If there’s one genre that next-generation consoles could never be accused of skimping on, it’s the off-road racer. With a certain sense of familiarity in mind, and after a weekend playing the frankly rather limp Fuel (thank you Steam for yet another impulse purchase), I took a cautious deep breath and plunged head-first into a hands-on session with Techland’s ludicrously titled Nail’d, only to have the stuffing knocked out of me as I catapulted out the other end at a rate of knots. This is quick, make no mistake. And all extreme like.
Surprisingly playable in its current mid-development form, and displaying a profligacy of neat gameplay mechanics that just about manage to toe the line of homage, Nail’d is attempting to fuse its more immediate inspirations into something that marks it out as a little different from the competition. For the most part that approach looks as if it could succeed, as the developer certainly isn’t afraid of focusing on the ridiculous in order to carve out new territory, whilst the bouncy arcade physics and mid-air manoeuvrability lend the game a sense of personality.
So it’s all about getting dirty then, and ripping through tracks carved from granite, wood, and several other substances to be revealed at a later date. The current selection of ATVs and Motorbikes have the squirrely properties and responsive nature of something like Pure, but set against scenic backgrounds with multiple alternative routes that may prompt casual comparisons with the likes of Motorstorm. At least one of the tracks fitted that mould anyway, whilst the other took shape as a massive point-to-point race through Alan Wake territory with plummeting drops and giant buzz saws vying for yourragdoll death.
Both tracks also featured a number of dynamic elements that brought to mind some of the milder interactive elements of Split/Second. As an example, a train winds its way at high speed through one of the tracks and can be ridden for a quick boost if timed correctly. And you’ll have to be quick to avoid falling trees, rocks and even a runway-bound jet plane at one point. At this stage, Nail’d could justly be accused of lacking a little of the presentational finesse that made those standout moments elsewhere, but there is plenty of time left for the finishing touches to be layered on, and indications are positive they will be.
On top of the basic springiness and sheer velocity of the vehicles, the boosting system and mid-air control also look set to make or break the racing formula. Once airborne - opportunities for huge jumps are prevalent throughout - you retain almost full control, with the ability to steer around dangerous bits of scenery or towards targets of your choosing. Rings of fire are carefully dotted around landing points or hidden away behind the narrowest of gaps, and successfully guiding yourself through one of these refills a boost meter, enabling you to chain-boost-jump your way around most of the track.
In terms of the nuts and bolts, Techland has also included a rudimentary system of mechanical and visual upgrades with which to personalise and stretch out the career mode, and the 12-player online component (although not demonstrated) should be where the heart of the experience lies after completing what looks to be a fairly regular tiered-progression singleplayer system. Visually it’s already clipping along and approaching Burnout levels of speed, and even as an early build the promise is clear that it could end up as a looker. The soundtrack too is packed with wonder for those of you into your Metal, and you really should check out our accompanying news piece for further proof.
All in all, fairly promising then. For any game to shake off the shackles of genre oversaturation at such an early stage in development and leave the player eager to see more is impressive, and we’ll be following along to see whether Techland can deliver on that final 30% of code and polish that could make this one to challenge the heavy hitters. Pure it definitely isn’t, but that might not be such a bad thing after all.
Professional enthusiast, videogame "journalist" and all-round spectacular sofa dweller. "
