Is the future-like speedster worth a look?
I recently got my hands on a copy of AiRace Speed from Qubic Games and as far as 3DS games go, it looks and sounds like one of the better games on the system. I did come across some issues while giving the game a test run so without delay, let’s get right into it.
The game has different achievements to unlock so replay value of the game is very high. The difficulty level might be too high early in the game and the players don’t have a lot of time to acclimate themselves with controls and level design. The fact that obstacles come out of seemingly no where at times adds to the toughness factor. There are two control schemes, Button Mode and Stylus Mode. Stylus Mode looks very complicated compared to button mode so I stuck with Button Mode. AiRace Speed controls feel very similar to Mario Kart Seven in terms of steering and leaning into turns. However the AiRace steering takes a lot more getting used to in comparison to MK7. It takes a while to get the hang of it but once you do, you’ll be able to fly through the levels.
Like I mentioned before the replay value of the game is high but I feel that your level of frustration is going to be high as well. The steering/controls aren’t as sharp as they should be as I felt myself jamming on the breaks after accelerating and still would hit the wall. I also noticed that if I was off by a little bit on a turn or driving through a gateway, I would crash. If the game isn’t going to have any leeway with the players, the controls have to be tighter than that. The environments look fantastic with the 3DS and its 3D imaging. I don’t get the feeling that the 3D was thrown in at the last minute, like I’ve felt with other 3DS games. It was tough to see some of the things I was going to crash into until the last possible minute but I’m not blaming that on the graphics of the game.
