Game review: DrawRace - iPhone / iPod Touch

What I didn't know then, which I luckily know now after playing the game, is that DrawRace is one of the most innovative and enjoyable racing games you'll find for your iPhone / Ipod Touch.

Aside from its original concept, which I'll get to in a minute, the other big thing this game has is addictiveness.

This game has brought out my competitive streak like no other game I can remember since probably MarioKart64 many years ago. I remember many late nights with Mario and co trying to shave precious milliseconds off the best lap times set by myself and other people (namely my wife), and DrawRace has had a similar effect.

DrawRace works so well because it puts you in direct competition with every other player around the world. You are all striving to top the online leaderboards and be the number one driver on each of the 20 beautifully designed circuits in the game.

Chances are you won't know the other players but you'll soon be sucked into desperately trying to beat their times, just for the glory of sitting in the number one position on each league table.

How to explain the concept behind DrawRace? Ok, this will sound weird but it has to be seen to be believed just how well it works.

You put your finger on the starting grid of the top-down track and draw a line around the circuit to complete a lap. You repeat this for however many laps are required for the track.

The idea is to find the best racing line around the circuit as the route traced by your finger will be the route taken by your car when the race begins.

Speed also plays a part as your car's pace is determined by the speed you move your finger around the track. Take bends too quickly and your car will skid or drift.

When you've drawn your laps the game switches to race mode. This is where your control ends as you can only watch while your car traces the course your finger has set out for it.

In single player mode there are three choices. In time trial you just see your car race around as you attempt to set a new personal best.

Or once you've beaten a computer opponent on a track you can race against a ghost car of your personal best on that track.

Or you can race against a network opponent - this means you race against the person immediately above you on the leaderboard for a particular track. You trace your car's course and then watch your car race against your opponent's best performance.

Two or three players can also race on the same device, though race times in this mode don't count towards the league tables.

DrawRace offers a wide variety of tracks, ranging from a simple oval or figure of eight to more complex bend fests.

There are loads of nice little touches in the game, including scenery such as the waterfront on the Monaco track and obstacles such as hay bales and tyres.

DrawRace is not without its faults and I have discovered a few annoying bugs. Sometimes the game will flag up ‘invalid lap’ when nothing is wrong with the lap you've traced. Sometimes the game will get stuck on the ‘contacting server’. Sometimes there is strange car behaviour when it comes into close contact with obstacles.

These are all just small niggles which can, and probably will, be corrected in future updates. Some new tracks would also always be appreciated as well as tweaks to the leaderboards to allow players to see the entire charts instead of just a small segment as now.

What stands out about DrawRace is its originally and also its simplicity. Drawing a line around a track with your finger and then watching a simulated race isn’t a complex concept but it’s not one that I would ever have thought of until playing DrawRace. Having played the game, I now find it amazing how nobody came up with the idea of traces instead of races before.

Every time I’ve managed to put DrawRace down, I’ve always gone back into it very soon afterwards. It’s that kind of must-play-one-more-time game.

It’s infuriating when you keep losing to the same opponent or you’re unable to beat your best time but you keep wanting to come back for more. As you watch an unsuccessful run you spot little details you can change to do better next time.

In single players mode your opponent is only ever a virtual representation of some remote person’s previous race, but it feels real.

There is a genuine sense of satisfaction as you pip someone to the finish line and move up the leaderboard.

This game’s simple concept is superbly executed, combining the two parts (drawing and racing) into a new idea which is fun and addictive.

DrawRace takes me back to the good old days of racing, where the skill of getting a car around the track in the quickest time was what mattered. There are no pit strategies or energy reserving systems here.

It also feels like a proper retro racing game, with no weapons, police chases or crime missions. But as retro as it feels, it also feels very up-to-date with the clever touch controls.

DrawRace is good, simple, old-fashioned racing - and comes highly recommended.

Verdict: 9 out of 10 – inventive, superbly designed and highly addictive