You know, I kind of wish this game was terrible so I could call it, 'Repulze-ive', but as reviewers we never wish for games to be terrible, and this one isn't... so that's good! Repulze is a racer that takes many of its cues from Wipeout. It's got the sleek finned hover cars, it's got the pulsing soundtrack, and it has pretty impressive visuals. It also has a polarity mechanic, but we'll get to that later. Apparently you're a test pilot for these experimental hover cars, at the mercy of the corporations, but story is usually ancillary in these games. You get out there, race, unlock tracks, unlock cars, and earn experience.

Your hover car is controlled by either arrow keys on-screen or by tilt mechanics with adjustable sensitivity. In our play time we found the arrows afforded greater control, although we would have preferred if the tilt functionality worked better, as that is the preferred way to play racing games on iOS. There are three badges to earn during each race, and new tracks are locked behind doors that need to be unlocked by earning said badges. It's standard fare, beat a certain race time, don't run into the wall; that kind of thing. Completing races and other actions such as hitting a certain speed will give you experience which levels you up, and unlocks new hover cars, and new skins for unlocked hover cars. It's a tight package that has a good play and unlock curve. If only it was smooth to play.

The race centers around the polarity mechanic mentioned earlier. On the track are red gates and green gates. The race starts off with three red arrows in your HUD and driving through a red gate will fill an arrow in. Fill in all three and polarity switches to the green gates, gaining you a speed boost you can engage by touching the screen. Now the controls are kind of loose, so most players will find themselves constantly ramming the sides of the track as they race along anyway, but that's not what will slow you down. No, it's not being able to avoid a gate of the opposite color as you're speeding along. Running through such a gate will drain any boost power you may have saved up and it severely halt your speed, like you pulled up on your hover hand-brake. The problem is with the controls being the way they are, you can't help but hit these sometimes, and then you have to say goodbye to earning a badge for beating the track time.

Now this release is known as phase number one, with phase two and three most probably being patched content to further the story and add more tracks, cars, and maybe even mechanics. Hopefully they can address some of the gameplay and control issues. The music that accompanies the speed of the race helps to immerse the player, and when you actually are whizzing along at top speed, it can be exhilarating. Fans of the futuristic racer and racing games in general might have a better aptitude with the controls, and if the controls and the polarity mechanic are not an issue for you, pick this one up. It can definitely be a thrill ride.