Ah, budgety goodness, thy name is Fuel. It isn't long until this 'cars not included' racer hits Xbox, so we thought we'd take a sneaky peek to see how it's shaping up, and whether all that high-fiving nonsense associated with more 'extreme' sports can make it to us without a whiff of cheese behind it. Yeah, right.
Actually, for a game in the pocket-money category, it ain't looking too shabby. There are a respectable 70 tracks, all set in locations such as the Caribbean (beach), Morocco (desert), and Iceland (erm, ice?), while different kinds of craft can race together. So, if you're on a beach level and fancy the jetski while your mates bomb alongside you on the sand on an ATV, the level will cater for both of you, throwing in obstacles, the same amount of distance to travel, and the same amount of goodies and tricks to pull along the way.
There will be 35 vehicles in total too, and the harder you push them, the better the game treats you. Remember, this is 'rad' and 'awesome' so it'll pay to smash into rivals and push them off-course. Manage to smash enough out of contention and you'll get enough dollars to upgrade your vehicle, making it harder and faster for future races. It seems that violence will be 'good', while the actual concept of driving will take something of a back seat. Hopefully it's going to be like an off-road, waterborne version of Burnout. Only a good deal cheaper, of course.
I'm not too eager to play this. The graphics look decidedly first-generation in origin. Seems too Hydro Thunder-ey. The track textures look like they'll tear clean off as the vehicle rides over them. I doubt that the handling will be anything noteworthy either. As far as budget titles go, I'm more interested in Earache: Extreme Metal Racing... As for driving games, i'm more eagerly awaiting Flatout 2.
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