Race Arena – Fall Cars Review

Don’t Look Down

Pterodactyl Game’s Race Arena – Fall Cars sees players navigating a race car against three opponents as they drive around a small arena. Instead of racing to the finish, drivers compete to see who can survive the longest on the disappearing arena track.

Players need strategy if they want to be the last car standing. The track disappears as cars drive over it. This gives players opportunities to trap other cars and force them to fall through the arena. There are no power ups or boosts available during gameplay. Race Arena offers players easy yet enjoyable gameplay. However, a lack of boosts/items or variety in the types of races available means that gameplay grows stale fast.

Smooth but Repetitive Driving

Gameplay mechanics are streamlined. The car moves by players dragging their finger on the screen to guide the car where they want it to go. The car also jumps over short distances so players can avoid sudden pitfalls. These are the only controls players need to worry about making the title rather easy to pick up.

Lag, though not frequent, does happen and has made me lose matches due to losing control over my car. People with phones two years or older may deal with more regular lag.

Driving in circles around an arena is only fun for so long. Race Arena has the basic structure of a fun mobile game. Unfortunately, a lack of extra features and standout mechanics leaves Race Arena as just another run of the mill game hanging around Google Play.

Unlockable Cars

Race Arena gives players the option to purchase new cars. They cost 500 coins each, and the amount of coins players earn is based on if they finish in first, second, third or fourth place. Players can also increase their coin earnings by watching a short advertisement following a race.

The car choices are purely aesthetic, with no benefits or perks being provided based off the car you drive. The game thus lacks any true push for players to unlock more vehicles, making the feature seem more like an afterthought then a legitimate part of the game.

An Ad-tastic Headache

Ads are Race Arena’s Achilles’ heel. After every race an ad pops up on the screen for players to click away in frustration. Click a centimeter away from the X for the ad and suddenly you’re on the app store about to download a random game. Race Arena does not provide any option to purchase a full version to remove ads either. Players have no choice but to sit and watch thirty second game advertisements every time a round ends. If a player does not start a match as soon as the app loads up, they may have to sit through yet another thirty second ad.

Race Arena forces players to watch ads almost every second they are not playing. Matches don’t normally last long, with players typically watching ads nearly three times more than they play the game. The title does not have standout features and its overuse of forcing players to sit through ad after ad leaves Race Arena a rather lackluster experience.