The only reckless thing about Reckless Racing 2 would be not buying it
I’ve rarely felt so confused in my life. Many times during the course of playing Reckless Racing 2 on my Galaxy Nexus I had to reconfirm that I, in fact, was NOT holding the new Playstation Vita or some other super modern dedicated portable gaming console. Nope, this game was made for my phone. What did we ever do to deserve this? I’m not really sure anyone could answer that question, but whatever it was, I’m glad we did it.
So yeah, Reckless Racing 2 is pretty, pret-tay good.
Reckless Racing 2 doesn’t do much to change the formula in terms of the basics, but it does add a much-needed career mode where you’ll race through various cup circuits earning money and burning rubber in the process. Each of the 12 cups have about 4-6 races where your individual finishes count toward an overall standing. Most of the races are pretty basic, but you’ll also encounter variants where the car in last place after each lap is eliminated. In the end, there can be only one. Finish in the overall top 3 and you can advance on to the next cup. Arcade mode features 40 different challenges that each increase in difficulty. You can also race a single event or in online multiplayer. This game will keep you busy for quite a long time.
Each circuit has a “P.I.” range that your car must meet. The more suped-up and fancier your car, the higher the P.I. Balancing when to upgrade your parts or buy a whole new car is something that I always find incredibly fun, and have on enjoyed my phone ever since I first experienced it in Drag Racing. The parts you can buy will increase your car’s speed, handling or acceleration. Earning the scratch to buy the upgrades or new cars didn’t seem to be too hard, as long as you race well. Collecting and customizing cars is, by far, my favorite part of Reckless Racing 2.
The game features five different customizable control schemes, so you’re guaranteed to find one that you enjoy. Button placement and steering sensitivity can be adjusted for each one to really fine tune your preference. I found each one to be nice and responsive, so I never felt like I was fighting with the game or searching for the little tricks to get it to do what I wanted. Racing lines and other assists are available to really tweak your preferred experience. It’s a fantastic feature set for any game, let alone one built for the mobile platform.
I’d be remiss to not mention how unbelievably beautiful this game looks and runs. If I were to run my phone’s video output to my TV you’d think I was playing something on the Xbox 360 or PS3, it’s that good. Dust kicks up from the tires, fences brake, and orange cones fly all over the track while the game never skips a frame. It’s very impressive stuff that developer Pixelbite has pulled off here.
Some folks might balk at the game’s initial launch price when browsing the market. Please don’t. On multiple occasions I’ve paid three or four times as much for games that have far less to offer and aren’t nearly as fun as Reckless Racing 2. It bears repeating that this game can stand proudly side-by-side with almost any arcade racer on any other platform. The fact that you can carry it around with you at all times just gets me giddy. Do yourself a favor and slam it into high gear, get this game now.
