racing

Colin McRae Rally races onto iOS

Codemasters' Colin McRae Rally holds a special place in the pantheon of racing games, earning legions of fans for its realistic simulation of breakneck rally racing.

If you're among those fans, or you just like a good high-speed race against the clock, you'll be glad to know Colin McRae Rally is now available for iOS.

CMR is all about off-road sprints, where you're effectively trying to beat the clock in order to unlock additional cars and stages. The game has 30 of the latter but only four cars, and in championship mode you must repeatedly finish "… Read more

Star Apps: Engadget's Tim Stevens

Founded in 2004, award-winning tech blog Engadget has brought a lot of shiny and new aspirational gadgets and software into the light through the years. Tim Stevens--named "the nicest guy in tech" by "Fortune" magazine--has acted as the blog's editor-in-chief since 2011. Tim was gracious enough to share some of his latest and greatest software finds--for work and play--with Download.com readers.

What are your top five apps and why? 1. Gmail: I'd be lost without this app. There are some mail apps that are a little better, but none integrate with labels, filters, … Read more

Intel and McAfee join forces, the Counting Crows talk apps, and Firefox revs to v21

Every week, we compile the best new reviews, products, and features from the Download.com software catalog and blog, package them up in a tidy little newsletter, and e-mail it out to all of our lovely subscribers.

If you are a registered CNET member, you can sign up for the newsletter yourself (it's listed as "CNET Download.com Software Dispatch" under "Software News and Reviews"), or check back every Tuesday to read our latest roundup.

Top Download News and Features

Mozilla Firefox updates to version 21 with a new Health Report and additional Do Not … Read more

Cruise at infinite speed in Race the Sun

Endless runners have been a longtime staple for many casual gamers. Whether you're a Temple Runner, Jetpack Joyrider, or Robotic Unicorn on the Attack fan, you realize that these games are fun for one simple reason: they are easy to pick up and put down. Race The Sun, at its core, is not very different from these other running games. With that said, we were surprised how much time it sucked out of our day.

In Race The Sun you pilot a solar-powered craft, racing at a breakneck speed down a desolate gray desert toward the sunset (Sounds like … Read more

NASA cycles through another Great Moonbuggy Race

It may be more than 40 years since NASA last put a man on the moon, but those Apollo missions continue to serve as a driving force for some aspiring engineers.

On Friday and Saturday, the space agency hosted its 20th annual Great Moonbuggy Race. For these competitions, entrants from colleges and high schools have to to design, build, and race lightweight, human-powered vehicles -- think pedicabs on steroids -- that a pair of riders then must muscle over a half-mile course designed to simulate the lunar surface. NASA says that the "race teams face many of the same … Read more

Gran Turismo 6 rumors rev up

Vroom vroom! PlayStation gamers should get ready to rev up their racing rigs as it appears Gran Turismo 6 might be coming later this year.

Following last week's discovery of Newegg's nondescript placeholder for Gran Turismo 6, Italian retailer Multiplayer put up a very revealing listing for the unannounced racing game on its Web site. Surprisingly, the page hosts a never before seen image of what could be GT6's box art as well as a November 28 release date. Keep in mind these details could be exclusive to Europe and the North America version may differ. … Read more

Real Racing 3 1.0.59 Review

You and your friends need a Playstation 3 or Xbox 360 to play great racing games together, right? Wrong! Real Racing 3 gives you an incredible racing experience on your smartphone or tablet. With real, customizable cars, amazing graphics, and hundreds of levels, there probably isn't a better racing simulator on Android.

The app takes an absurdly long time to load when you first play it. It took upwards of 30 minutes to actually get to the game during testing. Your best bet is to leave it downloading while you work on something else. Once you're finally playing … Read more

EA's Real Racing 3 a hit despite 'freemium' gripes

Complain about freemium all you want, but that isn't stopping the momentum behind Real Racing 3.

Despite early complaints that Electronic Arts had turned a beloved franchise into a nickel-and-dime operation, Real Racing 3 has proven to be a solid title for the company. EA told CNET that downloads of the game in the first week exceeded the total for the first two games combined.

Some of the other statistics are impressive: 350 million races have been completed since the game launched late last month. On average, 25 million races are completed each day, with players spending an average … Read more

Real Racing 3 brings the horsepower, but the freemium model prevents perfection

Real Racing 3 (iOS | Android) is the best in the popular auto racing series so far, with real-world cars, tight controls, and amazing graphics, but some people still may be turned off by the game's somewhat intrusive freemium model. In fact, this game would have been a CNET Editors' Choice if EA had stuck with the one-time purchase model of the first two games in the series.

Real Racing 3 delivers the most realistic racing experience available on a touch-screen device. Everything from the car models and textures to the lifelike physics as you speed around real-world tracks fully … Read more

Real Racing 3 accelerates EA's 'freemium' push

PLAYA VISTA, Calif.--Electronic Arts is betting big that it can make more money by giving its games away.

The company plans to offer Real Racing 3, its marquee mobile racing game, for free to iOS and Android customers on February 28. That marks a dramatic shift for the franchise, which previously charged a hefty amount for the console-quality game. Real Racing 2 for the iPhone still costs $4.99.

The change underscores a move toward a business known in the mobile industry as "freemium," or games that are freely offered but have the option of in-game purchases … Read more