The physics occasionally behave erratically, leading to a jump or spin not behaving like you’d expect and flubbing the trick. Taking to the air is often slower than sticking to the streets, so making split-second decisions about whether I could spare that time to make it up with the boost I’d earn helps add tension to races.

Those three basic building blocks are all that’s needed to offer really precise handling across the nine well-differentiated environments, which run the gamut from a neon-soaked Tokyo rife with sharp turns to the ramp-laden streets of London.Asphalt 8’s addition to the series, the air stunts, are a nice twist that offer nitro boosts as rewards, which gives them a risk-reward dynamic. The silky smooth tilt controls for steering feel intuitive, and since the cars auto-accelerate, the two halves of the screen function as gigantic buttons to trigger brakes and nitro boosts. This is the eighth game in the series, so it shouldn’t be surprising that Gameloft has locked down the basic mechanics.

Asphalt 8 airborne maps