Innocently, I downloaded it and was immediately impressed by the graphics (I'm a sucker for graphics). I gave it a spin and I was instantly hooked on to it. In case you are new, Asphalt 8: Airbone is one of the best FREE racing games developed and published by Gameloft. It is available on all mobile phone platforms and recently, it also made its way to the Windows 8 store.
After spending months on it, I think I'm kinda cured of racing game n00bness (friend said it could be the accelerometer) and I think I'm ready to provide a strategy guide for it. Although the game is free, it comes with in-game purchase options to ease frustrations and since I'm a cheapskate, this strategy guide is intended for those who are like me... die-die also won't purchase anything. That means, this guide will help you play the game without purchasing any add-ons.
And if you are not confident with a racing n00b like me, I hope the following screenshots will help boost your confidence. I'm currently at 897/900 stars and I have bought all the 47 cars that originally came with the game. I'm still saving up money for the new cars which they have added.
Now let's get started!
Basic Tips
Be Familiar With the Routes
It isn't just about speed and skill, but also the shortest route to victory. The tracks are made up of multiple roads with occasional splits. Therefore, choosing the correct path to the shortest route can still net you a victory if you do not have a fast car and your rivals are unfamiliar with the roads.
Some times, there are alternate routes that may seem to be longer but offers nitro refills on the way. If you can constantly pick up all of the refills in that route while on your nitro boost, you may end-up being faster than using the shorter route. So be familiar with all the routes!
Knock'em Down
Collision with other rival cars is OK in Asphalt. If there are any rivals in front of (or beside) you, hit the nitro and knock them down. Performing Knockdowns will not only slowdown your rivals down but will also refill your nitro bar.
One thing about knockdowns is that the camera angle rotates and if you are not careful, you could get a wreck when the camera angle restores after that (because you could not see what's in-front of you). It is also more difficult to perform knockdowns in multi-player.
Hit That Nitro!
Nitro in this game can be refilled easily so don't stinge on it. Hit the nitro whenever on a straight and if you noticed, even the A.I. hits the nitro at the beginning of every race. If you have a short nitro bar, you may want to perform small drifts to fill it up for a longer nitro boost later. You can also cruise by towards incoming vehicles to earn Near Miss and that will fill the nitro bar as well.
While it maybe a habit to always go for the Perfect Nitro, it can also be strategic to manually control the nitro boost i.e. L1 nitro when first entering a bend, L2 nitro when tackling the second bend and finally, a L3 nitro boost when exiting the bend (i.e. in London). You can also use Nitro to exit out of a drift (i.e. in Monaco).
Get Airborne!
Never give up the chance to perform Flat Spins or Barrel Rolls when you see a ramp. Performing such airborne stunts will quickly help fill your nitro bar and in some stages, earn you stars. 2 or more flat spins or barrel rolls will get your Nitro bar fully loaded (depending on your car). The trick to get more flat spins is to have your car drifted on a ramp at slower-than-max-speed (but not too slow) and the trick to get more barrel rolls is to have your car go off a curved ramp at the highest speed (and at the right angle).
Take note that you can perform flat spins on curve ramps (drifting on the curve) and barrel rolls on normal ramps too (by hitting the sides), however, performing such intricate stunts may lead to wrecks if you are not used to it. In my experience, the chances of getting a mishap on a barrel roll is much higher than a flat spin.
Take note that getting airborne will slow you down so if you are in a tight race for position (i.e. multi-player), you may want to tone down on the stunts and only do them in strategic spots.
Advance Tips
Unlocking Seasons
Your objective in the game should be to focus on earning as many stars as possible to unlock new races/challenges and new seasons. The races in the later seasons will earn you more money per wins, therefore, you should focus on cars and upgrades that will help you win races in later seasons.
You don't have to finish off every race/challenge in one season to unlock the next. Unlocking seasons is based on stars. It is good to have as many seasons unlocked as possible. There are 8 seasons in total.
The Right Car Matters
Buying the right cars is the key to unlocking more races in this game. On my second play-through, I discovered that buying the right cars could unlock up to Season 8 before running out of cash for the top tier cars.
The general guideline is to purchase cars that will allow you to net the most stars to unlock new races/ challenges. That means, you should prioritise your money on cars that can be used to complete as many races as possible for the maximum return of investment (ROI). For example, cars like the Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary has very low ROI because it can only be used to in one or two races, whereas, the Lamborghini Veneno can let you win many Class S category races.
My recommendation is to purchase these cars in Class D first:
- Dodge Dart GT (Your 1st free car)
- Audi R8 e-tron
- Tesla Model S
- Scion FR-S
Then proceed to get the first car in every class:
- Audi RS3 Sportback (Class C)
- Citroen Survolt (Class B)
- Cardillac CTS-V Coupe Race Car (Class A)
- Lamborghini Veneno (Class S)
With this inventory you should be able to cover the basic races/challenges in every class. When undecided, always go for the car that can help you race in higher season races because those will net you more money in return.
Other cars that you may want to consider buying after you have the above:
- Chevrolet Camaro GS (Class C)
- Lotus Exige S Roadster (Class C)
- Nissan GT-R [R35] (Class B) or Ferrari 458 Italia (Class B)
- Ford Shelby GT5000 (Class B)
- Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR-X (Class A)
- Pagani Zonda R (Class A)
- Chevrolet Corvette C7 (Class A)
- RUF CTR 3 (Class S)
- Ferrari FXX Evoluzione (Class S)
At this point you should be bankrupt *LOL* and you will either be playing multi-player or replaying older races to farm for money. If you can hoard enough money to 325,000, get the Mercedes-Benz Silver Lightning as that will help you clear most of the Class S category races and the Mercedes races. But be warned it is not a very easy to control car.
The Lamborghini race in Season 8 should be taken out with a semi-upgraded Lamborghini Sesto Elemento. Using the Lamborghini Veneno may not cut it as it is very difficult to control in Iceland.
Car Upgrades
Before you start thinking -"Since I don't have money to buy new cars, I better upgrade my existing ones". My advice to you is DON'T. You will soon discover that it is more expensive to upgrade cars than to buy new ones. Most of the Season 8 races will require you to have upgraded cars and some of them may require your cars to be upgraded to the max. So leave upgrading to the final 2 seasons.
If you must upgrade your cars for a race (like when you have that 'I must win this darn race' feeling), do not upgrade beyond level 1. Anything above level 1 are just too expensive. When upgrading cars, focus on Acceleration, Top Speed and Nitro. There are 5 levels for each upgrade and so, that's a lot of money required!
Push Beyond the Rank Recommendations
Every race has a car rank recommendation displayed on the top right corner. You do not need to meet or go above the rank recommendation in order to win first place. In my experience, you can be short of around 50-80 points and still win the race so don't let that number frighten you.
Gate Drifts
I hate them. I'm stuck at 897/900 stars because of the last Gate Drift challenge. My advise to you is to attempt gate drifts as early as possible without an upgraded car. Yup! The moment you upgraded the Handling for your car, it will make it more difficult to drift. So, complete those gate drifts as soon as you can before you use the car for other races.
Farming for Credits
You can earn money by replaying previous races. The best races are the ones in later seasons where you will net more money when you come in first place. Alternatively, you can play multi-player to farm for money and rank up your multi-player ranking as well.
Before the second update (as in Windows 8), playing multi-player will not get you much money so your best bet is to replay previous races. Go for the ones in later seasons and aim to win first place. With the second update (as in the phones), you can earn more money by playing multi-player and it also comes with consecutive win rewards. You only need to get a minimum of third place to consider as a win.
Tournament is the Key to Perks
When you start to own those kick @$$ cars, try to race in tournaments. You can easily win Credits (a.k.a money), Nitro Starters, Tuning Kits and Car Upgrades, basically, all the stuff that usually needs to be purchased with real money can be won (including cars).
The Final Tip
Here's something I think you should know. The game works much better with an XBOX 360 Controller on Windows 8. (Remember to turn on Auto-Acceleration to save your RT button).
There you go - Race On!
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