Asphalt 8: Airborne Preview

In real life, bad things usually happen when cars leave the road and have delusions of flying grandeur. Fortunately, Gameloft’s racing games view things like gravity as suggestions rather than hard and fast rules. Hence, you’ll be able to pull off all kinds of aerial stunts when Asphalt 8: Airborne takes flight on iOS and Android later this year.

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Because abiding by the laws of gravity is just SO 2012.

In real life, bad things usually happen when cars leave the road and have delusions of flying grandeur. Fortunately, Gameloft’s racing games view things like gravity as suggestions rather than hard and fast rules. Hence, you’ll be able to pull off all kinds of aerial stunts when Asphalt 8: Airborne takes flight on iOS and Android later this year.

Despite its uncertain release date, Asphalt 8 was playable at the Gameloft booth at E3. Like its predecessors, it’s a nitro-boosted arcade racer with a focus on raw speed and drifting. It boasts nine tracks (all new except for a Monaco street circuit), all of which contain shortcuts and multiple ways to get around.

Up to eight players can compete in online multiplayer races, and there’s a full career mode for people who’d rather go it alone. The new Infected mode is an interesting twist on… well, zombies I guess, where the last place car is infected and has just 20 seconds to hit another car, pass on the infection, and return itself to normal. Gate Drift mode is dedicated specifically to the fine art of drifting, something that is especially slick to pull off if you use the game’s tilt-based steering.

Gameloft’s PR folks say the game has “tons” of licensed cars to upgrade and customize. Apparently the car companies weren’t too crazy about some of the decals you could place in earlier entries in the series, so look for paint to be the main way to pimp your ride visually.

Asphalt 8: Airborne

As for the aerial aspect, I got a chance to take off from a variety of ramps. We’re talking regular jumps, corkscrews to make you do barrel rolls, and more. Sticking the landings is the tricky part, but Asphalt 8 is fairly forgiving when it comes to crashing. Let’s just say I was always able to get right back in the race.

These games must be doing something right to warrant this many sequels, right? Even if you aren’t usually big on racing titles, this one has the thrill factor down whether you keep your wheels on the road or not. Keep your eyes peeled (preferably on Gamezebo!) for its release before the end of 2013.

Nick Tylwalk enjoys writing about video games, comic books, pro wrestling and other things where people are often punching each other, regaardless of what that says about him. He prefers MMOs, RPGs, strategy and sports games but can be talked into playing just about anything.