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Filed under: Gaming, Software, Odds and ends, Beta Beat, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, First Look

TUAW Preview: SlotZ Racer for iPhone

If you're a male who grew up in the 60's or 70's, you probably remember slot cars! You had a plastic race track with electric "rails" running through it, and your car had a little pin on the bottom that rode in a slot on the track for control -- hence the name 'slot car.' I have fond memories of setting up my slot car set underneath the Christmas tree, and racing against my Dad.

Someone at Freeverse apparently has the same memories, since they'll soon be announcing a new racing game called SlotZ Racer. I was able to test a pre-release version of the game, and it's a ton of fun. You can race on pre-defined tracks ranging from a simple oval to a curvy Grand Prix course, and there's a track editor for creating your own race courses. There are settings for the number of lanes, the car scale (1:32 or HO), and whether or not cars can change lanes.

To accelerate your car, you just hold down on the lower left corner of the iPhone screen. Like real slot cars, if you go too fast your car will flip off the track. You can slow the car down by taking your finger or thumb off of the screen.

No price has been set, but expect to see SlotZ Racer officially launched at Macworld Expo. Check out the gallery for pics.

Gallery: SlotZ Racer

SlotZ Racer Splash ScreenSlotZ Racer 2SlotZ Racer 3SlotZ Racer 4SlotZ Racer 5

Filed under: Gaming, Software, Developer, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Raging Thunder in the App Store


We've come full circle on the Thunder that Rages -- after first releasing their game on a jailbroken iPhone, and then switching off to do a Crash Kart game, developer Polarbit has now brought it out onto the official store for release. It rings in at a relatively pricey $7.99, but it does look terrific with a little physics built in and (and here's the kicker) features WiFi multiplayer (Polarbit said they were working on it in our interview with them a while back). Multiplayer is one place that iPhone games haven't quite reached their potential yet, and if Raging Thunder delivers as nice a multiplayer experience as it claims to, it's worth the price of admission.

Once again, this is a title that could definitely use a demo, but if you're already sold, you know the drill: hit up the App Store, download away, and use the accelerometer to race off into the Raging Thunder.

Filed under: iPod Family, Software, iPhone, App Store

Preview: GTS World Racing for iPhone / iPod touch




If there's one company in the world that is in the business of keeping people happy, it's Astraware. They're a UK-based development firm that excels in writing games for handheld devices. In the past, they've published games like Bejeweled 2, Cubis, and Zuma for Palm and Windows Mobile, and now they're entering the iPhone market with a splash.

GTS World Racing is an arcade-style racing game licensed from Pazzazz Games that, like Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D, uses the accelerometers in the iPhone / iPod touch for control. Tilting the iPhone left or right steers your car, tilting forward accelerates the car, and tilting back applies the brakes.

The game provides 64 different track layouts, so you're not likely to get bored going around the same track again and again. There are 16 different worldwide locations for backdrops, as well as three different car types and four different levels of difficulty (I hate to admit that I'm still stuck at the "Easy" level...). You can also play your own music in the background if you tire of the built-in soundtrack.

Update: GTS World Racing is now available here (click opens iTunes) for US$7.99

In the interest of full disclosure, the author has had a long-term reviewing relationship with Astraware.


Gallery: GTSWR

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Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Software, Odds and ends, iPhone

Polarbit makes Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D for the iPhone


Of all the racers we've seen for the iPhone so far (and there are quite a few), this might be the one I'm most interested in -- Polarbit, who've already dipped into the iPhone's racing game capabilities with Raging Thunder, is working on a Crash Bandicoot-branded kart racing game for the iPhone (video here). And it sounds like it's got everything you'd want in a kart racing game on a console, much less on a smartphone platform -- twelve tracks, lots of characters, lots of weapons and powerups, and configurable controls. There are going to be a ton of racing games out when the App Store drops, but something silly and fun like this, crafted by a developer who knows their way around the fledgling platform, will probably be very near the top of the list.

Can't wait to play it. No exact word on when Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D is coming, but it can't be too late after the App Store releases, and we'd guess $10 for a price, since that's what most of these things will be going for. Definitely looks like it might be a standout among the plethora of accelerometer racing games we'll be sure to have.

Filed under: Gaming, Software, iPhone

Raging Thunder races onto the iPhone (unofficially for now)


The iPhone continues to impress in terms of gaming possibility. Raging Thunder isn't actually done yet on the iPhone (obviously -- judging by this video there are more glitches on this thing than a Matrix full of black cats), but once it gets rolling, the award-winning game, put together by Polarbit, looks like a pretty sweet racing experience. The accelerometer actually serves as a nice wheel (with a little help from the Wii wheel), and the graphics aren't too shabby, either.

We've already seen a few different games like this floating around at TUAW (including one from a big developer that we can't tell you about), but with a little bug fixing and optimization, the right tuning, and a horizontal mode, the iPhone could easily have a great accelerometer-controlled racing game available at launch. And that's just launch -- we can't wait to see what happens when a game like the Wii's latest Boom Blox (which lets you push and pull Jenga-type block structures around -- multitouch, anyone?) makes its way over to our little Apple handheld.

Racing Thunder is available right now on Installer.app, but this kind of stuff is what we're really looking for in the SDK when it comes out in June.

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Software, Leopard

Colin McRae Rally due out Friday


Ian of Feral Interactive kindly dropped us a note that Colin McRae Rally for the Mac has gotten a release date: this Friday, October 26th. I'm not sure if he's aware that he's got a little bit of competition that day (because, as we all know, Dan in Real Life is releasing on Friday, too-- what? Leopard?), but then again, maybe the big OS release will give a little boost to the latest rally racing game, PC editions of which have been reviewed pretty well so far.

And if you don't trust reviews for other systems (probably a good idea), worry not-- we're told a demo is imminent, so you'll be able to try the game out for yourself. Find out more about the game itself over on the minisite. Apparently the game features more than 30 cars, 300 tracks in nine locations around the globe, and realistic physics and handling. Throw in a few muddy curves, and you've got a recipe for a fun Saturday night.

On a sad note, the release was actually set for earlier this year, but was delayed due to the accidental death of the series' namesake. Very sorry to hear it-- fortunately, the legendary racer's legacy lives on in his memory and phenomenal racing career history.

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