Aces Races

Classic plane racing and betting – My bet’s on the Red Barron!

For any plane enthusiast out there who’s worth their salt, there are always some planes which are justifiably highly regarded and have a similarly soft spot in the aerophile’s affections.

In this essence, Aces Races tries to capture the excitement and thrill of the daredevil pilots who became synonymous with early aviation. Unlike the classic dogfight style games, this top-down racer has gone to extra length to give the impression of the era. The colour scheme is all various grades of sepia (amber/brown and whites) and similarly the music appears to be something almost lifted directly from the classic Charlie Chaplin silent movies.

The game itself breaks down into two halves, on the one hand you have a very competent racing title where you must pick your desired plane, with its various attributes, and you must do a relay race within the time allowed whilst trying to slalom between air-balloons. Meanwhile, on the other hand, rather than you do the racing, you can bet virtual money on an aeroplane version of the horses. This consists of all six different planes and their pilots with the odds outlined to help you pick the winner.

For me, getting into the cockpit and weaving from left to right and back again and touching the turbo boost, proved little more than a distraction. The target time was typically twice as long as it would actually take to complete the course and the only way you’d struggle to pass the level is by managing to miss nearly every ‘gate’ (opposing balloons) on both the journey from the top of the screen down and on your return leg. However, this game does give you a nice amount of control through selecting from the six available aircraft initially. This means that you can go for a more agile flying machine or purely plum for the fastest plane on the list – to suit your technique and playing style.

When it came to the betting game, although it’s not an exact science, this game from my experience does tend to challenge your mathematical mind. I say this because, if you can work out which pilot has the best odds and therefore favourite, you will normally win through backing them. The true challenge comes from when there are two or more pilots on the same odds, where you must then gauge how much you’re willing to bet in order to still make a profit.

Overall then this game has a very simplistic style but offers some nice light-hearted and quick games to give you some distraction. With two separate game time in the one package, this also offers good value for money and if the music isn’t to your taste, you can always silence it.

Rating 65%

Positives

Very stylised look with even some nice touches with the scratched film appearance

Controls are responsive and simple

Quick games for people on the go

Moderately addictive

Negatives

Not terribly challenging and the game never really evolves

Without any power-ups or limitation on the boost, the game seems a little careless in the planning

If you struggle with mathematical odds then you’ll dislike the betting game

No mini-games to turn your attention to