is a futuristic hovercar racing game from Koei. Originally an exclusive for the

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on November 11, 2006, in Japan, November ...

, it was released for the

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generati ...

in 2007 and then released on the PlayStation 3 on May 29, 2008 in Japan, June 19, 2008 in North America and Australia, and July 15, 2008 in Europe as a download on the PlayStation Network under the title . The PlayStation 3 version was initially delayed because of difficulties with the

Unreal Engine 3 Unreal Engine (UE) is a 3D computer graphics game engine developed by Epic Games, first showcased in the 1998 first-person shooter game '' Unreal''. Initially developed for PC first-person shooters, it has since been used in a variety of genre ...

on the console, due to the cell processor's architecture. The game is set in the mid-22nd century

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

, and a handful of immense corporations control virtually all business, politics, and entertainment. Extreme sports have become one of the main sources of entertainment with Fatal Inertia as the most popular. Competitions take place far from cities due to the high level of danger. There are six different racing environments that are divided into fifty-one courses.

Gameplay

''Fatal Inertia'' has four main craft types, each one having advantages and disadvantages over each other: *Phoenix Class: craft that, though they do not excel, are well balanced on most parameters. *Aurora class: the fastest of all the classes, though with questionable reliability. Suited for adept or advanced players. *Mercury class: light, fast accelerating vehicles with superior handling in contrast to other classes. *Titan class: massive machines that can demolish the competition with their heavy armor and greater firepower, compensating for their poor handling and acceleration. Though there are only 4 classes there are numerous upgrades that can tune each class to its own unique look, stats, and handling. ''Fatal Inertia'' has a set of

non-lethal weapon Non-lethal weapons, also called nonlethal weapons, less-lethal weapons, less-than-lethal weapons, non-deadly weapons, compliance weapons, or pain-inducing weapons are weapons intended to be less likely to kill a living target than conventiona ...

s, mostly centered around magnetic behavior. Most of the weapons have primary fire which projects forwards, and a secondary fire that is projected backwards.

Development

On August 2, 2007 a playable demo of ''Fatal Inertia'' was released on

Xbox Live Marketplace Xbox Games Store (formerly Xbox Live Marketplace) is a digital distribution platform used by Microsoft's Xbox Series X, S, Xbox One and Xbox 360 video game consoles. The service allows users to download or purchase video games (including both ...

. On May 29, 2008 a multi-language playable demo of Fatal Inertia EX was released on the Japanese

PlayStation Store The PlayStation Store (PS Store) is a digital media store available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 game consoles via the PlayStation Network. The store offers a range of downloadable conten ...

. On July 15, 2008, the same day as Europe's release, a trial version was also available on the

as a free download.

Fatal Inertia EX

The PlayStation 3 version of the game is a download-only title, and appeared on the Japanese PlayStation Store on May 29, 2008, in North America and Australia on June 19, 2008, and in Europe on July 15, 2008, as part of PlayStation Network's

E3 2008 E3 (short for Electronic Entertainment Expo or Electronic Entertainment Experience in 2021) is a trade event for the video game industry. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) organizes and presents E3, which many developers, publish ...

release plan. A number of tweaks and improvements have been made to the title, notably the difficulty level; to this end, EX includes a training venue with eight new tracks, known as the "Fatal Inertia Proving Grounds Facility", as well as a Master difficulty level for veterans. The development team have also adjusted gameplay, including weapons and physics. Controls support the

DualShock 3 The DualShock (originally Dual Shock; trademarked as DUALSHOCK or DUAL SHOCK; with the PlayStation 5 version named DualSense) is a line of gamepads with vibration-feedback and analog controls developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the Pla ...

along with

SIXAXIS The Sixaxis (trademarked SIXAXIS) is a wireless gamepad produced by Sony for their PlayStation 3 video game console. It was introduced alongside the PlayStation 3 in 2006 and remained the console's official controller until 2008. The Sixaxis was ...

tilt control for craft steering.

Reception

Both ''Fatal Inertia'' and ''Fatal Inertia EX'' received "mixed" reviews according to the

review aggregation A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

. In Japan, '' Famitsu X360'' gave the former a score of two sevens, one eight, and one seven for a total of 29 out of 40. ''GameZone'' gave the Japanese version of the latter an average review, about a month before it was released in the United States.

References

External links