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iPhone
Wingnuts Moto Racer
Posted 07/16/2008 at 6:47:41pm | by Rick Broida

Feeling the need for speed? Find another game. Wingnuts Moto Racer will bore you to tears if it doesn’t frustrate you silly first. If that sounds harsh, it’s only because competing racers like Cro-Mag Rally and Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D offer better graphics, more varied gameplay, and fewer interface problems.

The game offers a choice of three drivers (two guys and a girl), but it’s purely a cosmetic decision: They have no stats or abilities to speak of. Next, you choose a track: Moto Racer has 10, each of which must be unlocked by completing the previous one. All races are checkpoint-driven, meaning if you don’t beat the clock, you don’t finish the race.

The main controls are simple: Press and hold an onscreen “gas” button to accelerate, and turn by turning the iPhone. You can punch other cyclers for extra points, but the punch button inexplicably appears above the gas button, requiring you to lift your thumb from the latter—and lose acceleration. In other dumbness, Moto Racer lacks in-game pause and exit options. The only way to return to the main menu is to wait for the clock to run out. And if you win a race, you have no choice but to continue on to the next one.

When you collide with an obstacle, you generally just slide around it instead of crashing. In fact, Moto Racer doesn’t let you crash at all. Meanwhile, when you’re racing uphill, the camera angle makes it impossible to see upcoming turns.

Redeeming qualities? Moto Racer has a couple, including scattered speed-boost power-ups and a “highlight camera” that kicks in when you hit a particularly big jump. Other than that, this is a bare-bones arcade racer that just isn’t worth the money.

THE BOTTOM LINE
Rudimentary graphics and uninspired, awkward gameplay combine to make this one motorcycle race that’s all spills and no thrills.

Wingnuts Moto Racer
COMPANY: Freeverse
CONTACT: www.freeverse.com
PRICE: $9.99
REQUIREMENTS: iPhone or iPod touch with 2.0 Software Update
Appealing sound effects and music. Occasional power-ups and camera shifts help break up the monotony.
Dull as dirt. Nintendo 64-era graphics. No instructions provided. Games can’t be paused. Punch control inconveniently positioned above gas control.
2/5
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