Wow, what a month it’s been for racing fans. Specifically Real Racing fans! You might recall how we kicked things off with our three-part series documenting the history of the Real Racing series, Firemint’s (now Firemonkeys’) approach to designing the first two games, and a peek at Real Racing 3’s Time Shifted Multiplayer that everyone’s been talking about. If you don’t recall you should give them a read. You know, for science or something. Not because I wrote them and am proud of my work or anything.

Of course that was just the beginning. There was also our look at Real Racing 3’s first true hands-on demo. And of course that whole free-to-play business that turned into something of a debacle. Let’s not forget the seething jealousy that was undoubtedly felt when we all found out both New Zealand and Australia were getting the game a couple weeks earlier than the rest of the world!

Before we knew it, Real Racing 3 was only a week away. Our lord and master, Jeff Scott, really dug into the mathematics at play and analyzed the in-game economic structure, for better or for worse. Blake Grundman followed with a look at the top 5 drool-inducing rides players can get their hands on (thus far), and soon after that Carter Dotson stepped up with a look at the 5 most alluring real-world racetracks on offer. Finally, the week was capped off with Carter’s in-depth look at Time Shifted Multiplayer while Jeff hopped back in the driver’s seat (sorry, I’m only human) one last time to bestow his Real Racing wisdom with an impressive number of tips and tricks. We also reviewed it, of course.

Get Racing – we’ve got prizes!

Since it’s been something of a non-stop Real Racing 3 party here at 148Apps we wanted to draw things to a close with a bit of style. Which is why we’re going to capitalize on all the spirit of Time Shifted competition and challenge you, our readers, to a race. Specifically the Pure Stock Challenge, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Nissan Silvia (S15) Showcase Cup race pictured above. I think I’ve typed that out correctly. Why this event? Because it requires one of the first cars new players will have access to and doesn’t allow for any other; providing as even and easily accessible a playing field as we could find.

All you have to do is drive your heart out. Snap a screen shot (hit the Power and Home buttons on your iOS device at the same time) of your best time and post it in the comments below along with your Game Center username. We’ll pick random winners from all of the entries and post the results here on Monday (3/4) afternoon.

The prizes? We’ll give away three $10 iTunes gift cards to spend how you see fit. Although in the spirit of the contest we’d suggest something like, oh, maybe the Race Car Booster Pack that includes 65 gold and a 2010 Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR-X?

Update: We’ll contact our three winners via email. Thanks for playing and look for more Real Racing 3 contests coming up soon.

FREE!

Real Racing 3

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2013-02-28 :: Category: Games

A new maze game has been released by bladibladibla.com (an interesting and humorous name) called Draw Maze. In addition to working through mazes, players can also use this app to create their own mazes.

Players will challenge themselves in this difficult maze game to work their way through a series of complex mazes. After finishing these mazes that come with the app, players can then go on to create their own mazes and challenge their friends to overcome their self-drawn madness. Not only can players send mazes to their friends to play against one another, they can also compete for the high score on the mazes that come with the app and become the “World Record” holder. The developer is even adding the trickiest designed mazes sent in as featured new levels.

While the game is universal and can be played on any iOS device, the developer’s preferred platform is the iPad. Considering the significant increase in screen real estate on the iPad compared to the iPhone, this is no surprise. Draw Maze is a free app. So grab it and start trying to stump your friends.

FREE!

Draw Maze

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-06-15 :: Category: Games

In late April, we posted on 148Apps.biz (the 148Apps site for the development community) about the third edition of the Appsfire App Awards. The contest is a way to highlight great upcoming apps before they’re released. And 148Apps Founder and Editor in Chief, Jeff Scott, is one of the mobile expert judges who are narrowing down the submissions. Just a few days ago, the finalists for the contest have been revealed.

There are currently 16 finalists for the awards, three of them will receive a free ad campaign for their app and a new iPad. The finalists have apps ranging from a guitar app that takes no guitar skills to a kid’s game about eating dinner to a Clear-like to-do app.

Check out the finalists on Appsfire. The post includes video demonstrations of all of the finalists’ apps. The winner will be announced on June 5th. One of my favorites after seeing all of the demonstrations is QuizBoard a multiplayer trivia game. Which app is your favorite?

Penny Time, the side-scrolling action game by Penny Skateboards Austrailia, has just updated with its first free content update. The new update has added a new mode, accessories, and a new character.

While a new character and accessories need no explanation, the new mode added to the game is a competition mode. In Competition Play, players compete head-to-head with other players from around the world. Winners in the competition will receive one of 15 original 22″ skateboards from Penny. The competition ends in a little over a week. Check out the leaderboards here.

Penny Time is a skateboarding game from the Austrailian skateboard manufacturer, Penny. The game is a side-scroller where the player rides a Penny skateboard in search of points and multipliers while doing tricks. And to add the the fun, the skateboard has the ability to freeze time! More, free downloadable content is planned including even more characters, accessories and mode.

$0.99

Penny Time

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-05-10 :: Category: Games

I’ve never really been one for direct competition. I tend to prefer working with a team as opposed to fighting against other people, it’s just how I operate I suppose. But even I have to admit Spin Island might be on to something here. Their new app, iBeatThat, is something akin to a social networking YouTube hybrid with a decidedly “Top that!” vibe. Competitive types (read: normal people) will no doubt eat this stuff up.

The overall premise is simple: users pick a “real world activity” such as snowboarding, basketball, etc… and take a video of themselves doing something impressive in that category. Once that’s done, they can upload the clip through the app and see what happens. Which is to say, other users can view the video and rate it or even attempt to one-up the feat and see what the community thinks of their own attempt. They can also issue direct challenges to people on their friends list.

Would-be daredevils or “physical activity” enthusiasts will no doubt get plenty of use out of iBeatThat. And they can give it a spin right now for free. Just remember to play it safe, folks. Don’t go getting seriously injured out there for the sake of fleeting notoriety.

FREE!

iBeatThat

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2011-11-03 :: Category: Sports

Play games and win prizes for doing so? Surely that’s the dream right? It was certainly my dream back when I was a kid that hoped I could somehow get away with a lifetime of playing video games.

Play2Win won’t quite pay for a mortgage or buy me holidays in the sun but there are some pretty cool prizes in there. Three games are available in all. They might not set the world on fire in terms of gaming innovation with the likes of a roulette wheel game depending more on luck than anything else amongst others. But then again it’s a free way to win things.

Prizes range from the likes of dry cleaning vouchers to massages at local spas or IKEA gift cards as well as a plethora of discounts too. The app promises that everyone’s a winner too with anyone participating at least winning a voucher for the relevant retailer. Users can browse such retailers according to what’s near them.

It certainly makes for an interesting concept. With nothing to lose, why not give Play2Win a shot? It’s free after all.

FREE!

Dobango Free

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2011-05-20 :: Category: Games

Appular and Brainium Studios, developers of Hand Of Greed, have announced a competition to promote their new blade-dodging game.

A huge collection of prizes are available from free copies of the game through to an iPad as the grand prize. Using Twitter, Facebook and Email entry methods, prizes are being given away regularly until the closing date of 5/12.

For more information on how to enter, head to the Appular Facebook page here

Note: This competition is open to US iTunes Store account holders only