'Need for Speed: Most Wanted' for mobile proves action games don't need guns

The comparisons are inevitable, but as far as Firemonkeys is concerned, there isn't a lot to compare. The EA mobile studio formed out of the merger of Firemint (the developers behind the Real Racing mobile games) and Iron Monkey Studios (creators of the Need for Speed mobile games) currently has two highly successful mobile racing games under its roof. They're both created by Australian teams, they're both about racing cars, and they're both arguably the strongest games of their kind on mobile devices. So is there room for both?

The comparisons are inevitable, but as far as Firemonkeys is concerned, there isn't a lot to compare. The EA mobile studio formed out of the merger of Firemint (the developers behind the Real Racing mobile games) and Iron Monkey Studios (creators of the Need for Speed mobile games) currently has two highly successful mobile racing games under its roof. They're both created by Australian teams, they're both about racing cars, and they're both arguably the strongest games of their kind on mobile devices. So is there room for both?

"Absolutely," says Michael de Graaf, associate producer of Need for Speed: Most Wanted for mobile. "Need for Speed is an action racing experience – it's quite different to Real Racing from the outset, which is a simulation game. We have a very different focus.

"For us, we're very much about making sure the game is as action-packed as possible and we've obviously got the police in the game, we have exciting take-downs, our game is set in a city, their game is set on race tracks," he says.

For the team at Firemonkeys, Need for Speed isn't about providing the most realistic form of simulation possible – it's about action. Players aren't just racing each other, they're evading the cops, they're navigating through cities filled with other drivers, they're taking each other down, and they're driving off the road and straight through billboards.

They're driving off the road and straight through billboards

"In a simulation game it's very much about finding that perfect line and getting every last inch out of your car," de Graaf says. "In an action racing experience, there are a lot of other elements involved. The accuracy of the cars is very important, but the other part of it is making sure that the player can have a quick and exciting race."

Most Wanted is Firemonkey's fourth Need for Speed game. Within the same studio, a different team is working on the third Real Racing game. De Graaf says both teams were following each other's work even before the studio merger, and now that they're in the same studio, things haven't changed.

"We feed off each other," he says. "It's been great to have those guys around. Even before we were working together we always kept a close eye on what they were doing and they kept a close eye on what we were doing to. We always used what they were doing as an impetus to keep on improving."

So who's got the better game?

"Well," de Graaf says, pausing to think. "From their point of view, they do. From our point of view, we do."

Need for Speed: Most Wanted for mobile will release in North America on October 30th, which coincide with the console release.