12. Real Racing (iPhone)

2009 has been one hell of a year for developer Firemint. The little known Melbourne company released their second, and first original iPhone game, Flight Control, to rave reviews and to an absurd amount of sales, and deservedly so – it’s a great game. However, I find that their other game they released this year, Real Racing, is a much more impressive feat – both in terms of it being a fun game to play, but also on various technical levels.

The most immediately impressive thing about Real Racing is just how good it looks. We’re talking late PS1 era visuals here, and nearing early Dreamcast levels of visual quality. The same goes with the menus, which offer some cool visual design ideas that match the most recent menus done by Codemasters. But then in terms of playing it, it’s even better.

There are five control schemes to choose from, which offer various combinations of automated and manual steering, braking, or acceleration, as well as choosing from various degrees of brake assists and accelerometer sensitivity. All this combines with the general way the game plays as a more simulation based racing game, and you’ve got a winning combination.

Unfortunately, given its status as an iPhone game, there isn’t much else to say about it. While it isn’t as insanely deep or customizable as something like Forza Motorsport 3 or Gran Turismo, the fact that such a game exsists on a platform where you’d never really expect it is just amazing. It looks great, sounds great, plays great, and is surprisingly deep. If you’ve got an iPhone or iPod Touch, and want a great game to go with it, Real Racing is right up your alley.