40 Best iOS Games Of All Time

27. Asphalt 8: Airborne

Release date: August 22, 2013

Developer: Gameloft

Publisher: Gameloft

Let’s face it. Whenever any series in any form of pop culture reaches its eighth installment, it’s almost always running on fumes. Okay, not you, Mr. Bond, but for almost everyone else, that’s just a fact of life.

Not so for the Asphalt games from Gameloft. For some reason, everything just came together in Asphalt 8, which let mobile gamers know right from the start that it was emphasizing high-flying stunts. Racing was still at the heart of the gameplay, but now you found yourself taking to the sky much, much more often, and the tracks had ramps built into them at just about every conceivable point.

Add in an impressive collection of real life automobiles which didn’t need to be unlocked through gameplay and you’ve got yourself a surefire formula for success, one that attracted even those who hadn’t played any of the previous seven installments.

(True story: I played Asphalt 8 at E3 the month before its release and it was the first time I had ever touched any game in the series. I also wasn’t very good at it …)

Will there be an Asphalt 9? Maybe someday, but for now, just like that old TV show, eight is enough.

Next: Tiny Wings HD