Game: GT Racing Motor Academy
Platform: iPhone/iPod Touch
Developer: Gameloft
Publisher: Gameloft

In the interest of fairness, it is worth noting that I have never been a fan of driving games. Or perhaps I should say, I’ve never been a fan of “realistic” driving games. More often than not this genre of game is all about finesse and care, not slamming in to your opponents and causing them to spin out of control (which is always my preferred method of winning a race). The last time I tried playing a “realistic” driving game was Metropolis Street Racer for the Sega Dreamcast, and I managed to last about four races before I found that I lacked the skill to progress any further. So what exactly do I make of his portable version of a genre I have no love for? Read on to find out…

To start with GT Racing Motor Academy is impressive, there is no denying it. There are over 100 cars to unlock in the game, and dozens of tracks from all over the world to race in. While I am no car aficionado, the cars all look very much like their real life counterparts.

In terms of controls the game is very simple. In order to accelerate, simply push down on the accelerator in the bottom right corner of the screen, and to break press the breaks in the bottom left corner. Steering is handled by tilting the ipod, which works particularly well due to the gradual nature of steering in this genre of racing game. Like most racing games in this day and age, there is an on-screen guide that will help you determine the best speed and angle at which to take each corner. If the curved line is green then you are going at the optimal speed, likewise if it is red or orange then you are going a little too fast and will need to adjust your speed.

The number of licenced vehicles is impressive.

When you start the game you are required to complete a number of challenges, such as breaking in a designated area, before you are granted a licence that allows you in to the competition. There are 4 licences to unlock: C, B, A, and S. In order to unlock each rank you must complete a set number of races in the previous set of races, and then complete the required challenges. Events are broken up into general races, in which you take your purchased vehicle and compete against other drivers, and Sponsored races. The Sponsored races designate which vehicle you are to drive in, and can often be the most challenging races in the game simply because you have to use a certain car, and cannot just purchase a better one if you find you’re lagging behind everyone else. Fortunately, cash is awarded for coming in first, second, and third place, so even if you are not the best driver in the world, you can still earn some money to spend on new vehicles.

The graphics are crisp, clear, and brightly coloured

The real amusement for me came when, after completing the first few challenges and earning some precious money, I ventured into the in-game garage to purchase my first vehicle. Armed with a mere pittance I could only afford the most basic of vehicles. Browsing through the available vehicles, most of them vastly outside of my price range, I came across a familiar vehicle; the Ford Focus, the car that is parked on my real life drive way.

Taking the Ford Focus out for a spin I quickly found that it handled remarkably similarly to the real life model, and progressed through a number of early races, earning more precious money and unlocking more tracks to race on. The Focus served me well until about half way through the lowest category of races, when my opponents started to drive low-end sports cars that left me trailing behind in their dust.

The races take place in various locations from all over the world.

As well as the career mode, there is an Arcade mode that allows you to race any vehicle you like indepentantly of your career. Multiplayer options are also available, including local multiplayer over bluetooth and online multiplayer.

One new feature that has been introduced in this game is Gameloft’s achievement accounts, which are essentially the same as Microsoft’s Achievement and Sony’s Trophy system. By creating an account online you are able to register the achievements you unlock in your gameloft games and associate them with your account. This will keep track of your overall gamerscore and allow you to compare your score with your friends online. Unfortunately older Gameloft titles such as N.O.V.A and Rogue Planet are not compatible with this new service. Also, adding friends to your account is a bit of a hassle, as you need to visit Gameloft’s site in order to find your friends.

Review Round-Up:

Graphics: 4/5 Levels are brightly coloured with impressive recreations of real life vehicles and tracks.

Sound: 3/5 Car sound effects are as good as you would expect, and the music is entirely what you would expect from the game. Thankfully you are able to play your own music instead of the ingame music if that is what floats your boat.

Gameplay: 4/5 Wonderfully smooth controls contribute towards creating a great car porn racing game that will appeal to any fans of either Sony’s Gran Turismo series, or Microsoft’s Forza games.

Longevity: 4/5 With over 100 vehicles to unlock and dozens of races to compete in any fans of driving games will have hours and hours of fun playing this game. The introduction of the Gameloft achievement account may well provide added longevity to achievement whores around the world.

Overall: 4 Hard Rights out of 5. Gameloft once again show why they are one of the best developers of console like games for the iPhone/iPod Touch, producing an excellent “realistic” racing simulator with tons of content. Costing a mere £3.99 on iTunes, you would be hard pressed to find a better racing game on the iPod.

[starreview tpl=16]