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ASPHALT: URBAN GT (JAVA)
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Publisher: Gameloft.
Developer: Gameloft. Released: December 2004. Genre: Racing. Other versions: DS. Posted 9th May 2023. By Tom Clare © 2023 |
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The enduring Asphalt racing lineage started life on the Nintendo DS and Nokia N-Gage in late 2004, with a 2D, Java mobile port following hot on their heels. Though the series would dabble in handheld releases and (more recently) Xbox console versions, the Asphalt games have remained closely associated with mobile ventures. Before it transitioned to 3D and then to touchscreens, the very first Java outing made for a simple, enjoyable arcade throwback.
Gameloft had a knack for making the J2ME platform sing and Asphalt offers more than your average mobile racer of the time. Its achievements must be factored in with a bit of context, however. Urban GT trails many of the Game Boy Advance’s racers in terms of track detail, as well as delivering simplified controls and cruder physics. It also struggles to keep pace with older titles, 16-bit stalwarts such as Lotus Turbo Challenge and Top Gear, rendering markedly less scenery and less traffic.
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Asphalt delivers a simple but diverting slice of 2D racing, with plenty of challenges to overcome before the chequered flag
As you might have ascertained then, there’s nothing here to have players trading in their beloved Gran Turismos or Forza Motorsports to elope with a mobile gaming platform. During the early days of phone gaming, however, the emphasis was on baby steps. Urban GT was better than most, primarily because it managed to inject a modest dose of excitement into the small-screen experience. A great number of its mobile competitors appeared vapid and snail-paced by comparison, with games regularly failing to drum up even the most basic structure or finery with which to distinguish themselves. Early Java was, unfortunately, a veritable landfill for shovelware, games that would have struggled to pass muster twenty years earlier. Asphalt has a bit of quality to it, though. Whilst it consists only of single races and one-vs-one duels, there’s a reasonably robust selection of eight courses and nine real-world cars. Acceleration occurs automatically, limiting the profile of the courses somewhat, but perhaps wisely leaving the player to focus on steering, as well as the occasional jab of ‘up’ to activate nitrous.
Whilst the courses are low-res and blocky, races offer a nice distraction, with well-matched AI ensuring that sloppy performances from the player will go unrewarded. The cornering is reasonably responsive and though there’s little to write home about in terms of trackside scenery, the player must keep an eye out for a myriad of icons, including additional nitrous boosts, money bonuses and police bribes, whilst taking care to avoid speed-sapping slowdown crosses. The law’s after the player and they have a robust array of tools at their disposal. Police cars will ram you to instigate crashes and in the latter stages, lay tear-inducing, race-ruining spike strips. Somewhat incongruously, there are also helicopters with laser-targeting to be evaded. All of these prove a real threat to a good result. There are glimmers of style here and there, most notably the Flash Radar, which posts a nifty, Polaroid-like image of the player against a track’s scenic backdrop, rewarding a cash prize for activating the speed cameras at high speed. It’s the kind of thing the Need for Speed games and Forza Horizon would embrace in the years that followed and is a cool touch.
Whilst the courses are low-res and blocky, races offer a nice distraction, with well-matched AI ensuring that sloppy performances from the player will go unrewarded. The cornering is reasonably responsive and though there’s little to write home about in terms of trackside scenery, the player must keep an eye out for a myriad of icons, including additional nitrous boosts, money bonuses and police bribes, whilst taking care to avoid speed-sapping slowdown crosses. The law’s after the player and they have a robust array of tools at their disposal. Police cars will ram you to instigate crashes and in the latter stages, lay tear-inducing, race-ruining spike strips. Somewhat incongruously, there are also helicopters with laser-targeting to be evaded. All of these prove a real threat to a good result. There are glimmers of style here and there, most notably the Flash Radar, which posts a nifty, Polaroid-like image of the player against a track’s scenic backdrop, rewarding a cash prize for activating the speed cameras at high speed. It’s the kind of thing the Need for Speed games and Forza Horizon would embrace in the years that followed and is a cool touch.
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Strong results and stylish driving help contribute to an ongoing cash/points total, periodically unlocking cars and courses. To see it all, you’ll need to complete at least a couple of dozen races, which amounts to a few sessions of play. Thanks to this, the game has a bit of purpose, a progression path. A lot of J2ME racers don’t offer a choice of car, but Urban GT not only presents recognisable versions of real-world Lamborghinis, Skylines and Corvettes, but each possesses distinct driving characteristics.
Night-time races in Tokyo and New York are probably the most fitting thematically and the most fun. But Urban GT also visits a foggy London, snowy Vladivostok, Paris with the Eiffel Tower in the background and, last but by no means least, a desert run through Route 66. The immediate, foreground track scrolling lends the game a moderately successful sense of speed, with crests and jumps adding to the fun. Elsewhere, Gameloft deserves recognition for devising several distinctive BGMs to accompany the racing, even if the jolly tunes offer little real connection to the high-octane world of street racing.
Night-time races in Tokyo and New York are probably the most fitting thematically and the most fun. But Urban GT also visits a foggy London, snowy Vladivostok, Paris with the Eiffel Tower in the background and, last but by no means least, a desert run through Route 66. The immediate, foreground track scrolling lends the game a moderately successful sense of speed, with crests and jumps adding to the fun. Elsewhere, Gameloft deserves recognition for devising several distinctive BGMs to accompany the racing, even if the jolly tunes offer little real connection to the high-octane world of street racing.
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There is the odd irritation, however. The faster cars are quite twitchy, and have an unfortunate habit of translating consecutive, small steering taps into an immediate, leery drift. The primitive crash physics can be somewhat overlooked for the most part, but it’s harder to forgive losing tough races on one twitchy crash. It wouldn’t be so bad, but the drift function itself is entirely superfluous and never required. To round things off, some of the respawns are glitchy, seeing the car float agonisingly slowly back to the road, robbing you of a chance at victory.
Not the best racer on the planet then, and a noticeably leaner experience than its handheld iterations. Nevertheless, for a 2004 mobile release, Asphalt: Urban GT belied its limited hardware to deliver a fun, nicely-programmed street racer. Accomplished if unspectacular, its short, tricky races prove diverting whilst a respectable collection of cars and tracks is superior to that offered by its competition of the day.
Not the best racer on the planet then, and a noticeably leaner experience than its handheld iterations. Nevertheless, for a 2004 mobile release, Asphalt: Urban GT belied its limited hardware to deliver a fun, nicely-programmed street racer. Accomplished if unspectacular, its short, tricky races prove diverting whilst a respectable collection of cars and tracks is superior to that offered by its competition of the day.
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VERDICT
"Whilst a little crude next to it's 3D handheld equivalents, Asphalt: Urban GT belies it's limited hardware to deliver a fun, if unspectacular, street racer. A solid start to an enduring racing lineage." OVERALL: 6/10 |
