Fuel

[Harrison]

Now here is a game I had been waiting for. From Codemasters, it is developed by someone that knows racing games well, with GRID and DiRT both being two of the best racing games in the last couple of years.

Graphically Fuel looks very nice, and is nearly a match for the great graphics of GRID. However it is let down a bit by some distance texture issues where they don't quite blend in well, and some distance popup too, but it is quite minimal and easy to forget and live with.

The games main premise is that of freedom, offering the largest gaming world to roam around in, and at 5000 square miles you have to agree it is huge! In free roaming mode you can drive around where ever you like.

The closest I would compare the game to is Burnout Paradise. However Fuel isn't as good, by a long way. The idea in the free roaming part is the same, travelling around collecting events, challenges and driving into special cars to collect special items such as new custom paint jobs. But it isn't seemless like Paradise is. To start an event you have to leave the free roaming mode and select an event or challenge you have collected from a menu list.

I'm going to be comparing Fuel to Burnout Paradise a lot because that gets it all right, and this just doesn't. The map isn't easy to use. You have to zoom in close to be able to identify everything marked on it, and even then it isn't that clear.

Vehicle handling is on the arcade side and you hardly ever need to lift off the accelerator, instead applying the brake at the same time when needed to slide around corners. However working out where to go is another matter.

In the game you have a little mini map in the corner and for some events a GPS system that shows you where to go and highlights the next check point with a marker within the game world. The GPS system nearly works, but not quite. It is often hard to use the mini map to actually work out where you should be going, and can often overshoot a turn, meaning the different between winning an event, and coming last!

The biggest problems navigating however happen when you try to do an event that doesn't use the GPS. For this, navigating where you have to go can be a nightmare. It is never a problem negotiating corners with the arcade style control, but actually finding some of the places you need to turn and drive along can be very hard to work out. Following computer controlled opponents is really the easiest way.

The computer AI is also quite dire. In Paradise you really did feel like you were battling with the opponent cars and racing them for real. In Fuel it never feels like that. There isn't any rubber banding evident. Instead as you progress through a race each of the opponents in front of you start to lift off allowing you to overtake them. You can actually see them slowing down, and this gets worse towards the end of an event. The only thing causing problems is you trying to actually navigate the courses. And with the ability to roam freely this can be a big issue.

Another issue is that each race or event is for a fixed vehicle, so you must us a bike, buggy etc for each specific event. This game is meant to be free roaming so why not allow us the freedom to experiment and use any vehicle?

Now back to the free roaming world. In Burnout Paradise this is done very nicely. With you able to drive around finding new events and locations, and triggering whatever you wish, where ever you wish. And the navigation using the in game map is very easy and makes the whole experience enjoyable for an arcade style racer.

Fuel doesn't do this at all. As already mentioned you can't trigger events or challenges while roaming the game world. You have to come out of it and select them from a menu. This kind of makes the whole point of the free roaming game world completely pointless. Roaming the world is also not that much fun. There isn't much going on, or many other vehicles other than the odd truck moving within it. So you get bored of it quite fast.

In fact picking the races from the menu system and skipping most of the free roaming game world will probably work fine and allow you to enjoy the game more. The actual races are not perfect due to everything already mentioned, but they can be fun and enjoyable, but don't expect to be overwhelmed by anything.

Personally I would recommend Burnout Paradise over Fuel any day. It has a better navigation system, better free roaming world that is actually a key part of te gameplay, the car handling whilst still arcade in style is more fun and you do feel like you are handling a vehicle. The opponent AI is much better and more enjoyable to race against and it has a much wider variety of events and challenges.

Don't get me wrong. You should enjoy playing Fuel. The graphics look amazing and the free roaming game world is very nicely done. Just pointless.

If you are looking for an arcade racer that will give you lots of fun get Burnout Paradise. If you want some more serious racing get GRID, or if you want some mad off road racing get DiRT. And if you want something really serious get GTR2 or GTR Evolution.

I'm not really sure where Fuel fits in. It is definitely arcade style gameplay with a large variety of on and off road vehicles, and loads of different styles of events. But it just isn't as good as any of these other racing games. Had Burnout Paradie not be released it would most likely come across as very good. But it was released and it is a lot better.

So get Burnout Paradise instead!

Graphics: 9/10 - It does look very nice and will give any other racing game a visual run for its money. The blur effects are sometimes a bit OTT maybe.

Sound: 5/10 - some nice vehicle sound effects but I don't remember any soundtrack. Compare that to Paradise with its great variety of tracks.

Gameplay: 6/10 - The racing is fine and quite enjoyable. Though it is uninspiring and with the AI and navigation issues it just doesn't always remain fun to play, and ends up being frustrating.

Lastability: 6/10 - If you really tried to unlock everything in the game it could last you years. But you will get bored long before that and give up.

Final score: 6/10 (not an average)

[Teho]

Pretty much agree with everything you said here. I'd been looking forward to this for a long time too, but then the average to below average reviews started coming in just before release. So I waited, and got to try it on a friend's 360. Definitely decided not to buy it in the end, very disappointing.

Worth noting that Codemasters only published this. The development was done by a different company, I forget which.

[Harrison]

Rereading my original review, there are a couple of things I missed.

The worst is the fact that you have to win every race and event. If you come even second you fail. I've never seen that in a racing game before where this is a requirement of every race. Normally most games balance this by awarding a gold, silver or bronze for 1st, 2nd and 3rd, with the prize awarded is proportional. That generally makes you feel like you have achieved something, but with the goal of actually having to win an event still there to achieve.

But in Fuel, if you come second just behind the winning vehicle you are still rewarded with a big "you have failed" message. It doesn't make you feel like the last 5 minutes of racing was really worth the effort.

It is fair enough to have the criteria of winning for certain events such as chases, but not when it comes to 8 vehicle races, or check point courses.

The second point I wanted to expand on was just how much of a missed opportunity this game and its engine is. The game world and style of vehicles and events would have lent itself so well to a near future post apocalyptic mad max style world.

This is hinted at by the game's currency being fuel, hence the game's title. Collect fuel from winning races, and from finding barrels within the free roaming mode, and spend it on new vehicles.

The other part that hints at this is the fact you interact with events in the game from key locations on the map called camps.

There is no denying that the actual free roaming huge world environment is very impressive and well done, but it is empty and devoid of life. What they should have done is add a little bit of GTA style RPG interaction into the game.

My vision of how it could have been done would be...

For you to be in the free roaming open world as the game's main interface. Driving around the environment finding locations and new camps. Reaching a new camp you could interact with the locals and arrange races and events to earn fuel. But also to use the actual environment as well. You could for example find a run down petrol station controlled by some outlaws or a gang and have to race them for the right to some of their fuel, or to just keep your current car. You could encounter other vehicles, or groups travelling around the roads and this could also initiate a race or event.

And prize fuel could be made a bit more interesting by using a betting system. In fact the game I'm thinking of in terms of this is Lamborghini Challenge on the Amiga!

The game so nearly gets it right, but has just missed out by completely forgetting to actually use the open world for something other than the game engine to stage each event and race in. It needed a story to set the game up, and interaction and a living world to place you into, to give you a purpose and reason for why you are racing and why you are driving around the map looking for new camps to do more races.

Could future patches address some of these issues? Who knows. I think it would be too much of a change to the existing game structure and mechanics to alter it now, which is a real shame. Maybe someone will use the game engine to create something that actually uses it.