Fatal Inertia EX review

Fatal Inertia was released last year on the Xbox 360 as a full priced title to mixed responses from gamers and critics. Now it’s here on the PS3 as a downloadable for less money and this time around gamers do get a bit more bang for their buck.

It’s a futuristic racing game where you pilot ships that hover close to the ground. You simply have to complete the required number of laps and make sure you pass through the checkpoint gates. Do this before everyone else and you come first. Simple.

Of course, to make things a bit more tricky there are weapon pads you can fly over which give you abilities that might give you the edge over your opponents. There are the standard speed boosts and shields, but unique to Fatal Inertia are launchable magnets and grapple guns.

Magnets can be fired in front and behind and if they stick to a ship they effect handling and eventually explode to cause damage. Grappling guns can be fired to stick to other ships and then the other end can be fired to the scenery or other ships to cause some amusing and satisfying crashes.

When it comes to courses there are plenty to choose from, ranging from tropical paradises to barren icy worlds. Compared to the WipeOut games, there’s certainly room to pick your path but that can give rise to getting lost and missing checkpoints. If you do miss a checkpoint you might as well stop playing because it’s almost impossible to recover.

Handling of the ships is good for the majority of the time in the early stages of the game but things quickly get tough when you hit the third league and it’s when you’re under pressure things still seem a little sluggish.

I’d also have liked to hear some better music to get my heart pounding whilst zooming round the tracks.

The game also has split-screen and online play although I couldn’t actually find anyone online when I tried to connect so unfortunately can’t comment on what it’s like to play with other people.

As a downloadable game that’s relatively cheap this is a fun futuristic racer that will entertain while it lasts. It gets a good 6 out of 10.

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Fatal Inertia EX review

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Related: Fatal Inertia EX released, WipeOut HD delay, Fatal Inertia EX review

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