Cro-Mag Rally: Crazy Cave Man Racing!

I have to admit, I enjoy racing games that don't take themselves too seriously.  Mario Kart was a favorite of mine as a kid, and I never got into the hardcore, realistic racing games. It was always more fun to be able to throw things at other drivers, spin on grease traps and collect random tokens of prestige.

That's what Cro-Mag Rally, by Pangea Software, is.  I mean, is there anything more counter-intuitive and goofy than a racing game based around cave-men and women?  I'm not quite sure how their silly little carts work, and I don't care.  This is a great, stress-free way to blow off some steam.

Now, I can hear the outrage building.  I gave Burning Tires Lite, another silly racing game, a bad review.  But it really comes down to two things: concept and playability.

First, concept.  Cro-Mag Rally beats Burning Tires Lite hands-down on this front.  The collection of bones and weapons throughout the game adds a whole other element of fun.  You can throw things at your enemies, set a few traps, or even collect boosters that make opponents eat your dust.  Not to mention that you can pick not only your car (a ridiculous collection of wooden and stone vehicles), but also your driver.

It's truly a fun concept racing game.  There is no story, per-se, but there is a consistent design, tone, and feel to the whole thing.  You can race in arctic conditions, desert conditions, or even in the jungle.  Every new turn reveals something fun and silly, allowing you to relax and not worry too much if you come in third or fourth.

Second, Cro-Mag is infinitely more playable than many other racing games.  Like some other games, you can control the sensitivity of the tilt controls, but more than that these controls just seem more responsive in a way that makes sense.  There is no unnecessary sliding or delay that results in over-correction.

Also, there is no auto-accelerate.  The user pushes buttons to accelerate or even reverse, solving the "unable to turn around" problem.  If things get messed up, you can simply back up, correct yourself, and get going again.

Now, the app is not without its problems.  Load time isn't short, and it has frozen up on me more than once.  The big problem, though, is the placement of the acceleration buttons.  They are spaced closely together on the bottom of the left side of the screen.  This goes completely against my natural hand-hold of the iPhone, and my fingers end up cramping after only a few minutes.  It would be nice to have a couple of options for size and placement of these buttons for people with bigger hands.

In the grand scheme, though, these problems aren't enough to keep me from recommending this app. It's a great way to blow off steam and just have some fun.  It's not a game I can see myself getting addicted to, but that's for the best.  God knows I am addicted to too many games, anyway.

You can buy Cro-Mag Rally for just $0.99 HERE.