Asphalt 3D

Asphalt 3D signals great things to come for the racing genre on the 3DS, although frame-rate issues and silly collisions bring the action down somewhat.

A surprisingly good instalment. Well worth a look if you see it for 20 quid or so. [Apr 2011, p.90]

In the end, Asphalt 3D falls below gamers' expected standards. As far as technical aspects go, the controls are fine, while the sound and graphics have some issues. The gameplay is solid enough, but there are very questionable mechanics in play that either do nothing to the experience or ruin a few good moments. Multiplayer is limited by closing off every other mode but one for play, but at least the game makes good use of the StreetPass feature. For racing fans who have become early adopters of the 3DS handheld, stick with Ridge Racer 3D for your racing fix. If you've already grown tired of that game, then try renting this one to see if you can overcome the flaws and squeeze some enjoyment from the title.

A mixed bag: lots of good ideas mixed with bad execution. I feel that this was a missed opportunity. If the game had a few more months of polish, we could have had two great racing showpieces for the 3DS launch.

This is a decent game which will be liked by those looking for an arcade experience without much complication. Although the game is entertaining and has lots of content, it doesn't ultimately work that well.

Despite appropriating elements from the popular Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and Burnout franchises, Asphalt 3D is an unexceptional arcade-racing title. [April 2011, p.86]

At the end of the day fans of this genre might want to give it a whirl to see if it satisfies their need for a handheld racer before making the plunge into purchasing this title.

Asphalt 3D could be a nice alternative to Ridge Racer 3D, but some technical limitations seriously undermined the Gameloft production.

As a mere porting from the iPhone version, it does not offer much challenge to the player with a very simplified gameplay.

An unremarkable but serviceable racer that too often doesn't put its best foot forward. It's a shame it didn't capitalize on its stronger aspects to deliver a more consistently thrilling experience, but even with its flaws, there's some speedy fun to be had on these streets.

On the one hand, Asphalt 3D delivers a rich single player career, a large number of online multiplayer modes and some decent 3D effects; on the other hand, the graphics are poor and suffer from frequent frame drops, while the physics are ugly. Not the racing game we were expecting from Gameloft, definitely.