Jet Car Stunts is in all honesty one of the most addicting apps I have ever gotten the liberty to play. It is created by True Axis, an Australian game development company, and it makes me wonder, “Why can’t all games be this good?” The basic premise of the game is to get your car through multiple check points and then to the final gate in the least amount of time possible; the only problem is that sometimes there is no road where you have to go…

Interface

The game’s interface is very clean and easy to follow. On the home menu, there are three main options: Play, Options, and Credits. Off to the bottom, is an OpenFeint button which takes you to your OpenFeint account leaderboards, achievements and other things like that. Next to it there is a “New Levels” button where you can purchase 26 more levels for $1.99. Under “Play” you can chose from tutorials, platforming (the standard play mode) and time trials. You can also choose between normal which gives your car limited fuel, or casual, where you have unlimited. The “Options” tab takes you to a settings screen where the sound, tilt sensitivity, screen layout, and screen rotation (180 degree rotation only) can be changed.

Basic Gameplay

Normal

Each level is completely different and you never know what to expect. As you go on, the levels get progressively harder, but that’s part of the fun. In normal you only have ten retries which take you back to your last checkpoint when you fall off. In order to get to the checkpoints, you have to drive and fly your way through sections of the course; however, because it is normal mode, you have a restricted amount of fuel.

Casual

In casual mode, the same levels are played as in normal but you have unlimited jet fuel. Along with the gas bonus, the “collision geometry” is simplified, meaning when you hit certain obstacles, your car won’t shatter to pieces like in normal mode. Overall I enjoy casual mode more but when I’m looking for a particular challenge, I go to the normal mode.

Controls

The controls are really straightforward, with a forward and back button on one side, and a jet and brake button on the other. The only thing is that it takes a while to master the sensitivity and the physics of the game. However, once you get past that, it is a blast to play. The steering is controlled by the accelerometer, and when you are flying, you can tilt up and down do rise or fall.

Graphics and Sounds

Everything is made of flat sided polygons. Even the arches are really small segments put together. All of the roads you drive on are white and the obstacles (they mainly keep you on the road) are orange. There are floating elements in the shape of green rectangular prisms that often get in your way when you are trying to land on a road. The checkpoint gates are yellow and black which makes them relatively easy to spot when you are tearing down the track and have to make split-second decisions. The whole game takes place above the clouds, so when you are falling, you can at least look at the beautiful ocean that pans out below. As for the sound, there is no music, just the sound effects from the car, which means you can supply your own sound track; the sounds that are present in the game, are luckily somewhat decent.

Overall Thoughts

The game is amazing. Simple as that. It is fast paced and highly addictive which makes it all the more enjoyable. You can easily kill an hour without even knowing it. The simple and straightforward design elements and gameplay are also a plus. After a long day at school or work, no one wants to play a complicated game that involves a ton of thinking; they want a game that is simple enough to not have to overthink anything but interesting enough to want to play it. I think this game finds the happy medium. After my hours of playing, the only downfall I have found is the fact that you have to replay the same part of the course over and over if you fall off. When you fall, you start over at the last checkpoint, and at a particularly hard point, you may find this annoying, but hey, that’s just part of the game. In my opinion, the game is well worth the two dollars.

Pricing

Jet Car Stunts Lite: Free

Jet Car Stunts (full): $1.99

Score

4 and 1/2 fowls (stars are boring)