Momentum Racing is a relatively new Windows Phone game that puts you behind the wheel of a wide range of cars to see how well you can handle the curves and straight-aways of street racing.
The game includes three gaming modes, ten sports cars and plenty of upgrades to give your racing cars a little more get up and go. Momentum Racing is available for low-memory Windows Phones and while it may not be strong enough to knock off Asphalt 8: Airborne but after playing Momentum Racing for the past few days, it's a respectable Windows Phone racing game within its own right.
When you first jump into the game, Momentum Racing will ask you to choose your first car to race. Cars cost gaming dollars and just by chance, the game starts you off with just enough cash to buy only one car, a Mazda RX7 look-a-like called the Zoom.
Once you have chosen your color pattern for your first car, the game tosses you over to the main menu where you will find options running across the top of the screen to access the settings, view your profile (gaming stats), jump to the garage and view your cash/coin count. You can give your coin count a boost through in-app purchases. Coins are going to be used to cheat time and instantly repair any damage your car sustains while racing.
Settings for Momentum Racing cover gaming difficulty, control choices, graphics levels and audio levels. As far as gaming controls are concerned, you have four choices that include a tilt steering option and three on-screen control layouts. The tilt steering will include on-screen controls for acceleration, reverse and two park brake controls.
As to which control layout is the best, I'm partial to the tilt steering. The on-screen control options aren't terrible but lack the responsiveness the tilt controls offer.
Along with the menu bar running along the top of the main menu, you will also see options to play one of the three gaming modes. You have a career mode where you participate in a series of races that span six seasons. There is also a Daily Challenge you can race in and a Track Creator where you can build your own racetrack to share with other Momentum Racing players. The game begins with the Career Mode available and after you complete Season One of the Career Mode, the other two modes will become available.
All of which will take some time because you will need to complete all four ladder races and four boss races to complete that first season (which is no easy task). I would have liked to have seen the additional gaming modes become available sooner or maybe the option to use your gaming coins to unlock them earlier.
Again, the Career Mode is a series of races that are progressively unlocked and span six seasons. The races are ladder styled in that you race a series of opponents on the same course that increase in difficulty as you move up the ladder.
The racing screen obviously varies slightly depending on your choice of controls. Regardless of your control choice, you will find a pause and camera button, race time and current speed displayed on the screen along with your steering/acceleration controls.
Your race view is from one of two overhead angles that can be cycled through by tapping the camera button. Momentum Racing places you on neighborhood streets with plenty of bushes, light posts and other items to crash into. The only thing you cannot crash into is your opponent (you just pass through them as if they are ghosts).
Quick tip: Even if your opponent cleans your clock is already at home eating dinner by the time you reach the finish line, finish the race. You earn cash with every race even if you lose. Granted you win more if you win but you get a small conciliation prize just for passing the finish line. You'll need to save that cash to upgrade your car to improve the odds of winning the big prizes.
As you make contact with immoveable objects, your car will sustain damage. Damage that will impact your car's performance until repaired in the garage. Repairs can be taken care of with cash you earn racing or with coins (speeds up the process).
Along with the repairs, from the garage you can tune-up your car with new engines, tires and body work, give your car a new paint job or decal and buy new cars to race. All of which can be purchased with gaming cash or coins.
Overall Impression
Momentum Racing is a challenging and fun racing game for Windows Phones. The graphics are well drawn up and the car selection respectable. Okay… the neighborhoods do look like they are filled with model homes and the shrubs seem to act more like brick walls but the graphics are still nice and the races challenging.
The only nits I can offer with Momentum Racing is that load times were slightly slow and I really did not see much difference between the low and high graphics settings. Neither are a deal breaker but noticeable.
All in all, while Momentum Racing may not give the Asphalt racing series a run for their money it has a lot to offer. While the Career Mode is the primary gaming mode, the Daily Challenge and Race Creator helps give the game a little variety and longevity.
At last check, the game only has one review giving it a 5 star rating in the Windows Phone Store. We see Momentum Racing falling along the 4 star range and if you take Momentum Racing out for a spin, let us know in the comments below what you think of the game.
Download Momentum Racing for Windows Phone (Free)
