If you’re an old gamer like me, you’ll remember the classic series of top-down racing games “Micro Machines” developed for various platforms by Codemasters. In 1996 Remedy added guns to the mix with their hugely successful PC release Death Rally. Then around a year ago they re-released the game with updated graphics for iOS devices.
Now they have released an Android version and are even giving it away for free (with modifier upgrades available as in-app purchases) on the Google Play store.
The steering is the fairly standard touchscreen thumb-wheel. As such it does suffer from not being able to feel the centre of the wheel and your thumb can tend to drift away. This does take a little getting used to, and even then I did occasionally end up spinning 360°. Some of the latest games actually drift the thumb-wheel location as your thumb drifts, and I’d have liked to see that implemented here.
Once you get a hang of the steering, not only are you racing your opponents but you are trying to shoot them. Each car has a basic machine gun along with a special weapon such as a shotgun or flamethrower. Repairs, weapons and upgrades can be picked up while racing, or bought from money earned for how well you raced and how many kills you got.
Race time is usually around 90 seconds which is perfect for a quick blast on a mobile device. Earning money to get better cars and upgrades is very compelling and keeps you coming back for more. The graphics are top notch and the tracks are varied so Remedy are giving a lot of game away for free here. Unfortunately it loses a star because the steering is an issue and apparently the iOS version already has a multiplayer option. However if your hardware is up to it, and you fancy some racing and killing action then it’s a no-brainer to check this game out.
Death Rally
- Price - Free
- Pros
- Great Graphics
- Compelling gameplay
- Cons
- Steering
- No multiplayer option like iOS version
- Won’t run on slower devices
- Rating - 4 / 5
