Koei Brings Anti-Grav Racing to PS3
Another Japanese publishers cottons on to the idea of satisfying Westerners. First screens.
Realizing that staid, repetitive, historical combat games like Dynasty Warriors don't appeal to all Westerners, Japanese publisher Koei is branching out into new genres for the next generation. One of the first products of this shift is Fatal Inertia, a PlayStation 3 anti-gravity racing game borne of the company's new development studio in Canada.
The premise should be familiar to anyone who's looked at the popular WipEout series or its many clones over the years. Choose a craft, race to the finish line and then celebrate in a jacuzzi with Eastern European models.
Where Koei has attempted to rejuvenate the pilot-speedy-racer-to-victory core of the experience is by incorporating more realistic physics, which will, for instance, allow you to destroy parts of the nature-inspired tracks to block your opponent's path.
Depth is added by the multitude of online and offline gameplay and the dynamic, physics-based weaponry, which Koei says will let you, "discover new ways to use them every time you play".
Though Sony has yet to nail down a release date for the PlayStation 3, Koei is confident that the game will launch alongside the hardware, sometime next spring.
Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games