FUEL - Openworld racer from Codemasters

[NecroMorrius]

Taken from Eurogamer:

Codemasters has unveiled FUEL, a brand new openworld racing game promising the "largest racing environment to appear in gaming - ever".

Developed by French outfit Asobo Studios, the game's due out on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC in 2009.

Set in an "alternate present" where the world's been wrecked by the effects of climate change, FUEL claims a 5,000 square-mile playing area with "no boundaries" and 16-player racing.

Players race in "grungy home-tuned vehicles" across the "tsunami-wrecked pacific coast through the Nevada wastelands, including the Grand Canyon, up treacherous snow-capped mountains, thick forests, arid deserts, abandoned lakeside resorts and much more".

Along the way racers will encounter tornados, sandstorms, thunderstorms, lightning strikes and blizzards thanks to a dynamic weather system, and experience a full day-and-night cycle.

The ambitious-sounding game is going to be shown off for the first time at Games Convention in Leipzig this week, and we will be there to check it out - hoping that it's another racing success from Codemasters following on from the excellent Race Driver: GRID earlier this year.

I'm still playing through the original GRID and still enjoying it a lot. It'll be interesting to see Codemasters try something very different, I felt that by stepping out of their comfort zone (a bit, at least) with GRID, they were able to craft something that had a lot of energy and excitement surrounding it.

First footage here: Kotaku

Colour me excited: In-game tornadoes.

[Dimahoo]

Wow. This was unexpected. I thought that F1 game would be next but maybe they have SRS making that instead (which should make for a good game as well).

This sounds the bollocks. Real Max Max stuff - and the idea of extreme weather playing a part, whilst not new, sounds like fun.

I'm a fan of 80's post apocolyptic VHS movies stuff, plus we haven't had a motorstorm game on the 360.

Sounds like it'll be similar to that PS2 open racer from Rockster.

[bradigor]

Want.....Definitely want.

[moosegrinder]

How random.

[spaceyjase]

Hmm, looks exciting!

[BeeJay]

How random.

My thoughts exactely.

[Sigourney Beaver]

Why am I looking forward to Pure but not looking forward to this?

[moosegrinder]

We know a bit more than just the setting with Pure?

[Sigourney Beaver]

We know a bit more than just the setting with Pure?

I've not read anything about Pure though. All I've seen is a video and some screenshots.

Perhaps we've got too many of these off-road racers.

[The-G]

This looks pretty good. Really love the stuff with the tornado.

[Dimahoo]

Offtopic - Pure is meant to be really nice according to various sources that i can't link to here. Theres also some vids if the Ps3 version in the Pure thread i think.

[Jam_sponge]

Wow, it's like Excite Truck but without the technical limitations... Colour me excited!

[misterSquare]

Its not really anything to do with GRID though - its just a racing game that happens to be published by Codies. DiRT/GRID are done in-house, so its not the same team making it.

[Dimahoo]

Well its either them or teh dev formally known as SRS.

Actually SRS have experience in this field.

*edit* ha. Its not them either. Its Asobo - some french team.

Blimey - this may indicate that two teams are working on the F1 game or theres another racing game not announced as SRS must be doing something. Either way its good news at that should mean more racing games.

[mushashi]

This game is a bit of an exponential leap in ambition for Asobo Studios , you just have to hope all their earlier gigs were to keep the lights on and not some demonstration of their talents:

Development History:

Macintosh

WALL-E

PC

Fuel

Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties

Grand Raid Offroad

Sitting Ducks

Special Forces: Nemesis Strike

WALL-E

PlayStation 2

Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties

Sitting Ducks

Special Forces: Nemesis Strike

Super Farm

The Mummy: The Animated Series

WALL-E

PlayStation 3

Fuel

Xbox

Grand Raid Offroad

Sitting Ducks

Special Forces: Nemesis Strike

Xbox 360

Fuel

Grand Raid Offroad

[Quest]

Oh!

Oh dear.

[mushashi]

Seems this is the game they stopped development of their previous game, Grand Raid Offroad, for. That was looking pretty promising actually.

[hragged]

5,000 square-miles!

[idiwa]

hmmmm I'm not getting a twinge. Sorry sounds utter shite.

[Mars]

That looks like Oblivion with cars.

[mindgames]

Sounds like it'll be similar to that PS2 open racer from Rockster.

Smugglers Run? FUEL reminds me of the racing modes in Smugglers Run 2 which is no bad thing.

[mprice]

First thing I thought of was Smugglers Run, which was a hell of a lot of fun on 2 player.

There's not really been an off road racer to interest me so far this gen, so I'm pretty excited to learn of this

[hragged]

That looks like Oblivion with cars.

Oblivion was 16 square miles, this is 5000 square miles.

Therefore FUEL is 312.5 times better than Oblivion. With cars.

[Qazimod]

Asbo Studios?

EDIT: blind.

[Mars]

Oblivion was 16 square miles, this is 5000 square miles.

Therefore FUEL is 312.5 times better than Oblivion. With cars.

PRE-ORDERED.

[The-G]

Oblivion was 16 square miles, this is 5000 square miles.

Therefore FUEL is 312.5 times better than Oblivion. With cars.

Yeah, but you're going at what 3 miles per hour in oblivion? About 100mph in this. So really its only going to feel what about 10 times bigger?

[Sportello]

5,000 square miles??? Do you race for a day or something? And then have to decide whether to stop at some suspicious looking tanker that may get you some extra fuel but might actually be a trap, like Mad Max or something? And customise your vehicle to look like Lord Humungous' crazy death buggy?

Yeah, ok.

[Number 28]

That looks like Oblivion with cars.

I always thought it would be amusing if developers put weird and wonderful cheat codes in their games. In Oblivion you should be able to summon a hummer, and storm across the environment running over goblins and shit.

[Jack]

I always thought it would be amusing if developers put weird and wonderful cheat codes in their games. In Oblivion you should be able to summon a hummer, and storm across the environment running over goblins and shit.

Kind of like this?

[Mars]