Real Racing 3
Maybe it’s showing its age a little bit, but Real Racing 3 remains an excellent free-to-play driving sim that lets you take the wheel of a host of real-world cars as you drive around gorgeously rendered real-world racetracks. Numerous game modes — including time trials, standard races and the Time Shift multiplayer mode — offer varied challenges to players, with updates continuously adding new content such as new cars and racing events.
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RUNNER UP
Asphalt Xtreme
The latest Asphalt game takes the action off the road in Asphalt Xtreme, with players racing through canyons and dunes in a variety of game modes. Players will be able to go behind the wheel of a variety of vehicle classes, from dune buggies to pickups and monster trucks, with licensed automobiles from big names like Jeep, Ford, and Dodge. In addition to the five game modes and hundreds of career events and challenges, Asphalt Xtreme also features live multiplayer with up to eight players going head to head on the track.
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BEST ANDROID RACING & DRIVING GAMES
Asphalt 8
Unlike more realistic mobile racing sims, Asphalt 8 takes an action-oriented approach, delivering stunning graphics and fast-paced, nitro-fueled races. Airborne lives up to its name, with numerous ramps and other gameplay elements encouraging players to take death-defying leaps to execute insane aerial stunts. Asphalt 8 features 56 high-performance vehicles from a who's who of automakers, and offers eight seasons, 180 events and numerous game modes for solo or multiplayer mayhem.
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BEST ANDROID RACING & DRIVING GAMES
Need for Speed: No Limits
Need For Speed: No Limits is a free racing game that delivers short but intense races as you blast through an underground street racing circuit. Drifting, drafting and smart use of nitro are necessary to win, with victories earning you parts to modify your cars or blueprints that unlock new machines. Being free to play, NFS: No Limits features a variety of in-game and premium currency systems, as well as a fuel system, though daily challenges allow players to earn premium currency without resorting to in-app purchases.
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BEST ANDROID RACING & DRIVING GAMES
Riptide GP Renegade
Take to the waves in Riptide GP: Renegade, the latest installment of Vector Unit's Riptide science fiction jetski racers. This game features a single-player career mode as well as online and local multiplayer races. As a disgraced racer, you must make a name for yourself in the illicit racing circuit while slowly climbing your way back up to the top. Riptide's stunts mechanic encourages players to take risks on big jumps to build up a turbo gauge, and players can collect a variety of different racing craft and unlock new skills, stunts and character models.
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BEST ANDROID RACING & DRIVING GAMES
Motorsport Manager 2
The first Motorsport Manager delivered a strategic but accessible take on Formula 1 racing, and its sequel polishes that concept into something even better. As team manager in Motorsport Manager 2, it's up to you to choose the right drivers, invest in research and development to improve your machines and decide on the perfect race tactics and pit stop strategy. Refinements to the game include more detailed driver stats and car R&D, as well as more tactical options that include the variety of tires and the option to push your engines and fuel consumption.
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BEST ANDROID RACING & DRIVING GAMES
Grand Prix Story 2
For something a little less intense than Motorsport Manager, there’s Grand Prix Story 2, a light management RPG in the signature cartoon style of Japanese developer Kairosoft. As the manager of your own racing team, you train drivers, find sponsors and get the vehicles and parts you need to dominate the races. There’s a lot less pressure than in Motosport Manager, and it’s all in all a friendlier management sim to start out with.
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BEST ANDROID RACING & DRIVING GAMES
CSR Racing 2
CSR Racing 2 combines some really sweet graphics with some neat urban drag racing gameplay. As players are competing in flat-out drag races, you don't steer, so the game is won by precise starts, perfectly timed gear-shifts, and meticulously tricked-out cars. What could just be a drab series of taps is paired with slick graphics that show off the high-performance cars and environments. Players can work through a single-player campaign, as well as head-to-head online multiplayer battles against other players. It's not just about the street race though: players can also go all out with car customizations, tweaking the paint job, rims, interior trim and technical elements such as gear ratios and tire pressure.
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BEST ANDROID RACING & DRIVING GAMES
Asphalt Street Storm Racing
Asphalt Street Storm Racing is the latest entry in Gameloft's mobile driving series, with this version taking on the urban drag racing genre. Players engage in quarter-mile drag races from behind the wheel of a variety of vehicles, including everything from classic muscle machines to sleek supercars. Automakers like Ferrari, Ford and Chevrolet supply the designs. In addition to the single player mode, you can participate in live multiplayer races with up to four other people.
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BEST ANDROID RACING & DRIVING GAMES
SBK 16
If lightning-fast crotch rockets are more your style, then try out SBK 16, the official game of the Superbike World Championship. Players can take the role of international star riders such as Tom Sykes and Sylvain Guintoli and race incredibly fast bikes down challenging, real-world racetracks. Players can engage in quick races, a championship mode, time attacks and test rides. Cool additions to the game include a new cockpit view that puts you right in the action, mobile controller support, and the ability to upgrade to the ad-free experience either through in-app purchases or by beating the Test Ride challenge mode.
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BEST ANDROID RACING & DRIVING GAMES
Traffic Rider
For a more arcade take on motorcycle driving, check out Traffic Rider, a first-person motorcycle game that has you bobbing and weaving through congested traffic. Traffic Rider is all about hair-raising near-misses, with players scoring extra points or bonus time for dodging past cars and trucks, with bigger bonuses for dodging oncoming traffic. Points earned can be spent to upgrade your ride or purchase newer motorbikes. A career mode lets you play through a variety of missions and challenges, while Endless, Time Trial, and Free Ride mode offer different ways to play.
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BEST ANDROID RACING & DRIVING GAMES
Unpossible
Unpossible is a stylish infinite driver that takes you to a neon-lit scifi cityscape where you hurtle down a circular rail while spinning around and dodging obstacles in an attempt to last as long as possible. The Simplicity game mode gives you an easy introduction, but increasingly difficult Futile and Ultra modes offer significantly more challenging, downright “masocore” experiences.
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BEST ANDROID RACING & DRIVING GAMES
Horizon Chase World Tour
Taking inspiration from coin-op and console racing games like Rush and Out Run but with a modern mobile sheen, Horizon Chase takes you on a third-person perspective arcade race through racetracks around the world as you jockey for pole position. The game features 73 different tracks to race through, across 32 different cities, with 16 upgradeable race cars to collect.
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BEST ANDROID RACING & DRIVING GAMES
Red Bull Air Race 2
Jump into the cockpit and take part in the world's fastest motorsport with Red Bull Air Race 2. Take control of some of the world's most maneuverable aerobatic planes as you compete in more than 400 different races, in addition to regional, global, and class tournaments. The sequel introduces slick graphical improvements, as well as new mechanics such as configurable crew and aircraft upgrades for tuning your ride's performance.
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BEST ANDROID RACING & DRIVING GAMES
PAKO 2
Get in, get out, and get paid — or blow up gloriously — in PAKO 2. Tree Men Games’ endless getaway driving game puts you in the driver’s seat as you race to pick up your crew escaping from a heist. From there, you’ll find yourself in a frenetic getaway chase against trigger-happy cops, as you scramble to reach the escape point, earning points and powerups along the way. Spend those points on new vehicles and levels, which will keep you coming back for more.
Why We Love Racing Games
The need for speed must be ingrained in our DNA. How else to explain the popularity of racing games? The best ones can put you behind the driver’s wheel of the world’s greatest supercars, custom-engineered street racers, far future vehicles, and everything else in between.