Asphalt 9: Legends

Asphalt 9: Legends
The splash screen shown when starting up the game.
Developer(s) Gameloft Barcelona[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s) Gameloft
Series Asphalt
Engine Jet Engine
Platform(s)
Release
Genre(s) Racing
Mode(s) Single-player, online multiplayer

Asphalt 9: Legends is a 2018 racing video game, developed by Gameloft Barcelona and published by Gameloft. Released on 25 July 2018, it is the ninth main installment in the Asphalt series. In comparison to previous entries, there are several new and improved features, such as a prestigious car lineup, new control schemes and race modes, and the reimplemented "nitro shockwave" from Asphalt 6: Adrenaline. The graphics are also considered significantly improved compared to its 2013 predecessor, Asphalt 8: Airborne.[1]

Gameplay

The gameplay in Asphalt 9 is similar to Asphalt 8: Airborne, with noticeable differences in graphics and design. There are 48 cars for players featured in the game, many of which are from prestigious manufactures.[2][3][4] Like previous installments, each of the cars belong to a class progressively featuring higher performance and rarity: D, C, B, A, and S. All cars in the game now require "blueprints" to unlock and level up. A new car editor is in the game; upon unlocking the vehicle, the player can choose from a few official stock colors. Once the car has been leveled up, the player can create custom paint job colors to the body, rims, and brake calipers for most models. Some models also allow for carbon parts on the hood, trunk, and wings. There are also "clubs," where up to 20 players can collaboratively score points to achieve rewards.

The game features "nitro shockwave", a feature from Asphalt 6: Adrenaline and Asphalt 7: Heat. When the player taps twice on the Nitro button, a purple pulse is released from the vehicle while the car's speed increases. On mobile platforms, Asphalt 9 has three control schemes: Tilt to Steer, Tap to Steer, and a new "Touch Drive" in which the player selects routes and stunts by swiping left and right. On Windows 10 devices, Touch Drive and manual controls can be used with the keyboard; or with touch, if the device has a touchscreen and an accelerometer.

In the game, there are three playing modes: Career, Multiplayer, and Events. In career mode, the player completes single-player "chapters" that each consist of several series of races focusing on a certain car class or manufacturer. In Multiplayer, the player competes against other online players in real time. In Events, the player participates in a daily or weekly competition to beat other players' times.

There are multiple race types in Asphalt 9. The "classic" race mode from previous games has returned alongside new races, "Time Attack" and "Hunted." In Time Attack, the vehicle has to cross the finish line before a timer runs out. In Hunted, the player must escape a police pursuit in a car chase without crashing or running out of time.

The game features new race tracks in Rome, Cairo, the Himalayas, the U.S. Midwest, and Scotland. It also brings back two tracks from previously featured locations, San Francisco and Shanghai.[5]

Development

The game was developed by Gameloft's Barcelona Studio which also made Asphalt 6: Adrenaline, Asphalt 8: Airborne, and co-developed Asphalt Xtreme with Gameloft Madrid. The game uses the Bullet physics engine, and the Jet Engine game engine.

Continuing the tradition from Asphalt 8, the game features licensed soundtracks.

History

The first rumors of Asphalt 9: Legends began back in 2016, with Gameloft posting pictures on Twitter, showing Gameloft Barcelona making a map that had not been seen in Asphalt 8: Airborne. The game was scheduled to be released in summer of 2017 according to Gameloft's press release, and the name was going to be Asphalt 9: Shockwave.

In March 2018, Gameloft was doing a live Q&A with one of their community managers at Gameloft London, where he responded to questions about Asphalt 9, and said that he was not allowed to comment on the future of the Asphalt series. Four days later, however, a trailer was revealed for Asphalt 9.

The game was first released for iOS as a soft launch on 26 February 2018 in the Philippines, then in Thailand on 22 March 2018. It was later released for Android as a soft launch, on 17 May 2018 in the Philippines.[6][7]

Pre-registration for Asphalt 9 began on 29 June 2018. Around the same time, people could pre-register the game on the Google Play Store.

On 24 July 2018, Gameloft announced the game's release date, 26 July 2018, on a Facebook and YouTube livestream. However, the game released a day earlier than planned.

On 25 July 2018, the game released worldwide. The game reached 4 million downloads across all platforms in less than a week.

The following cars are featured and playable within the game as of September 2018:

Reception

The new graphics and visual design are almost unanimously praised as a major improvements over the series' predecessors, but there has been mixed responses to the progression system. Prasad from GSMArena writes that "Visually, Asphalt 9 is stunning and quite possibly the best-looking game on the mobile platform today" [8] while TechCommuters' review states "Regardless of the platform you’re playing on, the game delivers...With a wide variety of cars, accessories, tracks, and events, you can play this game for a long time without any dull moment." [9] Nick Tylwalk from GameZebo also praises the graphics, but writes that the "blueprint system can be a mixed bag and there are times when you feel stuck, progression-wise." Vishal Mathur stateNews18 mentions y time you run a wheel off the road, the dust that get thrown up is finely detailed. The cars look very realistic too... However, it isn’t exactly easy to get the exotic cars. As with most racing games, you start from the bottom of the pyramid, and then work your way up. In many races, the rewards that you get are blueprints of vehicles. You will need to collect the required number of blueprints for the car that you are eyeing, before you can unlock it. This slightly difficult, and we feel that element has been added to ensure that players remain active for longer on the game, in the pursuit of their favourite car." [10]

As of September 2018, Google Play Store reports the game as having a 4.6/5 stars based on over 370,000 reviews, while the Microsoft Store version similarly reports a 4.6/5 stars based on over 1,400 reviews. [11][12]

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic74/100[13]

Notes

  1. ↑ Additional work by Gameloft Saigon, Gameloft Montreal, Gameloft Madrid, Gameloft Kharkiv, and Gameloft Bucharest

The game is not released in China.

References

  1. ↑ Asphalt (2018-06-29), Asphalt 9: Legends - Redefining Mobile Racing, retrieved 2018-07-06
  2. ↑ Asphalt (2018-07-06), Asphalt 9: Legends – Car Showcase Trailer, retrieved 2018-07-06
  3. ↑ "Race your fantasies in Asphalt 9: Legends - Gameloft Central". Gameloft Central. 2018-07-11. Retrieved 2018-07-13.
  4. ↑ "Asphalt 9 Legends Mobile: The Addictive Mobile Game - Red Moon Pie", RedMoonPie, 2018-08-11, retrieved 2018-08-16
  5. ↑ "A new legend has begun, welcome to Asphalt 9 - Gameloft Central". Gameloft Central. 2018-07-26. Retrieved 2018-08-19.
  6. ↑ Funnell, Rob (2018-02-26). "Asphalt 9: Legends', the Latest Console-Quality Racing Release From Gameloft, Has Soft Launched on the App Store". TouchArcade. Retrieved 2018-03-27.
  7. ↑ Langshaw, Mark (2018-03-10). "15 best iOS and Android games in soft launch right now". Gamezebo. Retrieved 2018-03-27.
  8. ↑ "Asphalt 9: Legends game review for iOS and Android". GSMArena.com. Retrieved 2018-09-25.
  9. ↑ "Asphalt 9: Legends - Game Review | TechCommuters". www.techcommuters.com. Retrieved 2018-09-25.
  10. ↑ "Asphalt 9 Legends Review: A Racing Game For The Aggressive Driver in You". News18. Retrieved 2018-09-25.
  11. ↑ "Asphalt 9: Legends - 2018's New Arcade Racing Game - Apps on Google Play". play.google.com. Retrieved 2018-09-25.
  12. ↑ "Get Asphalt 9: Legends - Microsoft Store". Microsoft Store. Retrieved 2018-09-25.
  13. ↑ "Asphalt 9: Legends for iPhone/iPad Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2018-09-17.
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