Asphalt 8: Airborne for Android

Gameloft's Asphalt 8: Airborne for Android is a stimulating high-speed mobile racing arcade game that has you steering high-powered automobiles across 50-plus tracks to win in-game currency, upgrades, new rides, and the envy of your friends.

Pros

Hundreds of cars to choose from: From Ferraris to Lamborghinis, Ducatis to Bugattis, the selection of sexy European sports cars in this game is unparalleled. There are also Mercedes and Audis for all you Germanophiles and Fords and Chevrolets for those who prefer to buy American. You can also customize your stylish cars with 2,300-plus decals.

Single or multiplayer: Play myriad career events, car mastery challenges, and game modes alone or against up to 12 friends for amazing prizes.

Simple gameplay: Steer your car by tilting your phone sideways, break by tapping the lower-left screen, or get a nitro-boost by tapping the lower-right screen. Going up ramps gets you airborne to complete gravity-defying stunts. But no need to accelerate -- that's automatic.

Broadcast live: Tap the broadcast button on the top right of your screen and broadcast your race using live streaming apps such as YouTube Gaming, Mobcrush, and Periscope.

Exclusive, special-themed events: Celebrate the new Fall Out Boy album, the Lunar New Year, the Winter season, and more with ever-changing events that enable you to win limited-edition vehicles.

Cons

Long ads: The 10-second video ads feel interminable between games. But you can undergo special challenges to remove them.

In-app purchases: In-game currency, used for everything from customizations to power-ups to fancy rides that are necessary to progress to the next level, can either be earned or purchased. The problem is a lot of in-game currency is needed to succeed in the game, so you probably will have to spend some actual money to get to the end.

Bottom Line

Gameloft's Asphalt 8: Airborne is one of the finest racing games we've ever played. The cars are shiny, the gameplay is smooth, and the airborne stunts are exhilarating. But the ads and in-app purchases can bring you down really quickly.