Addicted to: Asphalt 8

In this month’s "Addicted to" series we’re taking a quick spin with Asphalt 8: Airborne by Gameloft available for Android smartphones.

Why is everyone talking about it?

With over 50,000 downloads, a 4+ star rating and 60,000 recommendations on Google Plus this arcade-style racing game is leading the pack with tons of new twists and turns. Gamers of all levels are raving about the game’s intense, eye-popping graphics on every track, ramp and barrel roll, experienced on mobile devices as they were meant to be thanks to the fast, smooth graphics rendering of a Qualcomm^® Snapdragon^™ processor.

Here’s why gamers can’t get enough of this super speedway racer game.

• Intuition is key

Asphalt 8 comes close to anticipating your natural driving instincts with fluid tilt controls for intuitive steering, auto-acceleration features for open road racing and a split screen that functions like pedals of a car for left-tap breaking and right-tap nitro boost acceleration. You don’t have to “learn” the game—they can just download and go.

• Plenty of races to go around

There are 180 races with 9 different speedway environments that feature fan favorite cities like neon-lit Tokyo and ramp-laden London.

• Fast and ready wins the race

Getting ahead in Asphalt 8 is all about pressing for more speed. Collecting stars let you unlock new seasons made up of 12 to 20 races, and advancing through each season’s set of levels requires winning races, or fulfilling other level requirements such as drifting.

Why is everyone asking me to play?

• Multiplayer mode

Asphalt 8 offers two different race modes: one-on-one and multiplayer for challenging friends to high-speed races to the finish line. If your friends love this game, there’s probably a reason they’re dying to get you to play, too.

• New elements:

High-speed aerial stunts

Launching off ramps during high-speed races to get ahead is only part of this arcade-style racer. Once in the air, stunts are controlled with intuitive smartphone tilting motions that let you go a little stunt-crazy.

Inventive race types

Two new gaming modes are introduced in this installment:

“Infection” mode lets gamers spread speed boosts to opponents to maintain your own high speeds throughout the race. Don’t be stingy though because the virus will die out and your speed will run out.

“Knockdown” mode is a road rager’s dream come true. The goal is to crash into as many cars to get ahead.

Should I start playing?

• Great for adrenaline junkies

The essence of this game is speed, and anyone hoping to earn his or her racing stripes will undoubtedly love it.

• Inexpensive

The initial cost to play and purchase Asphalt 8 is $0.99, and although it’s tempting to purchase your way through hard levels by opting for nicer cars, there are cost-free ways, like collecting stars to advance throughout the game.

Asphalt 8 is currently available for Android smartphones and coming soon to Windows Phone 8. Earlier Asphalt installments are available for Windows Phone in the app store if you can’t wait to play.

Ready to get your quick fix? Already addicted to Asphalt 8? Let us know which levels you’ve dominated in the comments below.