Days of Thunder Review
here’s always a little hesitancy about a game with a movie license, but just imagine what people are thinking when the game is based on a movie that is over 18 years old, and not really a blockbuster when it was new!
Such is the case with “Days of Thunder” a stockcar racer based on the Tom Cruise/ Nicole Kidman (remember when he was married to her?) movie that was basically Top Gun on the ground. But really, the tie in isn’t the important part. The fact is, this is the closest thing we have to a Nascar game for the iDevice and if that makes you happy (I’m in the “yes” crowd) then you have what you’ve been wanting since you first gave a racer a try.
In Days of Thunder you don’t have a Jimmy, Tony or Junior’s, but you do have Cole Trickle (Cruise’s character in the movie) and a whole host of drivers with names that sound like good ol’ boys. And you’ve got good looking cars that make it look exactly like you’ve got a real Nascar game.
You’re job is to keep racing and keep trying to win, because, has Ricky Bobby would say, “Second Place is just the first loser”. Along the way you’ll unlock more tracks, a wide variety of achievements, and an even bigger list of cars. This makes the game as close to a must have for Nascar fans as it gets (for now).
Controls are very simple. You steer the car by tilting the device, and let’s face it, whenever you’re playing with a controller you tilt it that way anyway. There is a gas button on the lower right corner and a break button on the left. The controls are very responsive and work exactly like you’d want them to work.
One thing I really like is the simplicity of the pit stops. All you have to do is press the “pit” button as it comes up and you’re in. Then you can leave any time you’d like. You see your health bar increasing and how many positions you’re losing. When you think you’ve gotten enough health left it’s time to get out of the pits quick. The damage/health of a car is shown by the well known “health bar” located in the top right of your race screen. You’ll also have your crew chief pop up on the screen from time to time to give you advice. This is handled without being too obtrusive.
The look of the game is very nice. Cars are vivid and all the backgrounds are crisp. The tracks are nicely laid out and you can see the turns coming a mile away. Okay, so the tracks aren’t that big so the “mile away” was a bit of an exaggeration. But the point is everything looks very good. You don’t get any detail on your cars damage, but what do you expect from a mobile game?
Sound is also pretty tight for a game of this type. You will want to get rid of the music early on in the game… the early 90′s theme will kill you after a while. Unfortunately you can’t play your own music, shame.
As I mentioned earlier… there are a lot things to unlock in this game (cars, achievements, tracks, circuits) and that’s going to keep any stockcar fan will stick with this game for a long time. You’ll have fun working your way through all the different circuits in the game, each harder than the last. There is plenty to keep you turning left for hours and hours.
The only thing I wasn’t thrilled about is how every time you pass a car it does a torpedo move right for you. I understand that “rubbing is racing”, but there were times I felt more like I was at Pearl Harbor than Daytona. It’s nice that you have rivals and you’re trying to knock them out, but to have every car treating you like the red-headed step child of racing is another.
All in all, this is a very good game for fans of the genre. Many will like street racing better, but for me I like the stock car racing… and I love this game!
The Good
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Everything a stock car fan would love
Great looking game
Tom Cruise doesn’t appear in the game… ever!
The Bad
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Kamikaze Cars
Can’t play your own music.
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Category: Games
Finally a Nascar game looks great love the explosions
[...] The fact is, this is the closest thing we have to a Nascar game for the iDevice and if that makes you happy (I’m in the “yes” crowd) then you have what you’ve been wanting since you first gave a racer a try. picture-63 …Next Page [...]
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It is a decent game but if have multiplayer feature then I can skip that daytona racing game in the arcades when I race with my friends.
What can I say about this game?
I played it, tried it and overall I had a very bitter taste in my mouth after I had.
The game itself has a great concept- think SlotZ Racer merged with a little Asphalt. It’s the same basic control scheme as SlotZ Racer but it has takedowns and good graphics.
That being said, the oponents are INCREDIBLY difficult and you have to go to the pit every two laps to survive. You go through a round with cars ramming into you non-stop and at the end of the round the characters complain about your driving.
Overall, it’s a decent game, not worth $4.99 in any planet, but if the developers fixed the AI problem then it would be a solid $2.99 – $3.99 title.
What are you TALKING about? How is Days of Thunder ANYTHING like SlotZ racer? LOL! Although yes the AI needs to be changed
think he means from the aspect of you simply pressing a button on the corner for gas..
it looks like a “rail”-racer almost
(like rail-shooter)
Nice. I haven’t downloaded game yet, maybe i should
Looks pretty good
Hi guys, I’ve had this game for the past week, and I can tell DoT is a great game. Sure, it’s a little unrealistic, but it’s a game. You’ll find the big difference between DoT and other racing games is the demolition derby that goes on. But, you will enjoy knocking rival cars off the road. One thing I do hope they fix is making the other cars lose their speed a bit more when they get hit. Trust me, you will have fun with this!
I almost got this a couple days ago. It looks pretty good but it looks a little unrealistic.
Game looks fun. Hopefully they’ll add some road races like Nascar.
Not a bad game for a dollar.
I’m not a huge stock care fan, but even I thought this looked pretty nice when it released.
Me want awesome game! I love racing
i also thinks its looking pretty good .. i only saw videos and now this video herer and the cool review .. hope i win .. and if i doon’t win i hope that there will come a lite version
Since there is no Tom Cruise, I like to be Tom Cruise in the game to race the cool cars…too bad there are no babes in the game.
Game looks like a lot of fun.
Most importantly, there’s no Tom Cruise!!
This one does look pretty good, and I’m with matthew will ever have a lite version?
sounds pretty good
is there a lite versoin of it or will a lite version be released soon?
Hey… just so you know… The video makes it look like you blow up all the time. That isn’t the case. In fact, I’ve raced many, many races and only blew up once… because I wanted to blow up! (and, yes, it was cool!).
If you like Nascar or Stockcar racing… you’ll love this one!