AiRace Xeno Review

AiRace Xeno is the sequal to AiRace Speed! Both games are on the Nintendo eShop for a low price of $2.49. It’s developed by QubicGames.

AiRace Xeno is a very simple game. The game is not a racing game! It’s more of time trials, like in Mario Kart. You control high speed jets, and try to beat your best time in each of it’s beautiful nine tracks. Later levels are not unlocked until you finish the previous level. There are 3 different jets, powered with advanced technology. There are many different hidden shortcuts, difficult tunnels, and spectacular halls. These courses are very short, which is dissapointing. There are no gimmicks whatsoever. This is purely a racing game against the clock. The only thing that’s stopping you is the obstacles in your way.

The graphics in AiRace Xeno are beautiful and there’s no exception that this is one very good looking game. The 3D graphics and menus are luscious, taking full advantage of the 3DS’ stereoscopic abilities. The 3D effect is great and it really puts you in the middle of the action.

The controls are very simple. The A button is for nitro, which makes your jet go at high speeds. The B button is your breaks. The L and R buttons are for rolling left and right. You steer using the circle pad or the D-Pad. There’s also stylus controls, in which you use the touch screen to steer left and right. You will see yourself crashing into walls and obstacles fairly quickly and it does get frustrating after a while.

There are 21 achievments for you to unlock, which adds to the replay value of the game. There are some achievments, that will take you forever to get! This is a very good thing for people who try to complete games at 100%, so they keep playing. But after you complete and earn all 21 achievments, there’s really nothing you can do, other than keep trying to beat your time on a course.

AiRace Xeno, is ONLY a single player game. There’s no local multiplayer or online. The only online feature AiRace Xeno has is it’s Online Leaderboards and your friends high scores.

The music in this game is amazing! The main menu has a metroid type music feel to it and the track themes are incredible. Each track theme is so amazing and it makes you wanna go faster and faster. This game has by far one of the best music tracks out of all the eShop games.

Anyone who plays this game, will immediately think of F-Zero because of the futuristic take on the tracks and the music of course. Anyone who loves the F-Zero games, will definitely like this game. Even though we don’t have a F-Zero game on 3DS, it looks like the AiRace series is trying to fill in that spot.

AiRace Xeno is perfect for little downtime, like when your on an airplane or in the car. It’s short and sweet and it gets to the point, which is what I enjoy the most out of this game.

In conclusion, I think this game is good. It’s definitely not one of the greatest Nintendo eShop titles out there, but it does succeed in a great racing game. The music is absolutely outstanding and the futuristic track designs look great on the 3DS. The graphics are super great and the replay value is good. The list of modes is definitely lacking which is dissapointing, seeing that this is a racing game! The lack of multiplayer sucks and that’s where AiRace Xeno stinks the most. Though it’s only two bucks so I think AiRace Xeno deserves a chance.

REVIEW CODE: A complimentary Nintendo 3DS code was provided to Brash Games for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to editor@brashgames.co.uk.