Motorsport Manager Mobile 2 review
:: POLE POSITIONPrice: $3.99
Version: 1.0.0
App Reviewed on: iPad Air 2
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Motorsport Manager Mobile 2 is Christian West's second crack at mobile racing sims. In it, you take control of an entire Formula 1-style racing team in hopes of rising up the ranks to the top. For the most part, it's more of the same action from the first Motorsport Manager, but everything here has been refined and updated to feel more dynamic and interesting than it did in the first, making it one of the best management sims on mobile.
Gotta manage fast
Unlike other games featuring fast cars, Motorsport Manager 2 doesn't put you in the driver's seat. Instead, you're the person in charge of picking the drivers, training them, choosing how they should drive, and telling them when to make a pit stop. When not racing, you're also responsible for making sure your entire racing team is a profitable and successful venture, which means you'll be courting sponsors, hiring engineers, developing young drivers, manufacturing new car parts, and more.
Managing all of these things is a balancing act, for sure, but Motorsport Manager 2 presents all of these things in a way that keeps things from being overwhelming. A lot of the gorgeous design work that went into the first game is kicked up a notch here, and all of it works to make Motorsport Manager 2 a visually stunning game. Even looking at data and statistics is interesting and fun thanks to the game's visual style. Little details like the logo designs for the in-game sponsors also add so much to the experience of feeling like you're managing a real racing team.
Pole progression
As a sequel, most of Motorsport Manager 2's most meaningful additions revolve around progression and customization. Drivers in the game actually live out their own careers where they improve, sign to different leagues, develop traits (both positive and negative), and eventually retire. The game also lets you use your engineers to build custom parts for your cars which have their own reliability and performance stats. If that weren't enough, you can also choose to invest your finances into developing your racing HQ, which unlocks more potential and bonuses to your overall team as you progress through the game.
In the heat of an actual race, things in Motorsport Manager 2 are pretty similar to the original game, although there's a lot more data and a few more decisions for you to juggle along the way. You can tune each driver's car for the course they are driving, choose from a variety tire compounds for your cars, and give team orders to manage fuel efficency and tire wear. There are also things like driver errors and refueling rules to contend with that help make every race feel different.
An unexpected turn
All of these additions make Motorsport Manager 2 a more realistic and dynamic game than the first, but it also can make things a little less predictable. There are times when your drivers might give bad interviews at inopportune times, or you might come across a dilemma that puts you between a rock and a hard place financially speaking. All of this can result in poor performance on race day, or–even if things are going swimmingly–it's possibile that your driver could just wreck or make some costly mistakes on the track when you least expect it.
These uncontrollable events can make Motorsport Manager 2 a little frustrating at times, but it's also where most of the game's challenge comes from. Without these moments, you'd quickly build a racing dynasty that dominates every league every year. With them, some shrewd budgeting and management can help you recover from even the most harrowing situations that arise. This is what it means to be a good manager, and Motorsport Manager 2 does an incredible job of testing your abilities in this arena while providing satisfying rewards for rising to the occasion.
The bottom line
Top to bottom, Motorsport Manager Mobile 2 is a better than the great game that came before it. It's elegant, smart, difficult, and supremely satisfying, regardless of whether or not you are a racing enthusiast. It is certainly the leader of the pack when it comes to management sims on mobile. Don't let this one pass you by.