LilRacerz

Tony Mei | May 23, 2010 Games

User rating: (14 votes, average: 2.50 out of 5)
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LilRacerz , an inaugural app by developers Blast One, is by definition an arcade ‘micro racer’ style game. However, so much energy, polish and life is infused into this game that it transcends its genre, making you forgot you’re playing a top-down 2D racer that only cost two dollars.

The game play revolves around nine different tournament cups for you to win, each consisting of several unique races. At the end of each race you receive gold coins to spruce up your ride and at the conclusion of each cup (if you scored first or second cumulatively) you unlock a brand new car for the new tourney. It’s a simple and effective no-frills formula that kept me hooked right from the start.

Racing itself is made very easy by efficient and simple controls. You have your acceleration and brake pedals, two steering buttons for maneuvering left and right, and the ubiquitous ‘nitro’ key to give a little jolt to the engine. Controls were generally responsive, and I appreciated how the dev ingeniously placed the nitro right above the acceleration pedal, allowing you to activate it without taking your thumb off the acceleration. All the races consists of two to three laps with four AI opponents, usually making for a frenzied jockeying for position that makes this game a whole lot of pulse-pounding entertainment.

One of the major selling points of LilRacerz are the impressive and stylish pixel-art graphics. Blast One did a fantastic job in making sure their game looked nice, and the different sceneries, ranging from a snowy arctic to desert wasteland to rainforest, all looked bright and crisp. The game is 2D, although I tended to forget that because of how nicely the basic physics system was woven into racing and steering and how realistic the graphics are. As an added bonus, you can laugh manically as you chase and run over skittish pedestrians, reducing them to splatters on the track.

Rounding out LilRacerz is the Crystal integration for score and achievement tracking, a ‘quick race’ mode to race on tracks you’ve already unlocked, and a thumping retro-style soundtrack for your listening enjoyment. From the superb gameplay to excellent graphics, LilRacerz is a very welcome addition to the app store, a great casual racing game that I highly recommend. I’m going to be keeping a lookout for more games by Blast One, because LilRacerz is an optimistic sign of great things to come.

The best controls are the most simple, after all
The best controls are the most simple, after all
Icy tracks require a bit of finesse on the turns, and usually end up with me crashing into a wall.
Icy tracks require a bit of finesse on the turns, and usually end up with me crashing into a wall.
Vroom
Vroom

Shiny gold coins!
Shiny gold coins!
I'm a winner!
I'm a winner!
iphone_lilracerz_price


iTunes Link – LilRacerz

Version 1.0

Reviewed on iPod Touch 2g 3.1.2


Tags: , , ,

  • Tony M.

    To give everyone a fair chance at these prized LilRacerz free codes, I’m going to be releasing them in a sweepstakes format. Just leave a thoughtful comment about your favorite iPhone game, and you might find a promo code sitting in your email inbox. Hurry, sweepstakes ends tomorrow!

    *Make sure comment with a valid email. Cheaters will be ran over.

  • Don Quixote

    Some many great games… so little time to say a thoughtful comment about them all.

    I think on this one I am going to have to go with Zooloretto. It’s a beautiful implementation of a classic board game. Still glitches every once and a while on the iPad, but it caused me to fall in love with the original game and its a great way to pass a lunch time.

  • Eric Witten

    My favorite iPhone app. is Qrank! This app is a must for trivia addicts. I has a beautiful interface, endless questions, and a chance to compete against the world to prove your trivia prowess! Also with the integration into Facebook, you can now proclaim that you are a trivia god…..or not. All in all a great app that all trivia junkies MUST have.

  • Jerry Dziuba

    My current addiction is Tiki Totems. Great combo of “just one more” puzzles with simplistic, yet enduring graphics and a tropical flair that’s perfect for the kickoff of Summer.

  • rawlins jones

    i like that whole top down view, reminds me of the classic spy hunter arcade game,would luv to try this out. :o

  • Andy Sanchez

    My fave game by far is Meteor Blitz.
    Great graphics and gameplay, with a very simple premise: Shoot everything.
    Easy to pick up, you earn better guns, and unlock achievements as you go. Try It!

  • ZureaL

    One of my favorite games on my iPhone right now is Dizzypad. Sure, I’ll play the heck out of GeoDefense when I’m looking for a tower game, or Space Miner for a few hours here and there, but when I’m looking for a pick up game, when I’ve only got a few minutes to spare, Dizzypad doesn’t disappoint. There’s just something visceral about this frog jumping from lily pad to pad, trying to figure out how to eek some more lives out of it, which pad can I skip over, and can I make it to that dragonfly without it leaving me just short another life.

  • Tony M.

    Thanks to everyone who posted a comment! You all have great taste in apps :-) . Anywho, the lucky winners of the promo code sweepstakes were:

    ‘Don Quixote’
    Jerry Dziuba
    ‘ZureaL’

    Thanks for everyone who posted, and fear not if you didn’t win this time. Keep your eyes out for more promotions in the future .

    Happy Monday! :(

    -Tony

  • http://howsmyapp.com Dennis

    My favourite iPhone game is iStunt Reloaded Pro because simply how simple and fun it is!

  • Sven

    Right now my favourite iPhone game is Guerrilla Bob. This makes so much fun. :mrgreen: