Touchgrind Scooter is the latest game in the Touchgrind series and, as you can probably work out, it sees you rolling through a series of levels and challenges on a scooter. While it doesn’t capture the inescapable cool of skateboarding or BMXing, the game still offers up a bright and brilliant challenge that thrills and frustrates in equal measure.
You control your scooter with two fingers, which is slightly awkward and takes a while to get used to. You’re throwing out combinations of swipes in order to spin, flip and twirl the scooter to get points. You move forwards automatically, and you’ll jump when you get to the edge of a ramp.
Despite its fiddly nature, there’s something elegant about the control scheme. When you catch your first tailspin and land it perfectly, you can’t help but smile. Slowly but surely, things become intuitive, and you’ll start pulling off ridiculous, nausea-inducing combos to rack up massive scores.
It isn’t just about scores, though. Each level in the game also has a series of tricky challenges you need to complete. These range from weaving through cones to pulling off a set number of tricks over a series of jumps. Complete the challenges to get XP to unlock new levels and gear.
There’s also PvP here. You get one run to set a high score, and your opponent gets the same. Whoever bags the highest points total is crowned the winner. You can play against random people, or add friends to try and show them who’s the best at digitally manipulating a scooter with their digits.
The game does occasionally get frustrating – mess up one trick and you’ll often see your run snowballing into an avalanche of disaster as you try to get some rhythm back. It takes a while to learn the routes as well – there are loads of them on every level and they often throw in narrow gaps and tricky turns that will mess you up completely.
Touchgrind Scooter is a game that rewards perseverance, though. The more you play, the more in-tune you get to the swipy controls and the twitchy steering, the more fun you’re going to have. There’s loads to do here, and the vast majority of it is an incredible amount of fun.
Click here to read more reviews of the latest mobile gaming releases