Death Rally

CNET Editors' review

by: Paul Hughes on May 26, 2011

Death Rally is an iOS adaptation of (and homage to) the classic, much-loved top-down PC racer of the same name. Much like its predecessor, Death Rally has a gritty feel (although much more PG than on the PC) and some of the best racing gameplay and graphics on its platform.

At its most basic, Death Rally is a 2D arcade racer in which you duke it out for pole position in short, brutal races against multiple opponents, with some help from your guns. You control your car with a virtual left joystick (the lack of fancy controls means you need to master sliding around corners), and you control your special weapon (you can unlcok several in the game, from a shotgun to a mine-layer) with a virtual right joystick. Your primary gun is always firing if there's something to shoot at.

What makes Death Rally so addictive is how it rewards you for quick, pick-up-and-play races: you're unlocking and upgrading weapons and cars--for cars, improving their speed, handling, and armor--and each race gets you slightly closer to a new or better weapon or vehicle, which in turn lets you compete on progressively more difficult races against increasingly craftier opponents. You get cash for a variety of accomplishments, including winning or placing, taking out competitors, and making or breaking course records. Death Rally keeps things fresh by continuously changing the available races, with enough maps, difficulty settings, and special challenges to always pique your interest as you work your way toward gaining fame and beefing up the hardware in your garage.

Death Rally is a racing gem, combining intuitive and visceral gameplay with a supremely satisfying RPG-style advancement system. It's a must download for arcade racing fans, especially if you can find it on sale.