Fuel :: PC, PS3, Xbox 360 Game Review

Courtesy of Codemasters

Fuel was judged by the Guinness Book of World Records to have the biggest game world that has ever been created, but is it actually any fun? Find out in this Kidzworld review.

Offroad Action

In Fuel, you race any offroad vehicle from dirtbikes to monster trucks across an unbelievably vast open world. There are tons and tons of races, most of which simply move from checkpoint to checkpoint, but some get more interesting, like chasing a helicopter across the world. You can even create your own tracks, setting down checkpoints anywhere in the world. You simply win races to unlock more fuel, which allows you to buy new vehicles, and win more races to unlock new base camps, which allow you access to more of the world.

It's a Big World After All

The open world you drive around in is indeed huge (though why a flight sim that includes all of Earth isn't the largest open world ever, I don't know). There are several achievements just for driving from one base camp to another, which can take a solid half-hour or more of driving across open wilderness. There's some fun to be had just in driving around and looking at everything, but the game is so huge, that going from one useful place to another without warping is almost intolerable.

There's Something Lacking

It just seems like the game needs one more thing to be really fun. Some driving games are like Gran Turismo, and you win by being the best racer, making every turn flawlessly. Some driving games are like Burnout, where you have fun just crashing into tons of stuff. Fuel isn't fun in either of those ways, because the racing is still open world and sometimes frustrating because of it, and you don't even get to see your guy crash (the game screen goes to black with the Fuel logo when you suffer a bad crash). Still, the gigantic world is impressive, and the slippery driving should be really fun for some people.

Rating:
Price: $59.99
ESRB Rating: E for Everyone