PixlBit

If you were to ask a thousand people for a 3D game idea, every last one of them would come up with SpeedX 3D Hyper Edition. Some ideas might have a little less hyper and some a little less X, but the same concept would be blurted out of the mouths of everyone polled. That’s no reason to dismiss the idea of a game where you zip through a tunnel and dodge obstacles, because the concept is a pretty solid one with a lot of potential.  SpeedX 3D Hyper Edition takes this obvious idea and gives it an entirely acceptable treatment, proving that this is a completely viable game idea – it’s just not very exciting.

At first, it is pretty cool to be blasting down a wireframe tube in slick looking 3D, barely dodging primary colored cubes while electronic music thumps in the background. When the tube you’re shooting down tears open and flattens into a plane, you feel another boost of cool hit you, and again when the tube folds back up to put you on the outside for a change. But that’s about all the excitement there is.

There are a few other hazards like fog and little damaging bubbles that get in your path, but beyond these you’re just trying to avoid shapes and last as long as possible. This is made a tad easier by passing over certain markers that build up your shields. You’ll really need the protection when you hold down X to increase your speed to get a score multiplier.  Smacking into objects is inevitable and the shields let you have a few goof ups from time to time, until you eventually run out of chances and have to start all over again.

It’s nice that the course is generated differently each time so you’re not doing the exact same things over and over, although you essentially are doing the exact same things but in a different order.  I earned a high score early on that I was never able to surpass, but I kept trying.  The thing is your score is the only one you have goading you on.  There’s no leader board (among friends or worldwide), which the game desperately needs. Without any sort of milestones to achieve except the next hundred, thousand, or ten thousand points, you’re stuck with a game that requires a lot of self motivation to keep playing. 

Even though the rules of the game are pretty basic, there is no sort of included manual or instructions to tell you the rudiments of what’s going on. Knowing exactly how everything operates would let you figure out the best method to boost your scores and hopefully keep playing.  As it is, you have to figure these things out for yourself, and you might not ever know if you really understand everything. You’re probably best off seeking out a message board filled with like-minded SpeedX 3D Hyper Edition fanatics to get tips from and compare scores with.

There must be some real lovers of this game out there since it’s actually a sequel to a similar version of the same basic game. There’s no reason to really dislike anything going on here – it’s a simple game that just might grab a hold of your brain and make you keep striving for a better score, but I don’t think that’s going to happen to that many people.  In the end, SpeedX 3D Hyper Edition is as engaging and long-lasting as a cheap smart phone game. If you want a little something to pass the time in a waiting room and then never think about it again, SpeedX 3D Hyper Edition will serve you nicely at its three dollar price. Or maybe you should sit there and devise a more creative game idea you can pitch to a developer looking for their next project on the 3DS.