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Fatal Inertia EX Review for PlayStation 3

Fatal Inertia EX Review for PlayStation 3

A Glorified, Futuristic Kart Racer

Claiming to be better than the X360 version, Fatal Inertia EX for the PS3 may just be worth the wait. It’s not necessarily new as far as the gameplay is concerned, but it’s been improved. Fatal Intertia EX has been a long time coming. After poor reviews on the X360, the developers returned to the drawing board to improve the game for the PS3. While they were at it, they decided to throw in a few new tracks and modes to make it more enticing. An “EX” has also been added to the moniker to signify the addition of these new and improved features. It’s available as a download and is nearly half the price of the X360 version. This definitely warrants some investigation.

Fatal Inertia EX screenshot

In the tradition of the futuristic racer genre, ala games such as F-Zero GX and WipeOut, Fatal Inertia EX puts you in control of a high-tech vehicle that hovers above a challenging track filled with seemingly impossible twists and turns. Winding through various landscapes including natural settings such as deserts, forests, lakes, and mountainous regions, the game consists of 59 different tracks, eight of which are new. Racers will pilot their crafts at the highest speeds possible, while relying on weapons and vehicular upgrades to increase their odds of wiping out the competition. A lot of defensive strategies are also required, since your opponents will be able to give as well as they get.

Races get quicker as the difficulty increases, but at no time do you feel out of control. Overall, the game has a gentle learning curve that allows the player to get comfortable with new tracks and upgrades. You won’t have the same sense of exhilaration as you would find in F-Zero GX, but the gameplay in Fatal Inertia EX is not just about speed, it’s also about strategy. There are a lot of interesting weapon systems to employ in the game such as grappling hooks, smoke screens, booster blasts, and magnets. The game gives you ample time to revel in, and savor, the execution of these devices, all of which are fun and rewarding to use.

Fatal Inertia EX screenshot

Overall, the gameplay is little more than what you would expect from a futuristic racer. It’s just done well, from the control system to the graphics; there isn’t much to complain about. The gameplay has a good degree of depth with the weapons, power-ups, and customizable upgrades, but let’s face it, Fatal Inertia EX is little more than a glorified kart racer.

In the Quick Race mode you’ll get to take your craft out and experiment with it. Here you can practice barrel rolls and brake boosting. Both of these techniques will come in handy for knocking off magnets, which can be shot at you by rival racers. These magnets attach themselves to a vehicle causing it to become unbalanced depending where the magnet is. They do the most damage when attached to the wings. Aside from unbalancing a craft, the magnet can also attract other craft to attach to the affected vehicle. These magnets, like the other weapon systems, are picked up as power-ups along the track.

Fatal Inertia EX screenshot

Other interesting weapons include the grappling hook, which allows you to turn corners on a dime. You can also hook it on to another craft ahead of you and use their inertia to pull you past them like a slingshot. Similar to “bullet time,” the Time Dilator slows down your opponents, temporarily allowing you to maneuver past them at full speed. It can be really useful to get you out of a sticky situation. Smoke bombs can be launched like missiles at vehicles in front of you, causing them to veer off course and let you grab the lead by the time the smoke clears. A boost blast will give you a surge of speed and at the same time produce a shockwave that will push back the vehicles trailing you. The other power-ups may be standard issue, such as speed bursts and armor, but they still come in handy.

Fatal Inertia EX screenshot

Each craft is totally customizable. There are four basic classes of crafts to choose from. You begin with the core model and add the various components such as engine, wings, armor, weapons systems, nose, tail, and cockpit design to name a few. The configurable options are almost infinite. I’m not convinced there are any discernible subtleties, meaning your craft would not feel much different if you just changed the tail, but the overall blend of components makes the difference. Craft (not again!) can be fast and agile, but at the expense of resilience. Conversely, heavily armored vehicles are cumbersome and slow, but they can carry a big payload.

crafts

The usual array of modes are available including tutorial, single-player career, quick race, and online multiplayer. Sub-modes let you play with different gameplay options such as turning on and off weapon power-ups. The Velocity mode is all about speed. There are no weapons, just speed boosts. Up to eight players can take part in the online mode. In fact, all the offline modes can be played online, but keep in mind they are all just variations of the same theme. There is even an online, split-screen career mode. I didn’t encounter any lag or slowdown. Getting into a quick race was as easy as clicking on a link. The controls are solid and responsive, perfect for beginners. The general lack of top end speed adds considerably more control, although the developers still took advantage of the perceived speed to skimp on scenery detail by blurring it a bit too much.

The cutscenes are impressive. The in-game graphics are good, but not nearly as good as the cutscenes. There is a good sense of depth, which ensures you will want to stay on the track when crossing the mountains. The weather conditions include rain, wind, and snow, and can make the tracks slippery. The futuristic vehicles are nicely detailed and stand in sharp contrast to the natural environments. Musically, the game is weak. The tunes are generic techno-rock, which gives a more ambient feel to the game. If you’re looking for the music to inspire you, crank up your own tunes. The sound effects are average and seldom vary. We’ve heard this all before.

Fatal Inertia EX is reminiscent of a top-shelf, budget-priced kart racer. It doesn’t pretend to be more, and that I can live with. At thirty bucks, the price is right for a PS3 game, but if you’re not really into futuristic racing games with an arcade feel, you might want to let this one pass you by.

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 3.3 Graphics
Great custscenes. Scenery in-game gets blurry. 4.8 Control
Excellent feel and response. Great for beginners to pick-up-and-play. 2.5 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
Average audio in every aspect. Weak techno-rock soundtrack. 3.8 Play Value
Lots of fun using the weapons system with strategy. Good online play. 3.7 Overall Rating – Good
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

  • Downloadable for the PS3.
  • Fatal Inertia EX features a never-before-seen environment exclusive to the PS3. Situated amidst scorching desert dunes, the Fatal Inertia Proving Grounds is a mecca for aspiring flight jocks driven to prepare themselves for the mental and physical punishment of low-altitude combat maneuvering.
  • Spread across 59 courses in seven exotic high-definition environments. Also features eight new tracks.
  • A re-tuned flight model improves handling and achieves higher speeds than previously seen.
  • The game’s newly-added, “Master” level Quick Races will push the fastest men and women to their limit.
  • Garage for virtually unlimited “racecraft” customization.

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