VS. Racing Review

When players first start up VS. Racing, the game asks if they want to try and learn the game's new, special take on tilt control or stick with the "usual." This is important because it turns out these controls are responsible for much of what makes VS. Racing a fun little racer.

VS. Racing is an overhead racer in which players tilt their iOS device to steer your vehicle around twists and turns. There are 34 different races to complete, spread out across 5 different cups. Many iPhone games use tilt controls, so in this sense there's nothing all that original about VS. Racing. But the control scheme here does work quite well and it really is what makes the game what it is. The use of tilt controls in this title is actually a little different than what we typically see in racing games, however. Since the game is overhead and gamers tilt their device to control their vehicle, it gives the effect that they're rolling their vehicle around the track instead of steering it. Think Super Monkey Ball, without the challenge of having to fall off a track. In fact, during the game's tutorial, players actually practice the control scheme by rolling a ball around the track. Indeed, this rolling/tilting control scheme gives the game a fairly unique feel.

There are other control options to note, both of which actually work well too. Gamers can either steer left to right by tapping a designated area on the screen or they can use a virtual analog stick that is rendered in the corner of the screen. However, neither of these control schemes work quite as well as the tilt setup does.

This is a respectable little iOS racer, but it does fall short in at least one regard. All together, there are just six different courses, which are recycled throughout the game's 34 different races. It would have been nice to see a larger number of courses. Also, while VS. Racing is actually a very solid-looking iPhone game, utilizing retina display visuals, crisp textures and detailed visuals overall, there could be more variety to the game's environments.

There is also local multiplayer, which lets players connect to and play with up to six other friends using a local Wi-Fi connection. This is definitely a nice little extra.

VS. Racing is not an impressively realistic iOS racing game, but it is a fun racer, nonetheless. It's got a unique, functional control scheme – one that actually lends itself to creating a stand-out experience – and it visuals serve as nice eye candy. Not bad.

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