Fatal Inertia // Review
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Fatal Inertia
Release Date:
(JP) September 06, 2007,
(US) September 11, 2007,
(UK) September 14, 2007
Official Site: JAPANESE || ENGLISH
Player(s): 1+
Platform: XBOX 360
Reviewed by: GoldenSummit |
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Through the years, racing games have improved from system to system, from the early stages with Road Rash, through to the latest of Forza Motorsport and Gran Turismo. But, most racing games seem rather repetitive, and has lost the 'thrill' that you would expect from the new generation of gaming. But, a rare style of racing game has been released by the creators of the popular series 'Dynasty Warriors'; KOEI, introducing the futuristic combat racer, Fatal Inertia.
Set in the 22nd Century, Fatal Inertia isn't just your regular racing game, as it is styled like Wipeout, with the whole hover vehicles and futuristic surroundings. Fatal Inertia doesn't just offer high speed racing with next generation graphics, it also includes action based combat, where you can fire rockets, magnet explosives, magnetised rope, smoke bombs and much more to give you advantage in the race and bring a more, fun variant to make racing that bit more fun and challenging. Even though, your vehicle takes real damage when weapons hit, or when you crash, it is very inconvenient having to tap the down button constantly so your hover vehicle doesn't continually fall to the ground; but after a while of playing, this won't even be on your mind.
The game offers you four different racing classes. The Phoenix Class, which is based on balance; The Aurora Class, which is based on speed; Mercury Class, which is based on Control and lastly, the Titan Class, which is based on power. Each class offers a unique feeling on the race track, depending on what you are best with. With this being next generation, it allows you to reach up to speeds of over 500 miles per hour, even though, it never feels like it when you're actually racing. The thrill just isn't there, when you can control these hyper-speed vehicles, you feel that you should be launched into the back of your chair when you hold down the acceleration, yet you plod along at an average speed, seemingly having full control of what goes on for the few laps around a track.
During Career mode (the main story part of the game), you will be able to fully customize your vehicle, with over 300,000 part combinations to gain that all important advantage over your competitors. With all the additions you can make, you can steamroll through the races taking victory every time. Especially with the variety of different tracks, the few environments for you to race in, its' good to see your master-piece of a machine ride through them, and allowing your opponents to eat your smoke!
But Career Mode isn't the only mode the game offers, you can also do Single Race and play Multiplayer, with friends of online with the world. With a Single Race, you get to choose the type of race (Magnet Mayhem, Velocity, etc), then choose other settings, such as the track, the environment and then you choose your vehicle and race! You also get to play Time Trial, to practise your skill against the clock, so you won't always crash on those tricky turns. While with Multiplayer, you can choose to play with a friend, or take your skill online and fight those who are ever more skilled, or wipe out the weak.
With me not being a big fan of racing games, I actually enjoyed playing this. It might not have all the thrills that you expect, or the best of options for your races, but the tracks and environments feel just right and the combat engine influenced brings in more intensity, which all in all makes this an all round fun game that is great for short sessions. Having said that, I found the game rather enjoyable, and continue to play it now and then for a short amount of time.
The game itself, isn't exactly addictive, it won't hold your attention for that long unless you're a die-hard racing fan. Though, the Career Mode I found exceedingly boring and dull, and have been just interested in the Single Races, and playing Multiplayer offline with a few buddies. With the game being one of the unique futuristic racers which we've only seen in the Wipeout series and with the next generation power brings a new kind of feeling towards the game. Graphically, Fatal Inertia is pretty decent, though as normal with KOEI, there is a large amount of detail missing in the environments. But the vehicles look amazing, just like they should with the power of next generation.
The soundtrack for Fatal Inertia really suits its' hardcore combat and mediocre racing well. Each environment has its' own specific song, which really gets you in the mood of your surroundings. The detail in sound effects is also very good, the sounds of the vehicles, the futuristic hover sounds, and the launching of the deadly weapons, which brings you inside of the game, with a real experience. With most racing games, there are very few voice acting, with this game not being an exception, so don't expect to hear much talking here.
I wouldn't call this game difficult, once you've got use to the power of the vehicles, but the turning in the game is hard to handle, and you're easily liable to crash with the conveniently placed plastic arrow signs blocking the whole turn if you venture too far out. You can also get lost if you take a wrong turning, as there are many tracks per environment, which are just in different areas, all fairly small though, with lack of laps to really get involved. I'd say that this game is average for its value; it isn't the most expensive of games, nor the cheapest. But its' great for small sessions of gaming, and best to play with your friends, as you'll bound to have a good laugh over it.
Overall: 7.2/10
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Game News & Release Dates
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Oct 01, 09 |
Feb 16, 10 |
Feb 19, 10 |
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Oct 01, 09 |
Feb 16, 10 |
Feb 19, 10 |
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Mar 11, 10 |
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May 28, 09 |
Jun 23, 09 |
Jun 26, 09 |
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May 28, 09 |
Jun 23, 09 |
Jun 26, 09 |
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Sep 03, 09 |
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Jan 21, 10 |
- |
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Mar 25, 10 |
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Nov 05, 10 |
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Mar 25, 10 |
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Nov 05, 10 |
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Dec 03, 09 |
Sept 27, 10 |
May 28, 10 |
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July 29, 10 |
Oct. 12, 10 |
Oct. 15, 10 |
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Nov 27, 08 |
Aug 25, 09 |
Sept 4, 09 |
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Mar 12, 09 |
Canceled |
Canceled |
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Nov 27, 09 |
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*Note: Q1 = Jan to Mar ; Q2 = Apr to Jun ; Q3 = Jul to Sep ; Q4 = Oct to Dec
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