Fuel is a free roaming racer set in a world destroyed by Global Warming. It is from Codemasters, the ones who brought you Colin Mcrae Dirt, and has the largest map in a game in history, 5,560 square miles (14,400 km²) in size, with every single part explorable. With over 75 vehicles in the game, players can choose from bikes, ATVs, muscle cars, SUVs, buggies, trucks and many more.

The game chucks you a Quad Bike first straight into it’s amazing open world. I moved the camera around me and was amazed at how damn good the graphics were as the sun set over the mountains in the distance.

Gameplay / story

The game is very easy to pick up and play, even if it’s for ten minutes before you leave for work (although you may want to phone in sick if you do this). It consists mainly of a Career mode of checkpoint races, but you can also discover Fuel cans, which earn you Fuel to buy other vehicles, and with over 70 in the game, you will be saving up for a long time! Vista spots and Liverys unlock you more of the map and customisation options for your vehicle. These are usually spotted as you are driving around, and they get pin pointed on your map. Driver customisation is also a great bonus, unlocking clothes as you go along, there is a great selection to choose from, going from Army helmets to leather jackets.

The gameplay is smooth, although sometimes it does get a little annoying when you crash going down a hill too fast, but when you’re going top speed across a desert, through a forest, or even on top of a mountain, you just feel the sheer scale of this game, and how much you have in front of you to explore. From the skeletons of dead animals, to the truck driver hauling ass down the highway at midnight, I feel this game just has so much to it, and I’ve barely scratched the surface with about 4 hours gameplay put into it.Talking about scale, one thing I really love about this game is that the world actually feels real. The background scenery of the mountains and hills are not just a static picture, they are actually there, and drivable. Fuel even includes extremely realistic and random weather events like thunderstorms, blizzards and even tornadoes, which are amazing to see, but a bitch to drive in!

The races are fast and unpredictable, although if you make a wrong move it can lead to disaster, calling for the restart option. Theres normally around 20 checkpoints, and are fairly spaced out, so the race can last a while. Controls are responsive, and driving is a breeze.

Graphics

Asobo done an excellent job, and hit the graphics spot on. The areas in the game all have their own unique, and beautiful feel to them. Even from the time the sun comes up and to the pitch black night with just your headlights and the moon to guide you, the game feels fresh.

One of the best things about this game is the consistancy of the map. You can get from one side of the map to the other, for example the snowy mountains to the sunny beaches, without seeing a loading screen once. In fact you can play for a few hours without seeing a loading screen, except for when you do races of course. This is what done it for me, just the fact you can play the game how you want, without interruptions.

Sometimes it can seem that some of the area’s, for example the grassy destroyed forest, are a little copy-paste. Not that it’s a bad thing however, with a game this huge you can expect it.

Multiplayer

The Multiplayer consists of ranked or unranked races or a Free Ride mode. The races are brilliant, as I said before, they are structured by checkpoints. You do not have a set route, as long as you go through each one. I did find myself veering away from the checkpoints and getting lost a couple of times, leaving me in last place. The maps just may need a little getting used to.

Free Ride is an excellent addition, you basically just chill with friends and do what you like. Exploring together is awesome, and you can even start up your own custom races and go against each other on the spot.

I have yet to experience lag in the servers, but for once, I don’t think there is any. None of the other players were jumpy or glitchy, and they were smooth just like AI racers.

Summary

Fuel will be the best £30 you will spend in a long time. If you are looking for something a little like Pure, but with so much more to it, then this is the game you want. It’s free roaming and exploration capabilities, along with it’s career mode and unlockables will devour so many hours of your free time. The graphics are amazing, and the amount of vehicles will have you trying something new nearly everytime you pick up the controller.

Although the game has very few and minor bad points, it’s good outweighs them like Rik Waller on a see-saw with Kate Moss.

Official Site: http://www.fuel-game.com/