I’m really eager to see what John Carmack can do with the iPhone. Back in August, the designer of such classics as Doom and Quake stated that he believed the iPhone to be as powerful as Sega’s Dreamcast console and almost as powerful as the PS2 or original XBOX. Admittedly, Kroll and Cro-Mag are both beautiful iPhone games that are surprisingly attractive in their own right, but nothing on the iPhone thus far makes be believe that Carmack might be onto something. That was until I played Fastlane Street Racing by Atod AB.
To be clear, Fastlane isn’t Dreamcast quality, (if you want to compare a Dreamcast racer, take a look at Metropolis Street Racer) but Atod AB have come closer than any other game so far. It looks much like something that might have been possible on the N64 had Nintendo blessed it with more working memory. In short, it’s impressive, especially this early in the life-cycle of the App Store.
Although I have picked Fastlane Street Racing as my App Store pick of the week, I cannot recommend it to everyone. At £3.49 it’s not a trivial purchase. Also, it must be noted that Fastlane is one of the hardest driving games I’ve played this year. If you’re not prepared to put in a couple of hours play time in order to really nail the power-slide, then you might like to take a closer look at some of the other more casual racers on the platform.
If you’re looking for a seriously attractive racer with a seriously difficult challenge then you need FSR!