Asphalt 5 for Xbox LIVE on Windows Phone is racing to the Marketplace

Fulfilling our tradition of badly punned headlines, this week’s Xbox LIVE title is Asphalt 5 from Gameloft. And it's ready for your challenge. The weird part? This game was one of the "original 50" Xbox LIVE titles for Windows Phone, meaning it's like just 2 years late.(Seriously, it was announced in August 2010).

Racing games can be fun and Asphalt 5 should make many folks pleased with some punchy high resolution graphics of dreamy sports cars. Well, at least that’s how Gameloft is selling the game. In fact, it features over 30 cars including such beauts as the Audi R8, Ruf Rt 12, Ford Shelby GT500, Lamborghini Murciélago LP 670-4 SuperVeloce, Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano.

The game clocks in at 109MB, so you’ll need Wi-Fi to install and it’s priced at a moderate $2.99. While that won’t please you “It must be $0.99!” folks we’re okay with the $3 price range for games—especially ones which have high replay value....

From the game description:

THERE’S A DREAM CAR FOR YOU - Take a ride in over 30 of the fastest, most prestigious cars you’ve ever dreamed, from manufacturers like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Audi and Ducati.

THE WORLD IS YOUR RACETRACK - Highly polished HD graphics let you see every detail and animation of the track as you speed over snow, mud, dirt and more in 12 beautiful locations around the world including St. Tropez, Aspen and Las Vegas. Discover hidden shortcuts and jump off ramps!

NEW WAYS TO PLAY - Challenge yourself to 8 different racing events including Drift Contest, Cop Chase, Time Attack, Duel Mode, Last Man Standing and Escape.

Full list of cars: - Audi R8, Audi TT-RS, Audi Q7, Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4, Lamborghini Murciélago LP 670-4 SV, Lamborghini Reventón, Ferrari 599 XX, Ferrari California, Ferrari F430 16M, Ferrari FXX Evolution, Nissan 370Z, Nissan GT-R R35, Bugatti Veyron 16.4, BMW X6M, Caterham CSR Superlight, 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS, Ducati 1198, Ducati Monster 1100s, Ford GT, Ford Shelby GT500, Gumpert Apollo, Kawasaki Z750, Kawasaki ZX6-R, Lotus 2-Eleven, Lotus Evora, Mercedes E Class, Mercedes ML 63 AMG, Mercedes-Benz S65 Black Series, MINI Cooper S, RUF 3400 K, RUF Dakara, RUF Rt 12

Not too bad. Our initial thoughts? Load time is surprisingly pretty zippy, considering the graphics. Steering is handled by tilting the phone and it is sensitive. That translates into you hitting everything on the screen except the road for your first few races. Graphics are good although it does “skip” a little meaning the frame-rate is not as high as we’d want—but we’re probably dealing with platform limitations.

For nostlagia, read our Asphalt 4 review for Windows Mobile back in early 2010.

Hit us up in comments on your thoughts. Go grab Asphalt 5 for Xbox LIVE on Windows Phone here in the Marketplace. Thanks, Álvaro Rutz, for the tip