Racing into the future

Global warming doesn't get a very good press these days. You know, the melting ice caps, deforestation and dwindling numbers of endangered species - it's all very "sad". But, people barely ever discuss the positive aspects of life after the apocalypse, like having the free time to race around a sun-scarred, near alien landscape on vehicles cobbled together from today's technology.

What's the point?

So thank goodness for Fuel. This staggeringly good-looking game takes you to somewhere between the Fast and the Furious and Mad Max, as you race for glory across the surface of our dying planet. It's a ferocious and edgy racing game set in a world burned away by escalating climate change, and here you build your career as a speed racer.

Fuel first appeared in 2006 but the 2009 version has been revamped, expanded and made-over for its release. There's more to do, more to explore and everything looks eye-wateringly lifelike.

The core of the game sees you building your racing career through events and challenges. These can be accessed instantly through the pause menu, or more patient gamers can ride around until they find a challenge to get involved in. The races involve pitting yourself against a grid of eight competitors and trying to be first through the checkpoints. The great thing about Fuel though, is that you don't have to stick to the track. A whole world is available - so if you feel like avoiding the traffic, you can go off-piste and take any manner of dangerous shortcut. You really can go anywhere. If you can see it on screen, you can drive through it, crash into it or tear it to pieces.

New technology

Thanks to the new technology being used by Codemasters, Fuel has worked its way into the record books. Look it up in the Guinness book of records and you'll see it has the largest playable world of any game ever. It's the equivalent of 5,560 square miles - about the size of Hong Kong, Singapore, St Lucia and the Isle of Man put together. It's so big that if you decided to drive from one side the other, it would take three hours. This uniquely large world allows for incredible Endurance Challenges, where checkpoints can be miles apart. In these tests you will bounce over mountain tops, hurtle down sand-dunes and negotiate river rapids to beat the pack.

Adding to the gameplay, whether you're racing or exploring, there are some brutal weather conditions to throw you off course. Blinding sandstorms, massive super-tornadoes and endless rains all ravage the world and take their toll on the hapless futuristic joy-riders - well, life at the end of world was never going to be all sunshine and motorbikes. Impressively, for such an enormous playing area, there is no load time as you move around. Whether you're launching yourself off a mountain ridge or taking a hovercraft down some rapids, gameplay is smooth and seamless - and so fast that you'll wear your thumbs out just keeping up.

Essential

It's very difficult to get bored playing Fuel - the world is so big that there's always somewhere else to go and if you get fed up of driving a motorbike, you can just get off and pick up an ATV or a rugged little beach buggy. There are 70 vehicles to choose from so there's something for everyone - and to rev up the action there is even the potential to race online against up to 15 other gamers. The landscapes here are disturbingly real and everything has been thought about, affording players a new level of movement and variety in a racing game.

If you've got a need for speed - or a morbid curiosity about what the world of tomorrow holds - this is essential gaming.

GAME's Verdict

• It's one of the most advanced racing games ever.
• It looks and feels superb.
• You can play online against 15 other racers.

• There's a harsh lesson about global warming.
• There's a whole world to explore - and that's going to leech your time.
• It's highly addictive.

Review by: Simon 'Hotwheels' Kirrane
Version Tested: Xbox 360
Review Published: 05.06.09