Polarbit has just released Reckless Racing 2, the follow-up to the popular drift-heavy arcade racer from last year. If you haven't played the original, it's a top-down experience that will have you slipping and sliding just about everywhere. The new game has 18 vehicle choices and 24 tracks, and it's available now for $4.99 for both iPhone and Android smartphones.

While the racing itself is mostly unchanged, the modes have been modified: in addition to plain old races, you can now take part in elimination (in which the last place racer is removed each lap until one remains) and hot lap matches (whoever has the fastest lap wins). The biggest difference between the two games is found off the racetrack: there's now a complete career mode that earns you money that you can spend to purchase new cars, upgrades, and paint jobs. We downloaded the new title and played with it for a bit today, so read on for some of our impressions.

We were impressed by the upgraded graphics — it looks noticeably nicer than Reckless Racing and Reckless Racing HD, and the tracks have lots of great details that keep the game fresh. We're glad to report that the game runs super smooth (at least on our Galaxy Nexus), despite the graphics bump. While we didn't spend too long with the game, it does look like there's plenty to do — the career mode has many cups, the arcade mode has 40 different challenges, and there's a multiplayer option, too. If you like tweaking cars, there's a fair number of choices: you can upgrade your exhaust, add a turbo, change your tires, or swap out your suspension, for example. It's nothing like a Gran Turismo game, but it should do in a pinch. If you enjoyed the original, we can't think of a reason why you shouldn't upgrade, and if you've never played Reckless Racing, this is a great place to start.