Metascore
70

Mixed or average reviews - based on 30 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 30
  2. Negative: 3 out of 30
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  1. Mar 12, 2013
    40
    A wonderful portable racing experience has been completely ruined by greedy micro transactions.
  2. 30
    It may be a good quality racer but this is also one of the most offensively cynical video games we’ve ever played, and despite being ‘free’ also one of the most expensive.
  3. Feb 28, 2013
    30
    There's a good game somewhere within Real Racing 3 - and there are plenty of free-to-play games that prove this model can work successfully while respecting the player. Firemonkeys, and perhaps more pertinently EA, have got that balance horribly, horribly wrong, to an extent where the business model becomes the game - with gut-wrenching results.
User Score
5.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 108 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 53 out of 108
  2. Negative: 35 out of 108
  1. Mar 3, 2013
    10
    This is a visually stunning and well design racing sim. Camera angles are handled well and the sense of speed is excellent.

    A lot of the
    This is a visually stunning and well design racing sim. Camera angles are handled well and the sense of speed is excellent.

    A lot of the criticism surrounding the payment/waiting system seems to be closely tied to how much you play it. I've found that playing for 30 min spats has worked out fine. Furthermore, if you drive clean, then you're rewarded by needing less repairs. This is one aspect of the design I wish more games took into consideration. Anyone saying you can't go through a race without accruing damage is probably driving sloppily to be honest. Also, you can raise with damage, but you take minor performance hits to acceleration, top speed, etc. Some console sims DO penalize you for driving off the track or ramming other cars in terms of tire wear or the need for repairs. To me this seems pretty suitable for a mobile game to incorporate. The more skilled you are the more quickly and easily you'll progress.

    There are wait times for upgrades, but if you have more than one car (which is the case as you progress), then you'll be able to switch to another car. The time shift racing aspect definitely gives it a nice amount of competitiveness as well, as long as you have some gamecenter/facebook friends using the game. You'll still see other players around the globe playing, but it's fun to see a friend one-upping your own records. All in all, this is a great game at a very low cost. It is a sim at hear, so I wouldn't expect it to appeal as much to someone expecting a Need For Speed type arcade experience.
    Full Review »
  2. Feb 28, 2013
    3
    An amazing achievement of graphics and game-play on a mobile device. Sadly, EA got involved, and most of the design decisions have thusAn amazing achievement of graphics and game-play on a mobile device. Sadly, EA got involved, and most of the design decisions have thus revolved around the one big question... "How can we force our users to pay more money". The result is one of the most horrible gaming experiences I have come across, where forced waiting times, forced upgrades and unavoidable vehicle damage (ie just *using* a vehicle gives it damage) attempt to extract as much real money as possible. Its cynical and oh so frustrating to see in what would otherwise be a show-stopping experience. Full Review »
  3. Mar 1, 2013
    6
    An absolutely gorgeous game (especially on the iPad's Retina Display) marred by only a few shortfalls: the generally unobtrusive, yet everAn absolutely gorgeous game (especially on the iPad's Retina Display) marred by only a few shortfalls: the generally unobtrusive, yet ever present, attempts to get the player to spend real money via IAPs; the "if you don't use our currency to speed up delivery, we'll make you wait" trick for upgrades and repairs; and the fact that while your car is easily damaged (and its performance is negatively affected), other cars are not at all affected not even superficially by your collisions with them. AI is generally stupid, too: if you try and pass another car on the inside of a corner, they'll haphazardly and senselessly crash into you.

    The ultra-negative reviews are just hating because hating on EA and Activision is the 'cool' thing to do now on the internet... I guess they think that it increases their street cred, or whatever. Either way, this game is actually pretty good: it's really not that hard to ignore the IAP cash-in attempts (the wait times are usually pretty short), and you can switch to other cars in the meantime, and the graphics and gameplay are by far the best I've seen in an iOS-based racing game.
    Full Review »