As racing games have shifted more towards realism and accurate simulation in things like graphics, and physics, I think we might have lost a little along the way. Seeing real-world cars flying through the air and doing insane stunts happens less and less compared to this dirt track will now make you slide out 2% more accurately. Now don’t get me wrong, I love a good simulation-based racing game, but man, there is nothing like a well put together arcade racer that features real-world cars! There are just not enough arcade racing games these days that feature real-world cars. With Gameloft’s Asphalt 9 Legends, arcade racing with real-world cars has blasted its way back onto consoles! Surprisingly this freemium title that was originally released on mobile devices has met most of my expectations.
Gameplay
Asphalt 9 Legends has arcade racing at its core and any sense of realism the game's presentation suggests is quickly thrown out the window when you start your first race. Wrecking into other cars and using nos to give yourself a boost just brings out a pure sense of joy. Then there is the ramping, oh yes the ramping! They are scattered throughout tracks and launching off one results in the most satisfying of barrel rolls. You can control where you are going once you are airborne so using them isn’t necessarily a risk, but again it is so satisfying to see! So yes, realism beyond its fantastic looks isn’t a priority for Asphalt 9 Legends.
Playing Asphalt 9 Legends can be done in a number of ways including traditional controls, motion controls, and touchscreen screen controls or if you are like me a mixture of the three. I found most menu navigation easiest to do with the Switch’s touchscreen while I did gameplay with traditional controls. Um, screw motion controls, not sorry it has to be said. There is one more control option included for Asphalt 9 Legends called Touchdrive. This is a simplified control scheme that is great for new players and kids to ease themselves into the game. With this control scheme, acceleration and steering are handled automatically leaving the player responsible for selecting which path to take, initiating drifts, and using nos. It makes the game easier in a number of ways but as you progress there is still a good bit of strategy needed to succeed.
Now races themselves are a blast and the only way I know how to really describe them is a blend of Hydro Thunder and Burnout. Your nos is essential to keeping up with opponents and taking them out. Nos can be built up by picking up nos canisters during a race, with blue filling a little and yellow a lot, or by drifting and taking trick ramps. Wiping out opponents is another way to build up nos and combining all of these methods can result in some spectacular races! Now winning races isn’t always your objective in Asphalt 9 Legends as many tracks will actually feature different objectives for players to accomplish like taking out a certain number of opponents and using nos for a set time.
Asphalt 9 Legends contains over 50 cars for players to unlock separated across different classes from D to S. I am very happy that the default car is an Evo by the way! Being a free to play game unlocking new cars is a bit time-consuming. While there are microtransactions available in the game, everything can be unlocked without spending a dime. Finishing races and objectives give you 2 forms of currency in tokens and money. Money is used to unlock upgrades for your car and tokens can be used to unlock new car packs. Car packs contain blueprints needed to unlock cars and after acquiring the necessary number that shiny new car will be yours!
After using your car in 6 races it will be unusable for 5 minutes. Now you can spend a few tokens to skip this wait time or use another unlocked car you have ready to go which is my recommendation so you can keep those tokens to unlock more cars. There is a nice starter pack available for $19.99 that will unlock 5 additional cars, 200,000 cash, and 300 tokens to really give you a good starting boost. Do note that you get a free car pack every 4 hours so if you are really interested in the game, be sure to keep track and get it whenever it comes up to further help you unlock cars and avoid downtimes.
There are a few modes available in Asphalt 9 Legends with a single-player career mode, split-screen multiplayer, and online multiplayer modes being available. The career mode is where I have spent most of my time with the game and different seasons become available as you unlock more cars and finish previous seasons. There are a ton of them which is really nice to see! Split-screen is annoyingly locked behind your career progress at first but thankfully it doesn’t take to long to unlock it with it being available after you make it about half-way through your second season. Split-screen lets up to four players enjoy the game on a single screen and sounds like a total blast! Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to test this mode myself as of yet. I also enjoyed my time with the online multiplayer and since Gameloft has made it so Nintendo Switch Online isn’t required it is readily accessible to all Switch owners.
Graphics
Man, Asphalt 9 Legends is a beautiful game! Cars feature wonderful models and awesome looking finishes. Environments also look stunning and driving through snowy mountains or a coastal road with waves splashing up are very stunning! Lighting also looks top notch giving the worlds a lifelike appearance. Another thing the game does well that I personally love is the sense of speed you get during a race. While using nos and speeding through a course everything around you gets nice and blurry as it flies past. Nos effects also look great and I am a fan of the purplish highlights when using a shockwave boost. Wrecks also look amazing with cars being torn to shreds on takedowns.
Sound
Like graphics, audio work is fantastic! Sound effects on engines, nos, tires, and drifts sound great. Everything is also highlighted with a great soundtrack of songs that fit the action well.
Replayability
Again this is a free to play game so there is going to be a lot of grinding involved to unlock everything. Thankfully there is an ample amount of races to keep you busy to do so on top of things like joining a club or doing online multiplayer. There is also split-screen available for anyone looking to play with friends locally for any number of hours.
What It Could Have Done Better
No matter how much I like the core racing game, Asphalt 9 Legends mobile free to play roots are blatantly obvious. The menu, card shop and ads for special bundles are all things not found in console games. I don’t find them too annoying myself but I know this will tick a lot off a lot of you to no end so it is worth mentioning. Part of the game's mobile roots that does tick me off is having to wait after using my favorite car 6 times. It really interrupts the flow of the game and can put a stop to the fun in the early game before more cars are unlocked. Sure it only takes 2 tokens to skip this wait time but saving up tokens is essential to getting more cars so spending them begins to add up. The game also requires a constant internet connection to play so that keeps this from being a truly play anywhere title.
Verdict
Overall I think Asphalt 9 Legends is an awesome arcade racer with fantastic gameplay. There are some unfortunate free to play mechanics that can interrupt your fun when you first get started but after unlocking your first additional car things really pick up for the better. For anyone out there looking for a new arcade racing game to play Asphalt 9 Legends is definitely worth looking in to, especially since it is free!
