Get your Asphalt

Here is a rule of thumb about free-to-play games that I usually stick too; the more generic yet cool sounding words are in its title, the less good it is likely to be. Thus when Traffic: Road Racing – Asphalt Street Cars Racer 2 (from this point on let’s just call it “Traffic”) came along, I assumed that I was in for a bad afternoon. But despite its keyword filled name, it isn’t actually that bad.

Cruisin’ for fun

Traffic may only be a simple endless racer that has you speeding down a four landed highway avoiding other cars, but it does so with such enthusiasm for its shamelessly faux-American aesthetic that I just had to smile. Weaving my muscle car between oncoming traffic reminded me of the Nintendo 64 and arcade classic Cruisin’ USA, thanks to the bright colors and detail of the sun soaked landscapes.

Pimp your ride

My enjoyment was helped in no small part by Traffic’s tight controls. Accelerate and break are bound to single buttons, while tilting your device guides your car smoothly across the four lane highway.

As you race you gain coins that allow you to buy upgrades and cars. First on my list of purchase recommendations is improved handling because the starting ride is noticeably sluggish – a fact which I found resulted in many initial crashes. The additional precision this allows is vital, as it is by narrowly missing other road users that you earn bonus coins to access more of the game’s unlockable content.

Near miss… or a near hit?

Zooming along any one of Traffic’s four bites of Americana, I find myself grinning. It is far from perfect, and it’s rotten with ads and in-app purchases, but that doesn’t stop it being a polished and entertaining title.