The so-called auto-runners are a subgenre born under the umbrella of the touchscreen control system on mobile devices. An easy way to simplify the controls in driving games and minimize any frustration on the part of the gamer. This is the premise that gave birth to TurtleBlaze studio’s Road Warriors, a mad hodgepodge of futuristic races driven over new tracks every single day.
The game’s main appeal is that a new track gets randomly generated every day for all gamers, and you can view a monthly calendar of your results over the long term. The tracks are split up into five sections separated by optional control points that you can unlock with the coins you collect – or by watching ads. This is the entirety of the game’s business model: no banners, no content locks, you simply boost your progression by watching some ads.
The controls, as we’ve mentioned, are handled with just one finger – you tap the screen to get ready to jump, and pick up your finger to actually do it. Plus if you tap again in the air you’ll do a 360º that if done right will boost your speed. And when an enemy car appears you can shoot him by tapping.
Both the simplified controls and the fact that you have to beat a daily challenge inevitably bring to mind games like Race Time, with the sole difference that you can upgrade part of your vehicle beyond the simply aesthetic changes: at each checkpoint you can pay 200 coins to open a box that will give you a random part. Plus if you finish a full track every day you can also unlock gold pieces that are better than the standard ones.
Road Warriors is a competitive game made with a lot of brains and good taste. In fact Lucky Kat Studios, the distributor, has already brought us interesting hits like Nom Cat, Combo Critters, or the Grumpy Cat game, with no less than a million-plus downloads on Google Play. The sole problem is that for competitive and perfectionist gamers you’ve got to be basically watching ads nonstop to get as many resources as possible for each race, which can cloud the frenetic experience a bit.
