Nano Rally

If your gaming heritage stretches back as far as the 16-bit era then you may feel a slight twinge of déjà vu when you load up Sauce Digital’s cute iPhone racer Nano Rally.

Even if your gaming chops don't go back to the days of Micro Machines, pretty much anyone can remember childhood days spent zooming tiny toy cars in the front lawn or up a wall only to get accosted for scraping up the surface.

That nostalgia immediately puts Nano Rally at an advantage, even if succumbs to a few shortcomings.

The game puts you behind the wheel of a little speedster no bigger than your thumbnail. The traditional asphalt-covered circuits of more serious driving games are replaced by familiar household locations such as cluttered tabletops, rubbish-strewn floors, and untidy bedrooms.

Nano Rally makes no attempt to hide where its inspiration comes from, but it does contain a few major differences to the tried-and-tested template laid down by the legendary Micro Machines. You’re not racing against other opponents but fighting against the clock to establish the fastest time possible on each circuit.

The other key difference is that when you turn, it’s the environment that moves as opposed to your car. As a result of your car remaining fixed in the centre of the screen, you never have to worry about the controls being reversed (left becoming right and right becoming left) when your diminutive dragster does a 180 degree turn.

The action is controlled using virtual controls - which consist of left, right, accelerate and brake - or the accelerometer. While the tilt method is a neat touch, it’s awkward despite the option to change select different degrees of sensitivity.

It’s also rather disappointing that you’re only able to drive one car. There are no unlockable vehicles to command and you can’t even alter the colour of the default racer.

This lack of customisation is odd when you consider that before each race it’s possible to tinker with your car’s handling in order to shave seconds off your time. Attributes such as acceleration, breaking and handling can all be adjusted to ensure your vehicle is perfect for the challenges of the track ahead.

And take our word for it: you’ll be spending plenty of time messing about with the settings. because unlocking additional tracks (which can only be done when you clock a fast enough time on previous circuits) is incredibly challenging.

It’s also refreshingly addictive in a way that only a racing game of this type can be. Despite the lack of opponents, the allure of trimming a little more time off your personal best is considerable.

The challenging posed by Nano Rally is a stern one - in fact, for some prospective boy-racers it might prove a little too demanding - but it’s ultimately a satisfying one which rewards perseverance.