Jonathan Lanis has recently contributed a simple and fun bit of 3D obstacle-dodging tunnel madness to the App Store in the form of Boost 3D [link].

Boost 3D is about tunnels, and it's a rather simple affair.  You start out racing down the inside of an obstacle-laden tunnel and, before you know it, you're racing down the outside of an obstacle-laden tunnel, tilting left and right, trying to keep from careening into varying arrangements of colorful blocks.  There are boost pads that lend speed to your travel, as well as granting the ability to crash through an obstacle.  Granted, it sounds pretty same-old, same-old — I mean, there're plenty of hurtle-down-a-tunnel games in the App Store — but somehow, Boost 3D stands above the pack.  It has a certain stylized, simple charm that makes it feel unique.  Not to mention the glass-smooth framerate.

That said, it could be more of a game.  You start down the tunnel, racking up points the further you go.  The track and obstacles change along the way, but it's a one-shot run.  I think the addition of end goals and levelling would add significantly to the game.  But, still, among the iPhone tunnel games, Boost 3D is king, or close to the same.  It's genuinely hard to put down.

See the developer's gameplay video, which is silent, unlike the game.

App Store Link: Boost 3D, $1.99

TouchArcade Rating:

2XL Games' much anticipated ATV game was released into the App Store tonight for $7.99.

The game represents 2XL's followup title to the technically impressive 2XL Supercross and seems to share the same graphics engine. Beyond moving to ATV's, however, 2XL has added a lot of content to this new title, including freestyle levels, career mode, local multiplayer, online leaderboards and more.

The game offers tilt controls with a large number of customizable settings, though the default controls seemed to work reasonably well on our first few spins around the track.

The game shares the same impressive graphics seen in the original 2XL Supercross and are well demonstrated in this hands-on video provided by the developers.

Superficially, the biggest addition to the game is a full career mode that was conspicuously absent from their freshman iPhone release. 2XL ATV Offroad offers 16 ATV Supercross and Outdoor Nationals tracks and 2 Freestyle levels, and 3 levels of difficulty.

We'll be able to spend some more time with the title now that it's been released. Early adopters can share their impressions in our forums.

App Store Link: 2XL ATV Offroad, $7.99

The battle of the iPhone Kart racers continues with the release of Shrek Kart [App Store] to the App Store.

Shrek Kart contains 10 different karts, 11 different powerups, 15 tracks, single player and arena modes. There is local 6-way multiplayer but no online play. While it might have been an instant purchase in the past, the recent release of Konami Krazy Karts and surprise release of online multiplayer Cocoto Kart might make your decision harder.

Here's a hands on video:

We'll provide a closer look after we've had some time with the game, but early impressions are being collected in our forums.

App Store Link: Shrek Kart, $4.99

Back in August we reported that FishLabs would be bringing the highly rated mobile title Rally Master Pro, which Pocket Gamer determined to be the best mobile game of 2008, to the iPhone and iPod touch.

The original mobile title has some of the best 3D graphics ever seen on a typical handset.  The iPhone version, as FishLabs indicates, takes things to a whole new level with 4x the poly count of the original and enhanced particle effects and dynamic lighting.

Depending on the track surface and weather, a variety of dust, spray, and even dirt particles will be generated for each individual tire. The various kinds of particles act quite differently. On dry, dusty tracks the car leaves a massive cloud of dust while racing through a forest on a rainy day you can literrally see the mud flying.
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Thanks to the high-powered 3D chips (OpenGL graphics acceleration) in the iPhone, we can light the vehicle in a variety of ways, depending on the weather: with lots of light and shadows when it’s sunny, diffuse when the sky is overcast, and correspondingly dim in rain and storm.

The iPhone release will include 27 courses and weather effects for sun, rain, and snow as well as options for tilt or touch (analog or digital) controls.

FishLabs was kind enough to provide us with a pre-release build of the iPhone version of Rally Master Pro to play around with and share a glimpse with our readers.

See our brief gameplay video that shows early play across several different tracks.

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The developers emphasis that what you see above is indeed a pre-release with unfinalized controls, physics, and sound.  As such, I'll refrain from critiquing the gameplay, but I can say that I've had a rather enjoyable time putting the game through its paces.  Some parts of the various courses really take me back to days of spending hours in front of Sega Rally on the Saturn (which, in case you've not personally had the pleasure, is a very good thing).

What I've seen so far puts a rather optimistic light on the likelihood that the iPhone version will indeed go well beyond the mobile title.

FishLabs indicates that Rally Master Pro will hit the App Store sometime this autumn.

iPhone developer Eurocenter has applied their expertise in online gaming to a new Kart racer called Cocoto Kart Online. Eurocenter is a 20 year old company that has had decades of experience with multiplayer games and since 2008 has been working on the iPhone. Their previous online games have included Ace Tennis, Adrenaline Pool and the frantic deathmatch game DinoSmash.

This time Eurocenter teamed up with Neko Entertainment to port their Wii/DS title Cocoto Kart Racer to the iPhone. This Mario Kart-alike features 10 tracks with 12 unique animated drivers. Most notable, however, is the addition of online multiplayer with both racing and battle modes.

Neko Entertainment and Eurocenter teamed up to bring the most console-quality like kart racer to the iPhone and iPod touch. Drive in volcano worlds, in the sky, up in the trees, slide on ice, use turbos, take shortcuts by jumping over platforms. 12 unique drivers are fully animated. The online mode includes multiplayer races and battle mode where you try to shoot the opponents 3 times.

The developer shows the game in action:

The game has generated quite a following in our forums and our brief time with the game has demonstrated a really great online experience. Our matches tended to find other players quickly, and even when it didn't, it allowed me to play single player while it kept looking. Game controls offer both touch and tilt steering with auto-acceleration optional. Collected power-ups are triggered by shaking the device. While this sounds unappealing at first, only a slight jiggle is really required as shown in the video.

Predictably, reviews of the Wii/DS version were handicapped with unavoidable comparisons to Mario Kart which is also available natively on those platforms. But for the iPhone platform, online multi-player Kart racing for $0.99? Seems hard to go wrong.

App Store Link: Cocoto Kart Online, $0.99 (Launch price)

TouchArcade Rating:

Yesterday we posted a few screenshots of Chillingo's Horror Racing [App Store], not expecting to see the game again for a few weeks while it made its way through the approval process. Much to my surprise, it popped up on the App Store this afternoon, and I've been having a great time playing it today.

In the sneak peek I thought it looked a lot like Blizzard's Rock'n'Roll Racing and that comparison couldn't possibly be more spot on. The game has various weapons to use to attack your other racers, and a whole slew of upgrades to purchase with your winnings between races that cover every aspect of your vehicles offensive, defensive, and racing abilities.

Burning around the 15 included tracks is a ton of fun, especially with ramps everywhere and tight corners that will get your car up on two wheels. There are 5 included characters to play as (each with different stats), and two unlockable characters that you need to complete the championship modes to play as.

The only bad part about the game (and I'm using "bad" very loosely here) is that there aren't any included options to modify the control method. The only way to play the game is with a little virtual steering wheel in the bottom right corner. Whatever way the arrow on the steering wheel is pointing is the direction your car goes. It takes a little getting used to, and once you do, the game plays fine. It just seems like an odd omission to not at least have the ability to swap what side of the screen the wheel is on.

The level of difficulty in the game is adjustable (easy, normal, hard). Also included aside from championship modes and quick racing is the skirmish mode which is much more focused on combat than racing. Even if you race through the championship modes, I think Horror Racing is fun enough to have decent replay value especially with multiple characters to play as.

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If you look back at games like Rock'n'Roll Racing or other isometric racers with fond nostalgia, you owe it to yourself to at least try Horror Racing Lite. If you've never played an isometric racer, the same goes for you. People on our forums have really been enjoying the game, and while I don't know if I'd call Horror Racing the best racing game I've played on the iPhone, it's certainly one of the most fun.

App Store Link: Horror Racing, $2.99 – Horror Racing Lite, Free

TouchArcade Rating:

It's not even October yet and we're already seeing a whole load of Halloween themed games that are either released or in the works. Horror Racing, Chillingo's entry in to what's looking to be an oddly packed lineup of holiday games is a racing game that seems to have some strong similarities to Blizzard's Rock'n'Roll Racing.

Horror Racing is a arcade style top-down racing game. 15 tracks are included along with 3 boss races. Competing in Horror Racing involves upgrading your cars and utilizing various weapons and power ups to beat your opponents. There are 5 characters to choose from along with a pair of unlockable characters each having their own statistics and different vehicles.

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We don't have any details to report aside from what just appeared on the EA Mobile Facebook page, but these screenshots do look great, and it's hard to argue with such an extensive list of licensed cars. The console version of the game is due in September and unlike their previous Need For Speed title, Shift is more of a sim racer rather than an arcade racer.

Official Car List:

• BMW M3 GT2
• Volkswagen Golf GTI
• Mazda RX-8
• Mitsubishi Lancer EVOLUTION
• Subaru Impreza WRX STI
• Porsche Cayman S
• Nissan 370Z (Z34)
• Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34)
• Dodge Challenger Concept
• Ford Shelby GT500
• Audi R8 4.2 FSI quattro
• Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG
• Chevrolet Corvette Z06
• Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4
• Ford GT
• Porsche 911 GT2
• Lamborghini Murciélago LP640
• Pagani Zonda F
• Aston Martin Racing DBR9
• Maserati MC12 GT1

That's all we know right now, hopefully Need For Speed Shift doesn't have the same extremely long development cycle as Need For Speed Undercover [App Store] which wasn't released for quite some time after the early previews.

We will post more information on this game as we receive it.

Ever since I saw Gameloft's Asphalt 5 at the WWDC keynote, I've been wondering how it stacks up with the existing iPhone racers, especially with competition like Need For Speed and Real Racing.

Asphalt 5 is a neat racing game, although it is obvious that it was inspired by Burnout games. Everything from the gratuitous boost system to slow motion crashes and even takedown of rival racers are in game.

The accelerometer controls steering, acceleration is automatic, and there's an on-screen button for both braking and boosting. Racing games always seem to work great with these controls on the iPhone, and Asphalt 5 is no different. I was able to burn around the track, boosting at every opportunity, while slamming in to other cars with ease. The game provides a good sensation of speed, and a soundtrack that fits well.

The graphics are great, but as to which game has the "best" graphics between the big racing games on the platform seems to hinge more on personal preference than anything else. Asphalt 5, Real Racing and Need for Speed all look equally good in their own styles.

The following gameplay video was recorded with the game being played on a 2nd Generation iPod Touch:

[ Full HD version | Low Bandwidth version ]

Asphalt 5 is coming soon and will support local multiplayer via both bluetooth and WiFi in its initial release along with multiple cars and tracks to unlock.

Update: Gameloft let us know that the intro cut scene has been changed for the final release, so we removed it from our video.

I admit when I first heard about Shrek Kart I groaned a little, as everything that has anything to do with the Shrek franchise in recent years has been decidedly mediocre. I found myself quite surprised to find that Shrek Kart may actually be a turning point for the Shrekniverse, although few things can undo those terrible sequels to the original (and fairly decent) movie.

Gameloft's Shrek Kart for the iPhone is very well executed, and like most other kart racers, clearly inspired by Mario Kart. In motion, the game looks almost the same, right down to the menu interface, power up blocks, and even the tracks are vaguely familiar. The power ups have been changed around, but all serve the same basic purpose from power ups found in the Mario Kart series.

Since we'll likely never see a Mario Kart game on the iPhone, I'm perfectly fine with this. Like most iPhone racers, the game is controlled using the accelerometer and the controls work just as well as you would expect. Other functions like braking and using power ups appear as on-screen buttons.

Four game modes are included: quick race allows you to just load up the game and play a track, tournament has you playing a series of tracks for points, challenge mode offers several timed challenges like picking up a number of power up blocks as quickly as possible, and last, but certainly not least is arena mode.

Arena mode works similar to Mario Kart's battle mode, except instead of using three balloons for your health, you have two scores: Thumbs ups and thumbs downs. You get a thumbs down when you get taken out by someone else's weaponry, and you get a thumbs up when you take someone else out. I strangely almost prefer this to Mario Kart battle mode, because you will never just be sitting there waiting for the game to finish in multiplayer. Regardless of how bad you're doing, you can at least keep playing.

Speaking of multiplayer, Shrek Kart will be released with local bluetooth and WiFi multiplayer. The following gameplay video showing a race and an arena match was recorded on a 2nd generation iPod Touch:

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Shrek Kart is by far the best Shrek game I've played, but that's not saying a whole lot — but it's also a fairly competitive iPhone version of Mario Kart. While it lacks the internet multiplayer of Krazy Karts, Shrek Kart, oddly enough, seems to have a lot more character.