Table top racing seems to be making something of a comeback and not just as another Mario Kart game. A direct descendent of Micro Machines, Table Top Racing from developer, Playrise Edge Ltd turns out to be one of the better and more fun racing games to have hit the PS Vita.

Previously reviewed for the iOS, the PS Vita version is indistinguishable from that, except that with the Vita being a dedicated games machine the controls are better and a lot more intuitive. Basically you have to drive your vehicle across a table strewn with everyday objects, winning races allows you to progress in the championship and unlock other tracks.

There is a garage where you can spend the coins you win by engaging in racing. Here you can upgrade your vehicle, whether it be an ice-cream van or some other ludicrous machine. The onus of this game is fun, so even the vehicles are a little on the silly side, all of which adds to the ambience of fun which exudes from the game.

Each of the tracks, baring the practice track, has a number of power-ups which can be collected, these give you a little burst of speed, a rocket or mine, all designed to beat or hinder the opposition. Unlike the iOS version, which had your speed fixed, the right hand joystick allows you to control your vehicles acceleration while guiding it with the left. The right shoulder button enables any power-ups you may have collected and the whole control scheme feels very natural. The touch screen is predominantly used for navigating the menus.

The game does suffer a little from having a payment element attached to it, so either you’re going to be grinding for some time in order to get the next upgrade, or you can fork out hard cash, the choice is yours.

The game starts with seventeen possible vehicles, although fifteen of them will be initially locked, in the garage. You can spend your ill-gotten gains on improving your vehicles speed, grip, acceleration, armour and length of turbo. You can change your tires and even give your rig a new paint job. In practice the controls make the vehicle very easy to control and it responds well to minor adjustments.

Overall, even though it is not terribly original, the cars/vans, the number of power-ups, customisations and track layouts make this easily one of the best racers to appear, so far, for the Vita.

8

Charles Packer