Gameloft today has announced a full slate blockbuster titles for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, with 15 games slated over the next twelve months, starting this fall with Asphalt 8: Airborne and Dungeon Hunter 4. I’ve been given the opportunity to provide you with a small sneak peek at Asphalt 8: Airborne!
I love racing games. So naturally, I am pretty excited about Asphalt 8: Airborne. With Asphalt 8, you get an incredible arcade racing experienced right on your Windows tablet. Gameloft sent over an early version of the game for me to try out. The graphics are incredible!
To drive in Asphalt 8, you use your Windows device as the steering wheel. You turn your device to turn your car. And if you want a “speed boost”, you use your right thumb to tap the screen. You use your left thumb to stop and slide around corners.
Asphalt 8 lets you “take the wheel” of 47 high-performance cars that are officially licensed for the game – like the Lamborghini Veneno, Bugatti Veyron, Ferrari FXX and Pagani Zonda R. Each car looks amazingly accurate and comes with high fidelity motor sounds for realistic audio immersion. And you can race at locations like Venice, French Guiana, Iceland, Nevada Desert and more. Tracks can have hidden shortcuts too.
But Asphalt 8 isn’t your normal racing game. It’s not just about speed or drifting. Speed is still important. But it’s also about going airborne which makes the game super fun. You essentially try to get up to as fast as you can and hit these ramps placed around the track to go airborne. When you’re in the air, you want to try and do barrel rolls and other crazy stunts. I have done some incredibly crazy things with cars I have had some incredibly epic crashes too which the game replays for you in slow motion (I’ve jumped off a ramp head-on into a bridge – I was supposed to go over the bridge…). And the game features an impressive soundtrack with songs from Bloc Party & The Crystal Method and others.
Here are some other game features for Asphalt 8 when it’s released this fall:
- Will have 8 seasons and 180 events in Career mode
- It brings for the first time new Infected and Drift Gate modes
- Simultaneous multiplayer action for up to 8 opponents
- Compare scores on leaderboards with friends and drivers around the world
- Share your racing achievements
Look for another post from me later this fall when Asphalt 8: Airborne becomes available in the Windows Store!