Raging Thunder Symbian Game

Raging Thunder. If it was going to be wholly realistic, the skies would be grey, the city streets through which you race would be gridlocked and you'd probably fill your driving license with enough penalty points to make sure you never drove on public roads again.

So while this 3D arcade racer might look relatively true-to-life, with chunky cars, winding roads and scenic landscapes, it actually isn't. There are lightening bolt turbo power-ups scattered around the track, grinning skulls that'll slow you down and dollar signs that can be converted into bonus cash at the end of the race.

And it's all the better for it this is an arcade racer through-and-through, throwing out realism in the interests of fast, close and thrilling racing, all of which it offers in spades.

With four modes of play on offer, covering time attack, quick play, arcade and championship, as well as a multi-player mode that works over GPRS or Bluetooth, there's a lot of racing to dig through.

The races themselves are short and sharp. The tracks aren't overly long, with most being completed between 20 and 30 seconds, and races tend to last just a handful of laps. But even so, they're brief enough to enable you to play one or two in an empty few minutes and they leave you wanting more, which is always a good thing.

You'll also be drawn back to Raging Thunder by the championship mode in particular. Starting off with a few hundred dollars and a bottom-of-the-range sports car, you're pitted against three other drivers in a series of races. Finish a race first and you pick up a fat cheque that can be spent on car upgrades and new, sportier cars, as well as moving onto the next championship round.

Combined with the wide variation in tracks, it means that Raging Thunder is a really compelling racer. The handling is brilliantly weighted for a mobile phone thumbpad/joystick and, while it's not immediately accessible you'll spend the first few races bouncing from one side of the track to the next there's a rewarding sense of progression as you begin to get the hang of things.

Of course, the big draw is the lush visuals which, due to the game being Symbian rather than Java, are the best we've seen on a mobile phone. Each track is different to the last, taking in high-rise cityscapes, winding country lanes and mountainous Mediterranean villages, and the circuits are well laid out, offering a variety of challenges. There's also a lot of elevation changes as you race down hillsides, jump off sheer drops and weave through tunnels.

THANK YOU

CPR

Fix Certificate Errors Fix Certificate Errors Info Info