Publisher: Ubisoft

Developer: Gameloft/Ubisoft

Release Date: 02/15/2012

Available Exclusively On

Gameloft and I don’t really get along. They used to release good Java mobile games back in the day, but after smartphones took off, they released nothing but free-to-play or pay-to-win garbage. Sadly, this leaked over to handhelds a few times, and the Vita was no exception. Injection is a dumbed-down port of Asphalt 6: Adrenaline for mobile phones. A mobile game directly ported to a handheld isn’t the best of ideas, and this game proves why.

With all of the pay-to-win aspects taken out of Asphalt, this is a rare opportunity to see how the game would play if all microtransactions and other cancer-riddled stuff were stripped out. On the surface, it’s a reasonably accessible and playable racing game with licensed cars, more like a low-budget PS2 title. The tracks are boring but work, with boost icons and jumps. The purpose of the game is to boost your way through the track as much as you can and take shortcuts. Once you fill your boost meter, you can go into adrenaline mode, which allows you to easily knock cars off the road in Burnout style and zoom ahead. I found the cars to all pretty much handle the same; drifting is awful, and the whole game feels stiff and poorly made.

That’s not to say there’s zero fun in the game; it does work and is a nice mindless racer for fans of the series or anyone wanting a bargain bin racer on the Vita. Gameloft is not a genius when it comes to handhelds, as they don’t work like mobile phones. Outside of career mode, you can race with other people (no one was even playing during launch, don’t worry), and there are typical event types to participate in, such as elimination, time trials, and various others that have been done to death.

Injection is ugly, stiff, boring, and a slightly upgraded port of a mobile game that was already over a year old before the Vita was released. If you have exhausted all your other racing options on Vita, then go for this dead last.