Asphalt 8: Airborne

Asphalt 8: Airborne is a 2013 racing video game, developed and published by Gameloft as part of the Asphalt series. It was released on August 22, 2013 for iOS and AndroidNovember 13 for Windows 8and Windows Phone 8,and January 15, 2014 for BlackBerry 10.

Gameplay is similar to that of Asphalt 7: Heat, with the player given four control options: “Tilt to steer” (auto-acceleration with movement controlled by tilting the device), “Tilt and icons” (manual acceleration via an on-screen icon, with movement controlled by tilting the device), “On-screen controls” (auto-acceleration with movement controlled by an on-screen virtual steering-wheel), “Tap to steer” (auto-acceleration with movement controlled by tapping the side of the screen). The Windows 8 and Windows 10 versions feature different control schemes, including the traditional WASD keyboard scheme.

The five star rating system for each race, the use of primary and secondary objectives introduced in Asphalt 6: Adrenaline and also used in Asphalt 7 have all been retained in Asphalt 8. Three stars are awarded for finishing in first place, two for second, and one for third. Achieving secondary objectives, such as performing a given number of stunts or knocking down opponents, awards the player with two additional stars. Obtaining stars in an event is cumulative – players who finished first in an event without completing the secondary objectives may replay the race and obtain a five-star rating even if the primary objectives aren’t met. The core gameplay is slightly different, however. As the subtitle implies, the focus of Airborne is on jumping, with tracks featuring a lot more ramps than in previous games.[5] In addition to performing standard jumps, the player can also perform flat spins (by drifting onto a ramp) and barrel rolls (by hitting curved ramps).All jumps earn nitro boost; the longer the airtime, the more boost earned. Destroying obstacles such as barriers and lamp posts or hitting traffic cars also earns nitros. Another new feature, which substitutes the “Adrenaline mode” in Asphalt 6 and 7, is the ability to perform a “Perfect Nitro”. When the player hits boost, a small red zone appears in the boost bar. If the player hits boost again when the boost meter is in the red zone, the car will accelerate even faster, with the boost lasting until the player runs out of boost, brakes, crashes or hits a ramp.

In the initial version of the game, the career mode consisted of 180 events split into eight “seasons”, which become progressively more difficult. In later versions, additional challenges were added to the seasons. When the game begins, only Season One is available. Later seasons must be unlocked either by earning a certain amount of stars or by purchasing a “Season Unlock” in the in-app store.[ The Great Wall update added 30 new events centered on the Great Wall.[10] The Dubai update introduced a new season where only fully upgraded cars are eligible to participate, besides adding three new events centered on Dubai.[citation needed] The San Diego Harbor update introduced a new season featuring events where the player can participate in a twenty-four car race (Exclusive Metal Events – only on iOS 8), alongside several new events centered on both Dubai and the San Diego Harbor.[citation needed]

Online multiplayer mode can be played both locally via Wi-Fi, and globally via the internet. There is also a “World Series” online multiplayer mode, although this mode is unavailable on iPod touch 4th generation and iPhone 4. Playing on multiplayer is the only way to increase a player’s in-game level, to which more credits are awarded as the player levels up.[12]

Asphalt 8 is the first game in the Asphalt series to use Game Center for achievements rather than Gameloft’s own Gameloft Live.[13] The April 2015 update added support for the Apple Watch and made it compatible only on the iPhone 5 or later models using iOS 8.2 or later through the use of Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. The October 2015 update added support for the Apple TV.

cars

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There are forty-seven licensed cars available initially, but due to game updates, there are 162 cars in total as of July 2016. The cars are divided into five classes, and their performance is now determined by the new Rank rating feature. The player starts with one car in the lowest class (Class D), the Dodge Dart GT (Starting Rank 505; Max Rank 778; Max Pro Rank 802).

Unlike in previous games, all other cars are immediately available for purchase without the need to collect stars to unlock them. These include: in Class D, the Cadillac ATS, the Scion FR-S, and the Alfa Romeo MiTo GTA; in Class C, the Chevrolet Camaro GS, the Lamborghini Urus, and the Lotus Exige S Roadster; in Class B, the DS Survolt, the Aston Martin V12 Zagato, and the Ferrari 458 Italia; in Class A, the Marussia B2, the McLaren 12C Spider, and the Pagani Zonda R; and in Class S, the GTA Spano, the Ruf CTR3, and the Bugatti 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse. The car with the highest Rank is the Devel Sixteen Prototype (Class S; Starting Rank 1582; Max Rank 1746; Max Pro Rank 1810).

With the June 2014 update, however, certain cars, such as the 2015 Ford Mustang and the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT Coupé Final Edition, had to be unlocked by spending real-world money on them or winning them from time limited events. These cars were available in “Premium” packs, each containing two cars. As of the Decals update in March 2015, the Premium packs have been discontinued, and the former Premium cars can now be purchased with Tokens, a premium currency which was introduced in the preceding Winter 2014 update.

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