The best arcade racer on the N-Gage just got a successor - I take a look under the hood of Asphalt: Urban GT 2, to see what kind of work Gameloft have done fine tuning the franchise. Let the test drive begin!

First off, I like the look of the new menu system, which is stylish and easy to navigate. My only problem is with the car customisation menu, which seems a little cumbersome and it's hard to tell what exactly I'm doing to my vehicle. Car customisation has been taken to a new level, with an emphasis on customising your car to suit your personality, borrowing heavily from EA's Need for Speed: Underground franchise. Containing a plethora of decals, body kits and neon options, you can customise all of your favourite licensed vehicles to the max. Car and bike licenses include Aston Martin, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Dodge, Hummer, Infiniti, Lamborghini, Mercedes, Mini Cooper, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Pontiac, Saleen, Shelby, Subaru, TVR, Volkswagen, Confederate, Ducati, ECOSSE, Husqvarna, Kawasaki and Triumph, with the inclusion of motorcycles making for a big plus in my book.

Asphalt 2 offers much of the same game modes as its predecessor, the main one being Evolution, where you race through 61 different championships to earn trophies, cars and unlockables. Single race, quick race and time attack are straightforward game modes, while Cop Chase is included once again, pitting you against the law in heated chases to freedom. Bandit Chase is much the same as Cop Chase, except you do the chasing, while Elimination sees the driver in last place at the end of each lap eliminated from the race until only the winner remains. The controls remain the same as the first Asphalt, except the option to turn your headlights on or off has been excluded. Minor details like this go a long way, but sacrifices had to be made.

Graphically, Asphalt 2 has suffered slightly due to the inclusion of many new features. Sometimes it feels like you are driving around a pixelated mess. They have tried to create more scenic locations though, which is a nice touch. It's not as attractive as the first one, maybe due to the fact that the graphics engine is a year old, or maybe things have been toned down a peg to allow for a smoother frame rate - but most likely it's because there's still a good bit of spit and polish to be put on before the final release. Speaking of the frame rate, in any racing game you need a smooth experience, but Asphalt 2 tends to lag from time to time, usually at the beginning of a race, ruining your 'burning rubber' feeling. Again, let's hope this is something they're still working on.

The draw distance is quite poor, possibly the fault of the small screen on the device, though. This doesn't factor well for a racer, as you need to be able to see where you are going! The nitro boost pickups and the '$' icons on the road only make things more crowded in a game that needs as much draw distance as possible. Handling of the vehicles seems to be a little tougher to master than in the first instalment; drifting is difficult and drifts must be maintained with a little more concentration. The insane arcade action is back and multiplied by three - I say three, because one massive development over the previous title is the inclusion of triple nitro boost. Maybe you could say this is overkill, but it looks damn good; Back To The Future-esque style taillight effects can be seen when you tap the turbo key for the third time, activating the third and final nitro canister.

One thing I noticed is that the developers have moved further away from realistic driving simulation than in the first title; traffic and wall collisions are over-exaggerated and bear very few consequences. To put that point into perspective, imagine driving down a main road, hitting an oncoming vehicle and watching it fly about 400 feet in front of you! If you enjoyed the arcade features of the original then this one is right up your lane; more speed, more action, more crashes, more adrenaline fuelled jumps and none of the drawbacks. In the preview version I played, I noticed cop cars and even police helicopters chasing me at one stage - luckily I had a ton of nitro boost available, so the 'feds weren't much of a problem, if even a hindrance at all, which makes me glad to note that varied difficulty settings have been included.

The in-game music is great; licensed music from artists like Moby is definitely a step up from the original game and it makes the whole experience feel very high quality. During the incredibly short loading times you're treated to some licensed photos of the Pussycat Dolls, if that's your thing. I feel this is a little bit tacky, as the first Asphalt: Urban GT title didn't need women and neither does this one - but then again, all the cool games are doing it these days! One glaring omission from the first title was an online option, but this has been remedied, as we are treated to N-Gage Arena shadow racing. This mode allows you to download and race against opponents' ghost cars, earning points for beating their time or losing points if you fail. The more points you accumulate, the higher up the ranks you advance.

Asphalt: Urban GT 2 feels like a blend of all the good points of Burnout and Need for Speed: Underground, forged into a mobile system. Yet it feels as if it has come out worse for wear, with somewhat sloppy graphics and a temperamental frame rate. Adding an online option and a slicker package all around makes things a little better to digest though, and there's still every chance that the graphics, frame rate, draw distance and handling will be improved for the final release. From what I've seen, Asphalt 2 is shaping up to be a superb sequel to an already classic franchise and it definitely has the potential to beat the original if these issues are resolved.

Previewed by Dan Whelan for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).