Metascore
60

Mixed or average reviews - based on 38 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 38
  2. Negative: 7 out of 38
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  1. I would love to drive an indestructible car that could never, ever flip in my ordinary, everyday life, but when we play games, we like to break things. After playing some Asphalt Urban GT, you’ll just want to break your Nintendo DS.
  2. 40
    If you need the realistic tracks and real vehicles, Asphalt: Urban GT will deliver. Otherwise, you'll probably want to get your DS racing kicks elsewhere.
  3. Quite rough around the edges which suggests that it was rushed out to meet the DS launch date. Very disappointed.
  4. 30
    The fancy-pants replay is a nice enough function…except for the fact that all the other cars on the course mysteriously vanish into thin air during playback. Um, didn't anyone notice this?
  5. games(TM)
    30
    It bears all the hallmarks of a game rushed to meet a deadline and its refusal to use the touch screen is the biggest faux pas a launch game can commit on the DS. [Jan 2005, p.121]
  6. It's no fun to drive, and in fact driving itself is something of a challenge. On top of that, having begun life on other formats (including N-Gage), it makes only a token gesture to adapt to the DS's featureset, allowing you to navigate menus but do nothing else with the stylus, allowing wireless multiplay but demanding multiple copies of the game, and using the bottom screen for little more than a topographical overview of the course with markers for each car.
  7. The AI of the opposing race cars is laughable (they often get flummoxed by simple things like passing other vehicles), as is the behaviour of the rest of traffic, with vehicles seemingly stranded in the middle of the road. [NGC Pocket]

Awards & Rankings

9
5
#5 Most Discussed DS Game of 2004
3
#3 Most Shared DS Game of 2004
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 23 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 23
  2. Negative: 2 out of 23
  1. Jun 21, 2021
    4
    Esse jogo é frustrante. Não recomendo. Se quiser diversão jogue o Asphalt Urban GT 2
  2. Jul 25, 2020
    8
    For a game that came out so close to the release of the original DS Urban GT is impressive, but certainly has its quirks that needed to beFor a game that came out so close to the release of the original DS Urban GT is impressive, but certainly has its quirks that needed to be worked out.

    Graphically the game manages to hold up well with nearly full 3D models and environments. I'd say Gameloft went out of their way to see what they could pump out of the DS and it shows. I noticed no slowdown either even in the heat of action.

    The gameplay is rather arcadey while racing. Accelerate, drift, and try not to hit things, but even if you do it's not the end of the world. In fact, you can hit something a barrier going like 150+ mph and it won't have much impact but hit a pedestrian-vehicle and you spin out. I tried to use this logic to bump my opponents, but it didn't seem possible, unfortunately.

    On top of the pretty good arcadey racing, there is a pretty decent tournament mode where you earn money the better you do and use that to buy new vehicles and upgrades for your vehicles. This reminded me of GT or Forza which is what I am more used to playing and I was pleasantly surprised seeing that, especially on a DS game. There is also just regular quick racing you can do either for fun or practice or what have you, and you can race against up to 3 other friends which is cool.

    The music is enjoyable. It has a very early 00's vibe about it, but it's cool with me. I enjoyed listening to it and the tracks are somewhat fast-paced and do a good job of getting you in that adrenaline, racing mood.

    If I had anything to complain about it would be how some of the vehicles handle and the dynamic of the race, which I believe is just a part of the series now, so more of a personal complaint.

    The races are lap races, but you always start far in the back forcing you to try and catch up and 'Outrun' your opponents, like the series of the same name. This doesn't really work though because of the limited time you have in the race, so I feel rushed to get to first which can take me up to a lap to do so, and then it's a tricky balance to hold that place until the end of the race. But that could very easily just be me needing to get better.

    The only other major complaint was how some of the vehicles control. For an arcade game, they feel rather stiff, but once you get the hang of drifting it certainly becomes less of a problem and you are pretty much incentivized to do that it feels like.

    All-in-all Asphalt 1 is a great game and I'd definitely recommend it. I can't wait to revisit the next title in the series!
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  3. Jun 18, 2020
    9
    It's Pretty Good

    The graphics look great. The controls are good, drifting is a bit clunky but you get used to it in a while, I spent a lot
    It's Pretty Good

    The graphics look great. The controls are good, drifting is a bit clunky but you get used to it in a while, I spent a lot of time playing this on road trips. If you don't like the controls you can change them in any way. Sometime if I pause there's a fuzzing sound and then if I un-pause and pause again it crashes, dunno if that's just me though. It can be a bit easy at the beginning, but when you do the races with the super cars it gets a lot harder. So Overall I think it's a pretty solid racing game.
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