Putting pedal to the metal.

The future will be full of high speed vehicles cruising along ultra sleek, supersonic highways sometime in our lifespan, I’m sure. But in the meantime, I played WeeMan Studios’ upcoming racer Lifespeed today. Once I was finished cruising along a futuristic race track, with it’s impressive visuals and gameplay, my time with the game ended up being an enjoyable experience.

One of the more intriguing bits of information I learned from my time with the game is that it is exclusive to the New 3DS, with head developer John Owens explaining to me that the hardware and performance capabilities were what led to the decision. And from the get go, I could tell that this is one of the better independent Nindie titles that I have seen graphically. The track I played looked great, and everything has a sleek presentation (including awesome 3D visuals) which makes it really stand out among other 3DS games.

The Lifespeed demonstration started with sleek comic book style panels that explained some of the game’s backstory, in which you're tasked with saving your home planet. Following that, I manned my ship and blasted off against 8 other racers. The vehicle moved without issue; these vehicles fly so using the circle pad will help steer it. Whenever a weapon is attained, you can fire that off using the A button. The R button initiates a barrel roll that helps the drivers attain a good boost that’ll help fly past rival drivers. Everything was easy to learn and was completely accessible. Beyond just gameplay, Lifespeed will also feature online leaderboards and also promises to have Miiverse integration.

Lifespeed is a great mix of familiar racing games, such as F-Zero and Mario Kart, rolled into one cohesive unit that stands out on it’s own. The slick presentation, fun gameplay and smooth controls all gel well to form a fun racing game that stands out amongst other Nindie titles coming soon to the 3DS. You can check it out this September.