Out of Brakes – Fast-Paced Fun

Simple in nature, but fun to play, Out of Brakes will have you zooming past obstacles in a race that rushes adrenaline through your veins. In the traditional arcade style, players pick racers and race them to the finish line. The trick is, your racer has no brakes. It has no speed control, either. The game itself starts you off at one speed and then accelerates you automatically. Your job is to manage maneuverability to cross the finish line, without falling to pieces.

The graphics and art in Out of Brakes hints of Minecraftish blocks and Minion-like drivers. When you first download the game and start it up, you will have an opportunity to sign in to Game Center. Should you choose to participate, login using your credentials. If not, tap on the screen and hit CANCEL to go directly to game play.

On the main screen youll see three icons lining the bottom edge of the screen:

• SETTINGS looks like tools and allows you set things like sounds, effects, choose a language, make in app purchases, get information about the game
• RACERS looks like a car and lets you select your vehicle of choice. Note that at first you will only have one car to choose from that is free. All others, usually grayed out, will set you back $0.99.
• PLAY looks like the black and white checkered flag we all know. It takes you to game play.

Once you have selected your racer, you will be taken to the race track. As your racer starts to move, you tap the screen in the area you want your racer to veer. At first, there will be no obstacles; however, if you drag over the white boundary lines often enough, you will see your racer slowly start to fall apart, as blocks tear away and you are left with nothing. Thats when you lose the race and are told you have flunked drivers education class.

Make it far enough and you start to collect points, allowing you to advance to more challenging races and opt for faster cars. If, while playing, you need to take a break, you can pause the game using the Pause icon strategically placed at the top of the screen.

The only small nuisance I found with the game is the inability to figure out just how far away from the car to tap to help it make enough of a move to avoid a wall or random obstacle, without plowing into the sidelines. It took me quite some time to figure out just how to get those taps just right. I would also like to see the display presented in a more 3D perspective, so that you are viewing the road ahead of you as if you were seated in the car itself.

For a freebie game, its well worth the download for a new take on racing, almost rivaling a demolition derby.

Rating: 8/ 10
Price:Free