 Preview By: Andrew Joy |
Developer: | Koei |
| Publisher: | Koei | |
| Genre: | Racing | |
| ESRB: | Everyone 10+ | |
| # Of Players: | 1-8 | |
| Online Play: | Yes | |
| Accessories: | PlayStation Network (online play), HDTV 720p | |
| Estimated Release: | 06/19/2008 |
Despite its myriad of unusual weapons, Fatal Inertia is still a racer at heart, and therefore it still has some of the trademarks of the genre. While some games might gloss over such aspects when they are also bringing so much else to the table, the vehicles in this game are divided up into different classes: Phoenix, Aurora, Mercury and Titan classes. While three of them are your typical racing fodder, the fourth is more specific to the combat part of this game.
First up, the Phoenix Class is one of the most balanced classes racers can choose from, able to perform well in most every category. Like all the ships in Fatal Inertia, the Phoenix class can be modified for better performance and can achieve their top speed quicker, though it makes them harder to control.
Likewise, the Aurora Class’ long and narrow, bullet-like design takes its cues from land speed-breaking vehicles from the past (though, bear in mind, this game takes place in the future). As you might expect, the Aurora class provide some of the fastest ships in the game’s line-up, though it takes them some time to accelerate and it loses maneuverability in the process.
As always, in games of this sort you have ships that are fast but can’t control all that well, ships that control well but aren’t all that fast and they you have ships like those you will find in the Mercury Class. Based off of evolved joint strike fighters, vehicles found in the Mercury class are the best for beginners, offering incredible acceleration, control and maneuverability, though at a loss of top speed.
And, finally, the Titan Class offers up a race for only the most skilled of drivers, as it has almost no maneuverability. However, apart from its cumbersome weight, these ships have great acceleration and they can pick-up double the ammunition as the other classes, so you’ll always have something to shoot at your enemies once you catch up to them.
When a new system releases, it is usually to a full spread of games with most every genre represented. Although war and FPS games have been on the rise in more recent years, there are some types of games like racing that are just a staple of any system's release. To fill that requirement on the PlayStation 3, gamers need only look no further than Fatal Inertia.
Developed by Koei, a company generally known better for their action and strategy games (Dynasty Warriors, Romance of the Three Kingdoms), Fatal Inertia is a futuristic racer in league with games such as Nintendo-franchise F-Zero. More than just straight racing, Fatal Inertia is also something of a car-, er, hovercraft-combat game, too. However, it should be noted though that this is hardly in the traditional sense.
In addition to a few traditional weapons showcased, like machine guns and so forth, Fatal Inertia's real focus is on "physics-based weapons." If you haven't heard the term before, well, don't feel too bad, chances are you probably already know what it is and just don't realize it. The best I can compare it to, before I actually describe some examples, is Mario Kart. Instead of actually damaging your opponents directly, certain weapons will cause your opponents to crash, spinout, and in other ways lose control of their ships. One grand example of this is a rocket that will latch onto an opponent, ignite and send your opponent spinning out of control! Other such events actually take the environments of Fatal Inertia into account - just imagine blowing up a dam or destroying a rock wall and speeding off just before the wave of destruction takes out everything in its path, including the other racers.
Set in the 23rd Century, Koei's Fatal Inertia will take place in several different locations, all designed to take advantage of the PS3's ability to affect racing and environment physics. The game is planned to have several online modes and even the ability to customize vehicles, though admittedly more for aesthetics than performance.
Fatal Inertia is expected to be a PS3 launch title. As always, Video Game Generation will keep you up to date with any developments in this futuristic combat-racer.
Posted: 2006-08-02 19:18:28 PST