Dhoom: 3 The Game for Windows Phone Review

Dhoom, the movie was released in 2004 and it instantly caught the nation’s fancy for bike racing, stunts, and chases. Their was a surge of people who got enthused not just about bikes, but also custom modifications for bikes and all. The movie turned out to be so successful that the makers decided to make it a movie series and now it’s time for the third part- Dhoom 3, which is going to be released soon. To reach out to even more people its makers have launched a game of the same name for Windows Phone 8 devices. But, when compared to Bollywood where there are not many movies with such concept are there, the scene on mobile gaming front is very different with a slew of racing games. So, can Dhoom: 3 The Game ride on to the movie’s buzz and stand out from other games out there? Here’s what we think-

Gameplay

The game follows the storyline of the movie where the villain- Aamir Khan is involved in a heist and is running away from the Cops- Abhishek Bacchan and Uday Chopra. In the game, users get to play the role of Aamir Khan and have to successfully zip past the cops through the streets of Chicago. Players will also have to take care of heavy traffic, helicopters and tricky turns while the cops keep the chase on. The game makes use of the accelerometer on the smartphones to control the bike by tilting the device left or right. If you are not comfortable with the tilting mode, then the game also supports touch based controls for changing the directions, though personally, it does not feels as intuitive as the tilt controls. Players can also get direct access to Nitro boosts available at the top left, shield at the bottom left and weapon at bottom right. Interestingly, the nitro boost also gives you invincibility along with the increase in speed. However, one they are used, you can’t get them again unless you go to store and purchase them through game coins or real money. Along with these power ups, the store also enables you to buy more powerful bike and costumes. If you’re short on coins and still want to make a purchase, then a 5000 coins pack will cost you about Rs 60. When it comes to boosts, you can collect coins on the way, use speed ramps to jump the bike, get magnet which in turn helps you to get more coins, and many more. Occasionally, you can also collect moneybags, nitro boosts on the way. On the other hand, if you collide with vehicles, traffic cones, or mines thrown by helicopter, then you will be killed. Also, keep off the radar of helicopter as it regularly shoots missiles. The game is an endless runner game where your ultimate aim is to make the biggest possible score. However, it starts becoming more difficult as you go further such as vehicles will start coming from opposite direction, as well to make it a bit more exciting.

Graphics and Sound

The graphics of the game are good, though compared to other racing games they are on the lower side. Things like ramps, nitro boosters, traffic cones, bombs are prominently displayed but one might misjudge boosts as they all look the same, except coins. Dhoom 3’s game sound is remarkably similar to the movie which keeps playing in background continually. Other sfx sounds for bike, collecting items, crashing of bike gives the game a nice feeling.

Performance

After playing the game on Lumia 520 we never expected good performance due to basic hardware specifications of the device, surprising there was no lags while playing the game, which shows the game is very well optimized. Game could be more enjoyable if its played on bigger screen, as 4 inch display of Lumia 520 seemed very small and windows based devices max out at 4.7 inches hardly bringing any major difference to the players.

Verdict

If you are looking for a simple yet intriguing racing game, then Dhoom: 3 The Game could be a good choice. It’s fun, enjoyable and more importantly a free game. It runs very smoothly on the devices. Although, after a point of time the game becomes repetitive and monotonous as the game doesn’t offer any other challenge other than riding the bike and not get caught..

Download

Download the game from Windows Phone store.