Asphalt Champions hits mobile to take us on a fast-paced tour of the countryside

If I said that there was a new Asphalt racing game, you would no doubt think of the Gameloft series. However, you would now be wrong, because this is a new racing game in town: Asphalt Champions. Which I am quite surprised about, purely because of the name.

I feel like I have seen people have to rename their games or properties for much less. With a series like Asphalt Racing being a big, established thing, surely Asphalt in a racing context would be off-limits. Completely unrelated to it being released, but something that just made me wonder. 

Back on track, Asphalt Champions is a racing game, surprise, that takes you out of the city streets and circuits, placing you on the countryside roads. And as any driver can attest to, back roads are always the most fun to drive down. Although I have never raced down a storm drain before, I can’t attest to that track. 

In addition to the aforementioned infrastructure, you will be ripping around winding country lanes, ramshackle junkyards, and desert roads, to name a handful of the 12 tracks. There is a selection of 16 vehicles to choose from, each of which can be upgraded and customised to your dream look. Which is obviously a red Mustang with a black stripe. 

You can take your new friend out in a variety of modes, both against AI and humans. Tournament modes can be set up in Race, Elimination, or Time Trail races to see who can score the most points, or hop into Quick Race for a one-off, AI challenge. Hotseat will pit you against a friend in split-screen multiplayer, or you can head to the Time Trial challenge and see if you can cement your status as a true Asphalt legend. 

Asphalt Champions is available to download from Google Play now. There is an App Store link on the website, which is currently inactive, so presumably it will be released on Apple shortly.