AiRace (DSiWare) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

It's fair to say that Qubic Games currently have one of the more impressive games on the DSiWare service with AiRace Tunnel. It was released only a month ago as a teaser for this full release and, if you shelled out the measly 200 points for it, you'll no doubt have been waiting for the fully featured game since completing the last, challenging tunnel level. The developers have asked for a slight cost increase here, so, for 500 of your valuable points, is this worth it?

Gameplay

AiRace dumps the endless tunnels of the aptly named AiRace: tunnel and instead allows you to take to the skies via a number of different themed tracks, all of which have been incredibly well designed and feature multiple routes and shortcuts. There are six in total ranging from racing down the Amazon River to maneuvering between huge skyscrapers in the city-based level and they can all be raced in reverse too. It's no longer a single player experience either; you'll be jostling with five other pilots, each attempting to pass the finish line first. There's even a Multiplayer option which is a nice touch so convincing a friend to download AiRace shouldn't present too much of a problem.

The Racing itself can be tackled in a number of different ways. New racers should head for the Championship Mode on the Rookie difficulty setting, which is a great introduction to the game. You will rise through the classes by gaining enough points over three random races thus getting into more challenging competitions with a variety of different planes. If you only want a quick fix you can enter a single race and the gameplay is further extended by the various Challenge tracks, although we actually didn't manage to complete any of these within the time limit.

Controls

The new addition to the controls here has to be the weapons and power-ups. Flying through an AiRace logo will reward you with a bonus item, which could be anything from guided missiles to speed-ups. Activating one of these is simply a case of tapping the shoulder buttons although, be warned, crash your plane and you lose your added extras immediately.

Graphics

If you've played Tunnel, you will no doubt remember the rather bland and repetitive levels with one pipe after another looking incredibly similar. Fortunately this full version of AiRace features well-designed tracks that are both detailed and challenging. There are levels in drains, ice caverns and even one through a collection of disused air hangers. It all looks great and the planes have been well modeled too.

Sound

The less we say about this the better. Do yourself a favor and turn the volume down on your DSi and up on your MP3 Player.

Dual screen

As with 'Tunnel' it's all touch screen controlled and, as nothing has been changed, you still have a wonderfully responsive control system at your fingertips.

Final comments

If you enjoyed AiRace Tunnel then you'll find that this is more of the same, only much better. The tracks look great and the other AI racers do offer a real challenge without making you feel like you could never out-maneuver them. You'll still 'fly' through the tracks and although a few more would have been nice, this is still one of the better racers on the DSi and definitely worth trying out.

Pro: Looks and Plays Great.
Con: Not Enough Tracks, Poor Music.
Final score: 8.5

Share on Twitter or Facebook

Comments