I want to go fast — faster than modern day street vehicles are capable of travelling. I’ve felt the need for ground-based speed since I was a small-ish boy, so games like F-Zero, Wipeout and Extreme-G (remember Extreme-G?) have always been a passion. Plenty of mobile developers have attempted to capture the power and energy of the futuristic racer. Not many have come close. Pixelbite’s Repulze is nearly there.
Where other mobile futuristic racers on the iPhone (and Android, for that matter) have failed to deliver a smooth and speedy experience, Repulze succeeds. It’s not choppy. It doesn’t feel clumsy. As the player races they pass a series of red and green gates, part of Repulze’s boost system. The hovercraft starts off highlighted with one of those two colours. Passing through gates of the same hue three times switches polarities and gives the racer access to a temporary speed boost. Pass through the wrong gate and they slow down considerably. The controls, both virtual buttons and tilt, required some fine-tuning before I really got into the swing of things, but once I found the sweet spot I was impressed.
The only problem is this isn’t technically a racer, at least not in the competitive sense. It’s just your hovercraft against the clock, with Game centre leaderboards the only real multiplayer aspect. Each track features three goals to achieve, the badges earning from achieving them unlocking additional rides and tracks. There are nine tracks in total and six cars, though Pixelbite does have at least two major content updates in the works to flesh out the content. It’s definitely worth picking up at the special $.99 introductory price — consider it an investment in the future.
In a perfect run I hit all three coloured gates in a row and activate my boost on a straightaway. The acceleration is so powerful I lean back in my chair, body reacting to imaginary g-forces. That’ll do.
Repulze (0.99) [iTunes App Store]
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