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Fuel

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6.7 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 16 critic reviews
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Based on 29 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Codemasters

Developer: Asobo Studio

Genre(s): Racing, Driving

Players: 8

ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)

Release Date: June 23, 2009

Summary

Get fuelled up and prepare to race and explore the world's largest ever racing environment - over 5,000 square miles of spectacular wilderness. Set to revolutionise multi-terrain, multi-vehicle racing, FUEL is a fiercely competitive game without boundaries. On and off-road, two and four-wheeled vehicles race a massively diverse environment, from scaling the highest snow-capped mountain to racing the deepest arid canyon. In a fictional present, vast swathes of the United States have been ravaged by the extreme effects of accelerated global warming: tornados, brush fires, hurricanes and tsunamis have driven people from their homes leaving huge areas of America abandoned. Now these dangerous areas have created the perfect playground for a new breed of adrenaline junkies who set out to conquer each other, and Mother Nature, in closely fought races. There are over 70 different vehicles with which to take on any challenge that FUEL’s stunning environment throws at you. On-road and off-road bikes, cars, quads, trucks, buggies and dragsters take dangerous short-cuts, perform death-defying jumps and tear through spectacular cross-over points. FUEL's landscape is powered by cutting-edge technology and, using satellite data, features some of the most exciting and inspiring areas of America - including the Grand Canyon, Yosemite National Park, Mount Rainier and much more. In FUEL, if you can see it, you can drive to it, taking any route - on or off-road - that you want. With a draw distance of 40KM, 100,000 miles of roads, tracks and trails and hundreds of race events FUEL’s epic world demands to be explored. [Codmasters]

Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Play Magazine

You want Bikes, ATVs, Muscle Cars, SUVs, Buggies, Trucks…they’re all in here, along with every conceivable type of race set across thousands of miles of populated ultra-realistic topography, complete with dynamic weather. And it all looks and plays spectacularly. Unless you’re looking for an authentic hard core sim, there’s no reason you shouldn’t leave right now, and even if you are, a little FUEL might just change your mind.

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AceGamez

FUEL is bold, imaginative, and fun, a refreshingly straightforward slice of arcade racing ecstasy that's a much-needed antidote to the hardcore simulations that are usually offered.

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Edge Magazine

Even if some of the fundamental stuff has been sacrificed to the creation of this huge world, Fuel still makes it across the finish line on a far-from-empty tank. [July 2009, p.97]

GameStar

The huge world of FUEL is fascinating, but not much more than just a backdrop. There should be better reasons to drive around for 30 minutes than just unlocking a new paint job for your car.

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PC Format

Impressive as the scale and visuals are as a technical achievement, the game itself is little more than a hollow shell. [Aug 2009, p.90]

InsideGamer.nl

FUEL is a huge project but never quite fulfills its potential. The game lacks polish and style, and the overwhelmingly enormous world is too lifeless to keep you entertained. Thus, FUEL never manages to impress, making it nothing more than an average off road-racer inferior to competitors like Pure and Motorstorm.

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3DJuegos

Those who have followed the development of Fuel will be disappointed with the final result, while those who know nothing about its scope will find an enjoyable but at the same time unremarkable game.

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PC Gamer UK

Fuel's races can sometimes frustrate, but making your own fun in a truly massive world is rarely a chore. [Sept 2009, p.76]

PC Zone UK

It's professor Rubbish AI and his evil sidekick Shite Physics. [Sept 2009, p.60]

Multiplayer.it

14000 square kilometers are not enough to make a good game. Fuel tries to overlap its competitors by taking a sand box approach to the genre, but it fails by offering races that are neither challenging nor thrilling set in enormous and boring open spaces.

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GameSpot

This expansive arcade racer may be ambitious, but it doesn't nail all of the basics.

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LEVEL (Czech Republic)

Simple concept, simple name, simple game. Here you have your driving wheel and nearly endless (and rather empty) racing sandbox with suspiciously behaving opponents. [Aug 2009]

Absolute Games

Ten thousand square kilometers of crushing solitude. You drive on a track poorly lit by a full moon, and you desperately long for something interesting to happen. But no, there are no surprises at all.

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IGN

After putting in numerous hours with Fuel, I've struggled to find anything that I especially like about it. The racing has issues, but in and of itself (outside of not being able to select a ride you might want), it works well enough. Not great, but well enough.

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Total Video Games

We had high hopes for FUEL, which promised to offer an expansive game world teaming with insane weather and even crazier racing. Ultimately, however, Asobo Studio has served up a barren wasteland filled with nothing to do, bland race events, and weather effects that are far less dynamic than Codemasters might have you believe.

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Total PC Gaming

FUEL is a big world of promise, but sadly it can't deliver most of them. [Issue#23, p.54]

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 6.7 (out of 10) based on 29 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

B Arcand gave it a7:
What appears to have started off as another Codemasters work of genious, has the feel of being rushed to market in the end. The cars haveno interiors for those of us that likeground level 1st person racing. Handling is Arcade only. If they were to take the best elements of Dirt 2, If Codemasters took the cars and other best elements from Dirt 2 and combined them, they'ed have a blockbuster.

David D gave it a10:
Its just the prfect game. he graphics, how to handle it... Its just perfect. I love it!!!

Gunnar Z gave it an8:
Considering that in every racing game I ever played I strayed off the course and just enjoyed driving around in the scenery, this game seems to be taylor made for me. Like other people I was not too sure about it because of all the reviews, but I sure am glad I got it. I do see the shortcomings, especially the engine sounds are disappointing, 3 out of 4 vehicles sound like scooters. The racing is satisfactory anough, even spectacular at times (weather effects!). But what I really enjoy is the "pointless" driving around, hunting for everything that's out there, trying to reach this roof or the top of that cliff... admittedly, I'm probably weird. But I suggest you give this game a try before you give it up. (Plus, I expect there will be a patch to address at least some of the shoftcomings).

Carlos L gave it a4:
Rather frustrating. I played FUEL just after I finished playing GRID, also from codemasters, but seems this time their four-letter game wasn't anylike like the older one. Yeah, the racing world is huge and that's a thumbs up -- if properly colored... Sometimes I found myself looking at any other thing on my room than the game screen, as the landscape NEVER EVER changes... They should have thought about flavoring some more of the places, a huge torn-out metropolis would fit, who knows? In summary, I came to play FUEL with lots of expectations a good game would cause - none of them fulfilled.

Vince D gave it a10:
This game is probably being rated by people not involving enough time in the game to enjoy it. Just an observation from a few posts. I love this open world, it only seems like theres not much in there because of the amount of area there is to drive! I for one cant stand the games that can be beat in a day or a week then they never get played again, this game is sure to give you months or years of gaming. Now for the not so good, the physics is garbage, shame on you for borrowing that physics engine from an outdated game and put it in this beautiful setup. I would have to say to keep this big of a map a constant thrill would have taken an army of programmers. Cut these guys some slack for a good effort and lets support them so they may release something a bit more tuned next time instead of bashing them and causing their sales to go to hell. Cant we all just get along? lol

guy o gave it a10:
Cant believe all the bad reviews for this game? Not everybody is interested in a Complete sim game. Fuel is simple, and perfect for the casual gamer. Tons of land, tons of vehicle, cool weather, beautiful landscape and fine gameplay.

Stuipid game gave it a1:
What a terrible game. I played the demo and it was so boring and simple ( I took first place at all skill levels on my first try) Great graphics if you like to see the same trees over and over again with a hill thrown in for fun.

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Fuel

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