Keeping up with the big boys is a hard thing. In the last few years, Ubi Soft has ‎established themselves as a major player in the third party development scene. ‎Companies like EA and THQ, are tough to compete with, as both companies are hard at ‎work on their own titles for the Nintendo DS. Ubi Soft is hoping to keep their momentum up, ‎so it’s no surprise to see they’ll have several titles available at launch for Nintendo’s ‎upcoming handheld. One of these titles is a racing game titled Asphalt: Urban ‎GT, which originated on the N-Gage. Even though the game comes from Ubi Soft’s ‎wireless partner Gameloft, who usually provides content for cell phones, Asphalt ‎is shaping up nicely.‎

The title features licensed cars and real world track locations, so players will have a lot of ‎options when playing, in either single player or multiplayer. The game will hook up with ‎the wireless connectivity, but with how many players is unknown at the time. The ‎feature right now is in need of work; reports have come back, describing the feature as “buggy.” ‎‎Asphalt is said to be running at a constant 60 frames per second making for a ‎smooth ride. The game displays no graphical problems, but they might have been disguised ‎by the tight turns, tunnels, and sharp corners.‎

Unfortunately with this title, the touch screen seems somewhat wasted; it’s used only to ‎display the track, stats, and for a menu in the multiplayer mode. This title ‎doesn’t take the most creative road to the Nintendo DS launch, but the well paved road ‎may be the better choice. Look for it when the Nintendo DS launches this November.‎