Cracking Sands Racing for Chrome proves Chrome OS is a real OS
I’m finally starting to feel a little less crazy for spending so much on Google’s flagship Chromebook Pixel. Packaged apps that run locally on Chrome devices and function offline have already arrived and are growing in number every day, and even more exciting Chrome announcements are right around the corner at Google I/O next week. One such packaged app – Cracking Sands Racing – is particularly good at demonstrating the true potential that now exists in Chrome OS.
Cracking Sands Racing is a whopping 533MB – huge by Chrome standards. It’s designed by Polarbit, and contains everything needed to run fully and completely offline. (You can confirm this by downloading it for yourself, and then disconnecting your Chromebook from all WiFi and mobile data networks.) The video above demonstrates almost exactly how the game runs on my Pixel, although those of you with slower Chrome OS devices might not have such smooth gameplay.
Perhaps most interestingly, Kevin Tofel at GigaOm discovered that you can connect a wired Xbox 360 game controller and play the game that way. Users also have the option of controlling gameplay using the Pixel’s touchscreen, although that’s admittedly a little awkward.
The graphics definitely aren’t bad at all. And while it’s not in the same league as many other high-end racing games, it’s still a fun time waster, and it leaves me wondering what other awesome apps Chrome OS developers will come up with in the near future. If you want to try it out for yourself, the download link is below.
Download: Chrome Web Store
[GigaOM]
