It was back in 2012 when CSR Racing was unleashed on our smartphones. The game, which itself was genre-defining as far as racing games were concerned at the time, was all about a quick spin. As a gamer, you got to race some of the most exotic supercars, but where it stood out compared to its rivals was the greater amount of customization it allowed with the car set-up and the entire focus on quick straight line drag racing rather than the long-wound track races complete with multiple laps and career modes.
What we get with the latest iteration of the franchise is more of the same, but it is better in almost every way.
CSR Racing 2 sticks to the basics—you launch from the start line, you are expected to change gears at the correct time, and you will win a load of cash and reputation points for doing well and winning a race. It does not need the casual gamer to invest a lot of time in gameplay, and that makes this even more relevant for a quick dose of fun on the journey home from work or between meetings or even on your lunch break.
The changes are for the better. The RPM meter, which is the most critical element for your on-track exploits, has been tweaked. What you now get is a green zone which you need to aim for while accelerating and once there, you should shift gears for best performance—even if you have a car that isn’t as powerful as the rival’s on the track, some amount of technical nous and a bit of set-up bravery can reduce that performance gap.
CSR Racing 2 allows you to tune cars ever so finely, including nitrous boosts, gear ratios and even tyre pressure. Since the bite-sized fun aspect remains the same, there is no real learning curve for CSR Racing fans.
A new addition, to make your progress through the game quicker, is the new “crew” add-on. When you compete in an event as a part of a crew, the rewards are more than what you could have achieved as a lone wolf trying to conquer a drag race event.
The biggest improvement across the board are the graphics. In terms of the visuals, the detailing looks absolutely gorgeous. The cars that you drive, the cars that you race against, the track surface as well as the landscape all look like something that would be right at home in a top-notch racing title for PC and consoles, let alone smartphone rival titles such as Real Racing and GT Racing. There are more than 50 cars to choose from, and the attention to detail extends to everything including detailed interiors, colour options and customization.
Speaking of specific cars, what you get is a line-up including the Pagani Huayra, Aston Martin Vanquish, Audi R8 V10, Bentley Continental GT3-R, Chevrolet Camaro Z28, the Ferrari LaFerrari and a Jaguar F-TYPE R Coupe, among others—you’ll unlock the more exotic cars as you keep completing levels.
As with most games these days, there are in-app purchases as well. But the way CSR Racing 2 is structured, you can pretty much persist without spending even a dime of real cash and still have a lot of fun.
If you haven’t taken CSR Racing 2 for a spin just yet, we would strongly urge you to. The sheer simplicity of the experience, as well as the attention to detail make this totally worth the time you spend trying to drag race a Bugatti Veyron. The game is free to download and play, with optional in-app purchases, and is available for Apple iOS devices as well as Google’s Android phones and tablets.
CSR Racing 2
Available for Android and iOS
Free (optional in-app purchases)
Developer: Zynga Games
Publisher: NaturalMotion
Tested on: Google Nexus 6P made by Huawei (Qualcomm Snapdragon 810, 3GB RAM, 32GB internal storage, Android 6.0.1)
