Best iPhone and iPad Racing Games of 2012

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Toucharcade continues list the best of racing games of 2012 for iPhone and iPad, if you're a racing game fan, don't miss the games, just get them installed on your iPhone and iPad:

Racing games are one of the oldest genres to be digitized into video games, and they make a great fit for a mobile or handheld device. That rings especially true with iOS devices which come equipped with gyroscopes that feel incredibly natural as faux steering wheels during an intense race.

This year it went beyond that though, as traditional racing games were rethought from the ground up for an experience that can be picked up at pretty much any time when you have a few minutes to kill. Some games even take the connectivity of our devices in interesting directions by allowing us to race against friends and strangers worldwide to see who is the most proficient racer around.

Looking forward to next year, Real Racing 3 looks to take that even further with something they're calling "time-shifted" multiplayer. It's something that resembles racing a ghost time but if that ghost had an advanced AI that would react to your own decisions in real-time.

It'll be interesting to see how that shakes out, but for now let's look back at the wide variety of different kinds of racing titles that made an impact on iOS in 2012.

Need for Speed™ Most Wanted, $0.99 - While definitely a more streamlined, mobile-friendly version of the console game of the same name, Most Wanted brought a high-end feel in a small package. Not just a pretty face though, it also featured solid racing and some of the most exhilarating moments of any game this year.

	Need for Speed™ Most Wanted
	Happy Holidays! Get this game for less in the EA Big Holiday Sale. Over 55 games on the App Store are up to 90% OFF. It’s #31 on EA’s Holiday Play List.

Sky Gnomes, Free - While it sure doesn't look like a racing game, Sky Gnomes brought a fresh approach to competitive racing on mobile. A brilliant online leaderboard and tournament system meant that hopping into the game to take on the top times became a daily habit. A wide breadth of characters and specialty items added variety to the experience, and simple one-hand controls made Sky Gnomes a joy to play on a mobile device.

	Sky Gnomes
	Welcome to the world of Sky Gnomes! These little guys live high in the clouds and have only one passion in life: racing! Every day they're tinkering with their snow engines, building new parts and customizing others to go as fast as possible - falling straight down!

Mad Skills BMX, $0.99 -- Turborilla took everything they learned from 2011's Mad Skills Motocross and applied it to the world of BMX in Mad Skills BMX. The first big improvement is an intuitive touchscreen control system that takes advantage of gestures and swipes rather than virtual buttons. With impeccably designed tracks it was a blast trying to achieve a perfect run and shave fractions of a second off your best score.

	Mad Skills BMX
	The makers of the most addictive racing game ever made, Mad Skills Motocross, have done it again. Apologize now to your girlfriend, boyfriend, wife or husband for all the time you’re about to spend on the best BMX racing arcade game of all time.

Slingshot Racing - Somehow Snowbolt Interactive found a way to take all of the things that are great about playing a racing game and make it work with a simple one-touch control scheme. Searching for the best racing line and replaying tracks over and over to shave seconds off your time became an obsession for me, just like a traditional racing game, but doing it by launching a hookshot out to grapple and swing my vehicle around each corner made it one of the more unique racing experiences I've had.

	Mad Skills BMX
	The makers of the most addictive racing game ever made, Mad Skills Motocross, have done it again. Apologize now to your girlfriend, boyfriend, wife or husband for all the time you’re about to spend on the best BMX racing arcade game of all time.

Reckless Racing 2, -- The original Reckless Racing brought an over-the-top arcade racer to iOS that was tons of fun but felt rough around the edges and like it could have been more. The sequel kept the core of what made the first game great while toning down the over-the-top nature a bit and expanding it with a more fleshed-out racing experience. Reckless Racing 2 feels like a grown-up version of the original, and is one of the best top-down racers around.

	Reckless Racing 2
	Strap down and prepare for the ride of your life... Reckless Racing is back with more! Including a selection of 20 highly detailed cars, ranging from small dirt buggies to fast supercars, and 28 routes in a variety of flavors make this a racer for all tastes - both dirt and tarmac.