With the rise of - and burgeoning prevalence of - newer, more insidious IAP payment models,
I feel this review should come with a strong disclaimer.
If you love racing for the sake of racing; if fine tuning lap times in gorgeously crafted
replicas of famous tracks, in gorgeously crafted replicas of famous vehicles is your 'thing',
then Real Racing 3 is the bargain of a lifetime.
For absolutely no entry fee you can enjoy everything the game has to offer as long as
you're willing to suffer the 'cost' of waiting for the game to once again give you control.
Beating at the heart of Real Racing 3 is the fire-baptized, fuel-powered, engine-throbbing
heart of a magnificently presented racing simulator.
Difficulty scaling ranges all the way from casual, almost 'Arcade' like handling, to
tough-as-nails simulation where every control you need is placed at your fingertips.
While true multiplayer is currently (and understandably) absent from the game, the AI is directly influenced
by your friends on Gamecenter and Facebook (as well as a smattering of other random players).
Dubbed 'Time Shifted Multiplayer', the end result is an always changing, always unique
race experience.
However, it has its downsides; notably you have no real control over who you're paired
with and while you'll often find yourself amongst the company of peers, you'll occasionally
be thrown up against seriously under-geared or worst of all, over-geared opponents, destroying
the flow of progression entirely.
However, I've danced around the issue for too long.
While the heart of RR3 may be that of a thoroughbred racer, it's surrounded by an all but impenetrable
IAP system designed to exact payment from the player over and over again.
Much like a 'Freemium' title, almost every ancillary action you take requires a combination
of basic in-game currency and either time or 'gold', the game's 'premium' currency.
Just purchased a car?
You'll have to wait for that to be 'shipped'.
Need to juice up your car to keep up with the competition?
You'll pay and wait for that too.
So far, so normal, but the rabbit-hole goes deeper.
Damage you sustain to your vehicle in a race is considered persistent and will carry on
between races.
The damage directly affects the performance of your vehicle, so you'll want to fix it
as soon as possible...
only you'll have to pay, and yes, wait for the damage to be reversed.
Oh, did I mention that repairs are carried out sequentially and not in parallel?
For every piece you repair, the repair time total is increased.
... But wait, there's more.
All of this could be forgiven if the cash-flow was enough to support smooth progression.
Sadly, the anemic rewards make it hard to keep a single vehicle at a competitive level,
let alone the running costs of repairing said vehicle as well.
It doesn't stop at maintenance either.
Vehicles must be bought to participate in 'Showcase' matches (if you don't already own
them), and simply using your vehicle will eventually require top ups on engine oil,
replacement brakes/tires and so on.
As mentioned in the disclaimer, you can forgive all of this if you're patient, but the fact
remains that even those who choose to cough up the cash will be nickle-and-dimed in to
spending their premium currency until they're back to square one.
It's no wonder full multiplayer features had to be left off the table - as it is having
your face melted by a 'TSM' boosted AI from a player who has paid their way to a better
vehicle can cheat you out of a podium position; to have to play against a 'pay to win' player
in real time would be crushing.
There's a pervasive sense of being able to look, but not touch.
This is a game that says 'wouldn't it be great to enjoy all of this?' and then makes you
wait, albeit a nominal time, but wait none-the-less.
You could spend all day racing at lower tiers and attempt to avoid collisions, but you'd
still be forced to 'maintain' the vehicle at some point, cutting you off from the gameplay.
You could race another vehicle, but you'll only burn through your resources twice as
fast, once again cutting yourself off from the flow of progression.
Despite the brilliantly implemented controls that provide an almost visceral level of feedback;
despite the sharp, industry leading graphical technology that has to be seen on the best
iOS devices to truly believe them; despite the incredibly engaging 'Time Shifted Multiplayer'
concept making the AI feel better than ever; all of this is undercut by a need to force
the player to stop playing and open their wallet.
Ultimately the IAP model drives a wedge between the player and the game on offer.
If Real Racing 3 has anything to offer, it's a kind of martyrdom.
For a game considered to be one of the major releases of the year to fall so low shows
just how toxic this kind of game implementation has become.