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Jet Car Stunts is the best 3-D racing game on iPhone that nobody's ever heard of, and it was recently updated to support iPads and high-resolution iPhone screens. That's enough reason to go buy it.
Although I just called Jet Car a racing game, it's more like a timed obstacle course that happens to involve a thing with an engine and wheels. The game straps a big rocket to a tiny car and abandons you to a mile-high gauntlet where your only hope to make it to the finish line lies with your ability to smartly use jet fuel, accelerometer turning and a wing-like air brake to soar from checkpoint to checkpoint.
Your jet fuel is limited and only refills after checkpoints. Levels are short, lasting between 30 seconds and one minute if you can beat them in one go.
The seed for the game was planted way back in 1999, when developer Luke Ryan was working for Torus Games on Carmageddon 3. Ryan was tasked with working on a speed-boost power-up, which designed to work like an attached rocket thruster. The result, dubbed the "afterburner," allowed cars to fly across an entire map.
Ten years later, Ryan built an entire game around the concept for iPhone. That makes Jet Car Stunts a 3-year-old iOS game, and its age shows a bit even in this updated version. Some elements of the HUD look blurry on iPad screens, and the game supports online leaderboards through OpenFeint, which is the equivalent of building a game today for Myspace.
But none of that affects the gameplay, which is frustratingly addictive. And graphically, it stands among the best-looking 3-D games on the platform thanks to its gorgeous, minimalist art style.
I’m usually against on-screen buttons in my mobile games, but Jet Car Stunts handles them elegantly. The four buttons don’t cover up the screen, and they’re never difficult to reach. I can't recall ever accidentally touching the brake instead of the gas, or activating my airbrake as a result of a slip of a finger. So anyone troubled by Jet Car Stunts's control scheme has a problem with it on a philosophical level, not a practical one.
Now, OpenFeint may be old and ugly, but it does have a whole backlog of replay videos for the fastest speeds in each of the game's tracks going back all the way to 2009. Watching these is almost as entertaining as playing the game since the top time on each list invariably features someone who figured out how to angle their car just the right way so they could bounce off a ramp sideways, rocket 100 meters through the air and skip half the track.
I'm not good enough to pull of those stunts, even after I've seen them performed. Most people won't be either, but not because the game doesn't allow for precision. There's a right way to tackle each jump, and it's up to you to figure out the exact speed and angle that you'll need to successfully make it to the next platform. This is sometimes an exercise in trial and error, and often you’ll find yourself bouncing off a mid-air obstacle, flipping upside down and feathering the air brake to land haphazardly two feet from a checkpoint.
In these moments, Jet Car Stunts achieves a weird brand of physical comedy. "How the hell did I land that?" you'll ask yourself.
And then, on the next jump you'll use too much jet fuel, sending yourself veering hilariously off into the void.
WIRED Perfect controls and a unique feel make this a vehicle puzzle game unlike anything else on iOS.
TIRED OpenFeint is GameCenter's gross older brother.
Rating: 
$1.99, True Axis
