Futuristic combat racing built on the Unreal Engine sounds like a can't miss proposition. Sometimes a great idea is not enough, especially when it comes to a game that feels as though half finished. You can take your shades off; the future is not that cool.
Gamers drive a hovercraft-spaceship around a course against seven other racers. Along the way, running over purple pods will allow you to pick up weapons to use against your other opponents, or to gain a speed boost. Unfortunately, the tracks are far too short. The tiny courses, high-speeds of the vehicles, and limited number of laps leave gamers that run into a wall for a moment in danger of completely loosing the race. Racers go from first to last in a matter of seconds, with almost no time to make up for mistakes. Swing around the wrong side of a checkpoint wall, and you might as well start the race over. Missing a checkpoint is almost impossible to make up. The unforgiving nature of the races is just one of annoying issues with the game.
The game has a whopping three modes for you to choose from on the single-player side of things: Quick Race, Career Mode, or Training. Training is self-explanatory, and not necessary. Quick Race gives you the chance to select the race type, from the five the game offers, and any of the five locations and nine tracks. This may sound like an impressive number, but the 'different' tracks are mostly different variations on a slightly bent circle. The five game modes never separate themselves all that much either.
Most unique is Knockout, where racers compete in a seven lap race where the last place car at the end of each lap is eliminated from the race. Time Trial races are exactly what you expect, with no competition other than the ever-ticking clock, removing the combat (and fun) from the equation. The remaining three modes are like triplets with different color eyes. Magnet Mayhem is the most generic of the three, removing the weapon pods from the track and giving each racer an unlimited supply of magnets to fire at each other. A velocity race replaces the weapon pods, but restricts the type of weapon to those that affect your and your opponents' speed. Finally, Combat races provide no restrictions on weapons, allowing the most potential to destroy other vehicles.
Although 'Quick Race' offers more variety, you will spend the bulk of your time in 'Career Mode'. There are three levels of competition within Career, with a few series to win within each. Exhibition is the first level of competition, and is incredibly easy to breeze through with its three simple series. The game never explains the kind of race you are getting yourself into, and never lets you choose. Seemingly at random, the game picks from Combat, Knockout, Velocity, and Magnet Mayhem, with most races as standard Combat. Each of the races offers 'combat points' as you beat up on enemy racers. While this may seem like an important aspect at first, the game sadly only uses this feature to break ties in the series standings; blowing an opportunity to turn the game as brutal as it wants to be.
As you win series, you will have access to new vehicles to race, at least until you have access to all four rides. Yes, there are only four different vehicles to race. Unfortunately, until you actually win some upgrades to make them handle decently, you are probably better off sticking with your slightly slower rookie racer. In the garage, you can install rewarded upgrades, but the game could have done a much better job with the system. With no cash rewarded for winning races or series, you are at the mercy of the game as to what upgrades they decide to give you each time. As with most racing games, you are trade handling for speed when you upgrade your car. While this works all right with a road, the floating feel of the hovercraft racers you get in Fatal Inertia will frequently force you screaming off-course, head-on into a wall.
