Asphalt Xtreme is a recent Gameloft Windows 10 game release that takes your racing skills away from the paved surfaces of the city streets and to the off-road tracks. Available for Windows 10 PC and Mobile, Asphalt Xtreme offers over 35 off-road machines to unlock and customize, over 900 events to tackle and five game modes.
Graphics are top notch and game controls are easy to use. The race tracks are just as challenging as you find in Asphalt 8: Airborne, they just lack a lot of pavement.
Overall, Asphalt Xtreme is a solid racing game for Windows 10. The free game is an entertaining way to lose track of time with and another quality title from Gameloft.
When you first launch Asphalt Xtreme, the game takes you through the customary house-cleaning chores such as verifying your age and logging into the game. While not an Xbox Windows 10 game, Asphalt Xtreme does support Microsoft accounts as well as Facebook accounts to log in with. Connecting to the game with one of these accounts allows you to synchronize your progress between Windows 10 devices.
Once you have connect an account with Asphalt Xtreme, the game sends you to a tutorial race. Here you learn the basics of racing, such as steering, braking, drifting and more. After you complete the tutorial, the game transitions to a garage setting where you buy your first off-road vehicle and then to a proper main menu.
Asphalt Xtreme's primary menu offers your game stats across the top of the display, including your credits, tokens and stars that are used to purchase and upgrade vehicles. Racing controls, by default, are set to your device's tilt sensors. You also have the option to choose an assortment of on-screen controls should the tilt steering not be your cup of tea. Personally, I like the tilt controls the best; they are more responsive and offer a better gaming experience. Don't be surprised if you find yourself literally leaning into the turns.
There are three different game modes available, though Career Mode is the only one available from the start. As you earn stars by placing in races, the Multiplayer (up to 8 online players) and Limited Time Modes become available.
You begin the Career Mode in the Rookie Series of races with four additional series available as you advance in your career. There is also a Masteries component to the Career Mode that becomes unlocked once you add three vehicles to your garage.
All totaled, there are over 400 Career Mode events and over 500 Mastery challenges to tackle. Racing venues are global and include the glaciers of Svalbard, the dunes of the Nile Valley, the jungles of Thailand and more. For those who prefer a more urban environment, the industrial setting of Detroit's steel mills is included as well.
Off-road vehicles include the likes of Jeep Wrangler, Range Rover, Chevy Colorado, a host of Dune Buggies and an assortment of street rides that have been converted for off-road racing. Vehicles can be upgraded to improve top speed, handling and acceleration. You also have the option to change up the paint job to better suit your tastes. Upgrades and paint jobs do come at a price: those coins you'll earn during races (or purchase with real money, should you be the impatient type). You can also win spare parts during races that can be used to build upgrades.
Gameplay is challenging, full of eye-catching graphics. The slow-motion sequences when you drive an opponent into a boulder or send them sailing off the course can bring a smile to your face. While an enjoyable game to play from a Windows 10 Mobile phone, the game experience is a joy from a Windows 10 tablet, with the larger screen pulling more detail out of the graphics.
Asphalt Xtreme does regulate gameplay, in a manner of speaking, with a creative token system. Each race depletes the lifespan of your vehicles oil and as you would with a real vehicle, every so often you need to change the oil. Oil levels are reported after each race and you can always check them on your own from the vehicle overview.
Comparing the race experience to Asphalt 8: Airborne, you have similar tracks full of ramps to jump and course deviations to explore. Handling is similar to other Gameloft's street racing games, but takes into account the off-road environments. Traction isn't as great off-road and I found myself braking more often to maintain control of the vehicle. Some courses have mud pits, rivers and marshes to cross and each slows your vehicle down, as they should. Gameloft did a good job transferring the off-road racing experience to Asphalt Xtreme.
While Asphalt 8: Airborne is arguably the best racing game in the Windows 10 Store, Asphalt Xtreme is strong enough to give Airborne a run for its money. Available for Windows 10 PC and Mobile, the free game delivers a fantastic off-road racing experience.
Download Asphalt Xtreme from the Windows Store
