Every game console needs a killer racing title, something that delivers envelope-pushing graphics and freewheeling fun. For the PlayStation, it’s Gran Turismo. For the Xbox, it’s Forza Motorsport. And for the iPhone? Sadly, it’s not GTS World Racing. Although the game offers pretty graphics, perfect controls, and some nice touches, it’s far too repetitive. Plus, it has some gameplay issues that, pardon the pun, drive you crazy.
An arcade-style racer in the truest sense, GTS offers three roadsters: Coupe, Sports, and Formula. Astraware claims they have different handling characteristics, but the chief difference between them is their top speed. The Coupe is a slowpoke; the Formula, a rocket; and the Sports, somewhere in between. GTS has four skill levels, but ultimately it’s the car you choose that determines the difficulty of a race.
The game includes an impressive 16 tracks, each set in a different country. However, there’s little variation between them: Though you might find mountains here, snow there, and so on, you’re always racing on wide, flat roads with the occasional tunnel or bend. On the plus side, when you race in the Grand Tour mode, GTS turns those 16 tracks into 64 by reversing and mirroring them. Just make sure you’ve got plenty of time: When you lose or “abandon” any career-mode race, there’s no way to pick up where you left off—you’ll be starting from Race #1 every single time. Thankfully, if you exit the game itself while mid-race, you can resume the next time you run GTS.
Although GTS has a decent soundtrack, you can play the game while listening to your own music. That’s a great perk, one we haven’t seen in other racing games. However, it requires disabling all GTS audio (a simple menu option), which necessarily disables the game’s sound effects as well. We wish we had the option of disabling just its music.
GTS’s controls couldn’t be better: You tilt left and right steer, forward to accelerate, and backward to brake. If you accelerate too hard, the screen fades to red and says, “Too flat!” Most players will master the controls inside of two minutes. Unfortunately, most players will also get bored inside of about 10 minutes. Races go on too long (each one is five laps, with no option for changing the duration), and without the incentive of unlocking new cars, tracks, or extras, there’s little reason to return the game once you’ve played a few times.
It looks nice, but ultimately GTS World Racing is about as satisfying as a game you play at the arcade. It’s fun for a few minutes, then quickly forgotten.
A few bucks cheaper than most racing games. Perfect control scheme. Gorgeous graphics. Lets you race while listening to your own tunes.
Bland, repetitive gameplay. Only three cars to choose from. All tracks and cars are unlocked, so there’s little incentive to win races. Racing with your own soundtrack disables game sounds.
