Mobile Watch: Smash Bandits

Brilliantly simple yet so so addictive, Smash Bandits is everything we love about mobile gaming. Incredibly slick and accessible, its the kind of game you could either bust out for a quick five-minute romp or sit down and play for the best part of an hour.

Your objective in Smash Bandits is simple: ram as many objects and cars as you can before the fuzz slap you in cuffs. The longer you stay on the run, the bigger the rewards, paving the way for new vehicles, upgrades, and gadgets.

Where most racing games adopt a combination of touch and tilt controls, Smash Bandits only requires a single finger. Simply press down on the highlighted area behind your vehicle to accelerate and gesture left or right to steer. It may feel lofty and somewhat unresponsive at first but, after a few short runs, controlling the car should naturally with control, speed, and other stat upgrades available from the garage.

No matter how nimbly you weave in and out of traffic, capture is inevitable. Police cars will lay an assortment of traps and barricades, creeping behind players for the occasional glancing blow. Any of these actions, as well as crashing into walls and fences, will reduce your vehicles durability, eventually causing it to halt.

There are ways to fight back however, as you continue to aim for your best high score. Gadgets can be attach before each pursuit, granting bonuses such as the ability to tackle nearby interceptors or drive over spike traps without blowing your treads. These, along with upgrades and new cars, all cost money however.

Luckily, the rate of income in Smash Bandits is moderate straight from the off. As a free-to-play game, there are also shortcuts on-hand, available through micro-transactions. Sure, they help secure better vehicles and upgrades quicker but aren’t essential. Furthermore, Hutch doesn’t feel the need to tout its cash store every time players boot the game.

It may not be as flashy as, say, Need for Speed: Most Wanted or Asphalt 8 but that really doesn’t matter. Smash Bandits has a slight cartoon vibe to it, bridging each pursuit with its artwork and slick menu design. The top-down perspective also works well and even has context as you watch the chaos unfold from the P.O.V of an airborne news team. The music and sound effects also tie in nicely and help to raise the tempo.

Free-to-play can be an absolute minefield for mobile gamers. There are so many sub-par games floating around the App Store that sometimes gems like Smash Bandits are hard to come by, especially when they come from smaller studios.

If you’re looking for a fun yet unconventional driving game, here’s your chance to get stuck in. With one-touch controls, Smash Bandits is innovative and perfect for casual play while on the bus or sat in a waiting room. To leave it at just that doesn’t do the game justice, however; it’s a remarkably clever title and one that is deftly tailored to touchscreen devices.