Games for Lunch: FUEL
In a nutshell: Where we're going, we don't need roads...
6/26/2009 6:25 PM | 2 Comments | Page 2 of 3
0:20 I finish in first this time, thanks to frequent glances at my mini-map to make sure I'm pointed at the finish. My opponents seem slow and brain-dead. I'm liking the scenery ... feels desolate but not exactly empty. I earned a "Bullseye army helmet." Whoo yeah!
0:21 "WHAT'S NEXT?" the game demands to know! Let's try out the "Free Ride" to cruise around this massive world, how about?
0:22 I've spotted a challenge. Or, rather, the game informs me that I've spotted a challenge, instead of letting me, y'know, spot it myself.
0:23 The sun has gone down, meaning it's so dark that I don't see the massive lake until I drive right into it and sink to the bottom. This made me laugh out loud. Where's the "brighter headlights" button?
0:25 After falling in the drink a few more times, I decide to consult the map. Wow, it is truly massive. The small section I'm currently in must be a few dozen square miles ... and its one of like 25 sections.
0:27 I set my GPS to mark a nearby race at the High Octane Inn. The game shows me which section of road to take to get there most efficiently, updating frequently as I go. "Press A to start the race." OK ... but where are the other racers?
0:28 Hmmm... I don't have enough Fuel to trade for the low-level "Mosquito" buggy I need to participate in this race. Well ... crap.
0:30 I stumble upon another Offshore Shack. Or maybe it's the same one I started at? Anyway, here I can access those Challenges I apparently spotted. Hey, it beats driving around in the dark. So let's start with Speed Run. The game reminds me I can take any route I want "as long as I make it on time." Ooh, improvisational pathmaking.
0:33 So far I'm driving down what must be the last paved road on earth. It's long and lonely, but I have my GPS to keep me company. Of course I ignore its advice, cutting corners by dashing through a forest of tree stumps. Reminds me of
Mount St. Helens. The right-stick camera is a big help in planning ahead to avoid the wood.
0:34 At some point, I realize the bright white route I'm taking is actually taking me farther from my goal, based on the little counter that says how far away it is. Not that I know where the goal is ... I thought the GPS was taking me generally there. I make a sharp U-turn and try to get back on track, but instead fall down a looooong ledge. My buggy isn't powerful enough to get back up, leaving me way out of the way. Well ... crap.
0:36 I finally work my way back to the original path with some awesome off-roading, but by now I've used up way too much time. There's no way I can make it 1.2 miles in the next 10 seconds. Or is there? No ... no there isn't.
0:40 Retrying ... except this time I pause to look at the map before embarking. Seems the white path on my radar I've been taking is decidedly the wrong way to get to the finish. The best course is a sharp left at the start though the somewhat barren forest.
