Asphalt: Injection

All in all, if you can get your ego past the door and past the visuals of the game, which are honestly not the best this launch lineup has, you will find a lot of engine under the hood which makes the ride more enjoyable than you might expect. I urge you to at least try the demo up on PSN, and if you feel that the game offers enough game play and visual wise, then I can assure you that the depth more make makes up for the lack of polish the game's appearance achieves.

Asphalt Injection is a good racing game. Too many references to Burnout and the lack of spectacularity prevent the game from breach hearts of passionate arcade drivers.

Asphalt: Injection is the Prius of the racing genre: it's not great, but it'll get you by.

Asphalt Injection is admittedly a fun and competent racer that delivers a surprising amount of licensed vehicles, interesting locations, and arcade-style racing perfect for the casual crowd but one that struggles to challenge veteran racers. Sadly, the Vita doesn't bring anything new to the franchise or the genre; at least nothing worth spending $30 more than the same game on the iPad. Still, if you need a racing fix for your new PS Vita, and those cutesy karts and characters in ModNation Racers aren't for you, Asphalt Injection isn't a bad diversion and will certainly fill that gap until Ridge Racer finally arrives.

Even though Asphalt: Injection is one of the few racing games available for the Vita, it's tough to recommend it. If you absolutely need a portable racing fix, Injection isn't a bad option. There's plenty to do in the game, it's just that much of what there is to do is extremely boring.

It's a case of quantity over quality. [May 2012, p.101]

Jolty driving physics, a rudimentary online mode – everything reminds of the iOS roots. But in the end Asphalt still is the mediocre arcade racer it always was.

The integration of tilt steering and rear touchpad gear shifting is nice, but beyond that, this is a wafer-thin, learner burner experience best left to racing rookies. [April 2012, p78]

A decent attempt to provide a good arcade-style racing experience but lacks any unique selling points to differentiate itself from other similar games in the market.

No matter what you do, the stats mean absolutely nothing.

While it does seem that Gameloft might have rushed the title a little to hit the PS Vita launch, it's still a well designed game with plenty of content to keep you busy for quite a while.

Asphalt Injection is a fun racing game, but it lacks depth, precision, and doesn't push the Playstation Vita to anything resembling its true potential.

The whole thing feels flat, uninspired, and utterly unimpressive.

Not a bad game, but better arcade racers are on the horizon that are likely to give you a lot more bang for your buck.

Asphalt Injection isn't quite a terrible game, but it isn't a good one. If Gameloft had upgraded more than just the visuals when they brought the franchise over from the mobile platforms, this could have been a fun racer. As it stands, it isn't.

No matter how hard you slam your car into a concrete wall, you will never lose control over it (no matter how fast you are going). You don't even feel any difference between cars. You just have to floor it, boost it and drift it. [March 2012, p.65]

It all feels a bit soulless and it'll more than likely just make you hungry for a better-produced, richer arcade racing experience instead. [May 2012, p.81]

PS Vita already offers better racing games, and therefore there are really few reasons why fans of the genre should draw their attention to this new installment of the series.

Although I hate to bring up price while reviewing a game, its hard to ignore that you can purchase Asphalt 6 for all iOS devices for a mere 99cents while Injection will run you a cold $29.99.

Wants so desperately to be Burnout: Revenge. Unfortunately, the game feels more like a cheap knockoff than a compelling successor. [Apr 2012, p.60]

Asphalt Injection fails at being the new Burnout on PSVita. Too easy, too weak and the low difficulty level put the game in the dark corner of Vita's lineup.

A solid, if unimpressive, racer that provides swift, hassle-free portable action. However, I can't recommend it as a full-priced retail product, because it absolutely doesn't feel like one. With a simplistic no-frills approach to racing, and graphics that could easily be rendered on a PSP, Injection barely feels like a step above its iOS and Android prequels, so it feels like yet another attempted swindle from Gameloft and Ubisoft.

Asphalt: Injection could have been something outstanding, with tons of cars, tracks and content. Unfortunately, the game is let down in the most important areas of a racing game and has gone from a 'Must buy' to a 'Must avoid.'

At best, this is just a pain pill for hardcore racing enthusiasts. As one of four racing games in the Vita's launch, it's the only one holding the fort down for the urban street racing sub-genre, but it's completely lifeless and devoid of originality. Players unable to quell their curiosity will definitely find something playable here, but they'd do just as well to save their money for the eventual Need For Speed release.

If you're a racing fanatic, I probably can't save you from spending your money on this one, but anyone with a sense of the value inherent in $30 needs to direct their attention to one of the many other PlayStation Vita launch titles priced at the same level.

An awful game that never should have come out on the PlayStation Vita. Even hardcore racing fans will have a hard time trying to come up with something positive when talking about Asphalt: Injection.

A port from the mobile phone versions with limited to no use of the power and features PS Vita has.

Ugly, unfair, unenjoyable: Asphalt Injection should be headed to the wrecker's yard, not your Vita's memory card.

Although it handles well enough, the fact of the matter is this game has barely been tweaked over its 99 cent iOS brethren and is ridiculously overpriced for it as it sits amongst a field of a half-dozen better racing games for the Vita launch.

It's racing for small children, imcompetents, or owners of 2004-era Nokias. Everyone else should ignore it. [Apr 2012, p.109]

It's just so very, very dull. Turbo blurs the screen slightly and makes the colours uglier. The shortcuts are so timid and unexciting you're not even sure if they're shortcuts or poor flagged alternative routes you've accidentally stumbled upon.