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Category: Racing games
Seller: Freeverse, Inc.
Requirements: iPhone 2.2 software
Compatibility: iPhone and iPod Touch
File Size: 46MB
Version Reviewed: 1.0.1
Price: $2.99
Age Rating: 9+

The iPhone has quickly positioned itself a decent casual gaming device, but that hasn’t stopped some developers of trying to turn the iPhone into a hard core gaming machine. The latest of these is Freeverse, which is somewhat surprising considering people never really turned to Freeverse for hardcore games on the Mac. They developed many fantastic titles and published many more, but having turned their attention almost solely to the iPhone, it seems they’ve also turned to a different approach to games.

For instance, racing. Did Freeverse even release a Macintosh racing game? I don’t think so. But for the iPhone, they’ve brought us Wingnuts Moto Chaser, SlotZ Racer and now Days of Thunder. It’s the latter of these, however, that is the first to truly go full throttle action.

I guess Days of Thunder is based on the movie of the same name. You play Cole Trickle, a hot-shot stock car driver working his way up the circuit. Had that not been the name of the character in the movie, I would’ve thought “Cole Trickle” was a pretty funny joke by Freeverse, like Baron Von Schtopwatch from Wingnuts. But no, that’s a name an actual writer gave a character, so there you go.

Because I never saw the movie, I’ll forgo any comparisons at this point and just focus on the game, which is pretty outstanding as far as racing games go. Of course, you steer your car with the accelerometer, which means you’ll do a lot of tilting to the left. You control the gas with a button on the bottom right of the screen, and the brake with a button on the bottom left. That’s pretty much it…aside from the hammer. When you “draft” off cars ahead of you (which I guess means you stay behind them for a period of time), you build up your hammer meter. When that hits full, you press the hammer button for a burst of speed and invincibility, which you can use to either destroy the other cars or just pass them, depending upon your mood.

Now, two things happen when you blow up another car. First, there’s a really cool slow-mo cinematic of the carnage. Second, nothing. Because although the car was turned to a burned crisp of scrap metal, the racer and his car will be right back for the next race. Fair enough, I suppose, but you won’t want to just go smashing into the other cars for the whole race, anyway. Your car suffers damage, too, which will either lead to your destruction and elimination from the race or, worse, a pit stop. When you pull into the pits, two meters appear; the first shows the status of the your car repairs, the second shows how far behind you’re falling. So pit stops become a balancing act between how solid you need your car to be and how much ground you think you can make up.

Of course, all racing games have to include upgrades of some type, and Days of Thunder won’t let you down. By taking out rivals, you get their cars, which I think is a nice touch. It gives you something more do than just win the race, and NASCAR would be a lot more interesting if drivers were racing for pink slips. Different cars offer different capabilities, and it won’t be long before you find one that suits your style of playing.

Days of Thunder offers 39 races (I hope the movie didn’t make you watch that many races) on 12 tracks, and as you unlock the tracks in Story Mode, you’ll be able to go back to them at any time in Instant Action Mode. But the real attraction to Days of Thunder are the graphics. The tracks are detailed and distinctive and do a great job of creating the right atmosphere. The cars themselves look great, too, which makes smashing them up all the more enjoyable.

There’s occasional choppiness when too much is happening onscreen, but not enough to hamper gameplay.

The races are well paced and evenly matched, for the most part, so you won’t feel overwhelmed at the start. This is good, because the story is fairly dorky and won’t be enough to carry you through all 39 races.

And so, Days of Thunder should appeal to two types of gamers: race fans and those who want something that takes iPhone gaming up a notch. Casual games are well and good, but when you’re looking for something on your iPhone or iPod touch to really make you feel like you’ve got a hard core gaming system, Days of Thunder is it. It doesn’t offer the depth and complexity of a hard core racing game, but it sure does feel the part, and that’s the best we’re going to get for now.