racing through 5 of them. The graphics look great with detailed sprite work, a great draw distance, and you have the ability to pick music from your mp3 collection stored on your iDevice. Crucial to the experience, the developers added the ability to flip your ride, which was missing in the original Final Freeway that was released in 2010. You get your choice of an exotic Italian convertible and blonde companion riding shotgun in the passenger seat. When you’re able to flip the car, you see both driver and passenger spilling out onto the road. It’s absolutely ridiculous and that’s why I love this game.