Acceler8

The one thing you can’t complain about when playing Acceler8 is the framerate. The developer has aimed for a Forza-specced 60 frames per second, which - in practice - means the driving has a silky, responsive feel to it.

Sadly, this is pretty much the only area where this sub-Dirt style racer excels. Irritatingly rubber-banded AI, distracting texture pop-in, and some lacklustre dust-bowl tracks are just some of irks that force Acceler8 into the genre's slow lane.

What’s really disappointing is that it comes from Gray Fin Studios, the developer of Pocket Gamer Silver award winner MiniSquadron.

While we can admire its efforts to fly away from 2D sky battling, the studio seems far less assured in 3D territory.

Acceler8 offers more than ten unlockable tracks, but aside from a couple of forays into ice and night racing most of your time is spent on dusty Baja-esque dirt tracks.

The range of cars, which you buy with cash prizes from winning races, match the off-road aesthetic (all chunky tires and grilled bodywork). Sleeker models hit the highest speeds, with stockier chassis better at gripping the track.

Sadly, the driving itself is hampered by unresponsive tilt controls, meaning ramming into the scenery often seems unavoidable (though pushing the sensitivity to maximum helps a fraction).

Accelerating and braking are handled with touchscreen pedals on either side of the screen and work well enough, though we found the Auto Gas option was easier to manage while wrenching the handset around tight corners.

Bluetooth controllers are supported for more accurate driving, but Xbox and PS3 pads aren't - something we’d hope will be rectified sharpish.

Where the Acceler8 experience really chokes, however, is with the AI competition. Your opponents are either rigidly fixed to the racing line or left comically jammed on roadside scenery.

They don’t put up too much of a fight early on, but in later races they have an unerring (presumably, rubber banded) ability to suddenly race past you at the last minute - even when you’re driving flawlessly.

Upgrading to a faster motor helps, but the AI never acts like a real life opponent and better stats always trumps driving skill.

Although the developer has pledged to add new tracks, and much-needed multiplayer, Acceler8 feels more like a beta product than a final release.

Annoyingly rigid AI, unpolished visuals, and limited control options turn it into rough and not quite ready racer that could do with a proper tune-up.