In the world of ATV/Motocross racers there are very few titles that have been successful. It’s a genre that is very hit and miss. It’s either too realistic, not realistic enough, centered too much on tricks, or simply not fun. Titles like Pure, Motorstorm and the ATV franchise have successfully created great ATV racing experiences in large part due to the developers concentrating on a particular aspect of ATV racing. With Deep Silver’s upcoming racing title Nail’d, they look to do the same by focusing on the speed and exhilaration of ATV and Motocross racing. Nail’d is definitely an arcade racing title and from the demo I played at this year’s E3 there is a lot to like about this upcoming racer.

Nail’d might look like a realistic ATV title but it is anything but. Developers Techland want to provide gamers with a unique ATV experience where speed and hitting big jumps is everything. From the start they decided that they weren’t going to include tricks in this game. Even though there are moments in the game where you’ll be soaring through the air, there aren’t any tricks to pull off. Instead you’ll be guiding your vehicle through the air maneuvering to avoid certain obstacles and maybe even take out an enemy or two upon landing.

It might not sound so appealing at first but the huge maps and beautiful landscapes make it work. The controls are pretty simple, there are really only a few buttons you need to hit, the throttle and the boost button. There is a brake button, but you will never really need it in this game. I found that out the hard way when I quickly fell behind the pack after trying to drift around a corner. In Nail’d you will rarely need to slow down, in fact its best if you keep the throttle held down the entire time. Boosting is another big part of the game. It acts much like a nitro boost that you can use to get big air, pass up other racers or take tighter corners. With the boosting and the fact that you don’t need to slow down, you will be going very fast in this game, faster than you would expect to go in an ATV racing game.

Before each race you will have a choice between an ATV and a Motocross bike. The difference between the two is weight and speed. The ATV is stronger so it’s harder to get pushed off the track but you are slower. The motocross bike is faster but you are more susceptible to getting pushed around. The retail version will feature extensive customization for both the riders and the bikes, both of which can be unlocked through normal play in single player. Single player will also be where you will unlock the 14-18 tracks, the final number of tracks hasn’t been settled on as of yet. The track that was featured at E3 was a Yosemite Park inspired race track called Sawmill.

This demo level is huge, so big that for this track there’s only one lap for the entire race and it took me more than 8 minutes to finish it. The levels aren’t only massive in size; there is also a lot going on in the track. For starters there are multiple routes to take in the track: some that might bring you to a more scenic route but could cost you some time, others that are shortcuts. There is a risk with shortcuts though; in the level I played there were more obstacles to maneuver around where the shortcuts are located, so if you make a mistake it can end up costing you time. The track is also filled with huge ramps for jumps, a few conveyor belts pulling along tree trunks, a train and at the end of the track a huge airplane. At one point in the race I hit a jump that landed me on top of a moving train which I then used to pass up a few riders.

Since the gameplay revolves around speed and boosting, the bikes handle like you would expect it to. Making tight turns is pretty simple and don’t require you to let off the throttle at all. The hardest thing to do in the game is steering your bike when it’s in the air. The jumps that were featured in the E3 demo are so big that I spent at least half the time in the air. While you are in the air you’ll need to boost to avoid landing on a building, trees and you’ll also need to avoid other racers. You can steer your way to land on other racers but if you aren’t careful they can push you off the track while you’re in the air. Boost plays as big of a role in the air as it does on the ground. At certain moments I had to boost while I was in the air to land a jump or to avoid landing on top of trees. To get boost you can cleanly land a big jump, take out enemies or drive through a boost gate that completely refills your boost.

The AI seemed very capable even in the lower difficultly track but just like every other racing game there were always racers in packs. There were the 3 that were ahead of everyone, the 4 or 5 stuck in the back and then the stragglers that were so far back no one knows how they actually make it to the end. I would like to see the AI be much more aggressive in trying to bump you off the track but the easier difficulty setting could be a reason why they weren’t aggressive.

They didn’t go too much into the various modes in the game but there will be a 12 player online mode and an extensive single player campaign. Something I really enjoyed is the time tracking system they implemented. Just like most racing games there is a leader board where you can compare your times with other racers and people on your friends list. But what’s so unique about Nail’d is that they display this in real time in any mode in the game. It tracks the times from everyone on your friends list and it appears on the side of the screen in real time. The times will update automatically if you are connected online. So not only can you be racing against the AI but at the same time you can be racing against your friend’s times for that particular track.

Visually, the game looks really good at its early stage. The Yosemite-inspired track looks amazingly realistic along with all the effects from the ATVs. The soundtrack might get annoying for some, which includes me, but others might enjoy it. Already they have announced that they secured rights to songs by Slipknot, the Backyard Babies, Queens of the Stone Age and Rise Against.

As much fun as I had playing the game, I am a bit worried about its lasting appeal. The big draw to the game is the arcade style racing, the high speeds and big jumps. But I can see myself getting tired of hitting the big jumps and simply falling down from the jump by myself with no enemies around me to race against. If there were tricks included in it there would be so much more you can do with the game. If they can offer some really entertaining game modes to deviate from the simple time trail racing I can see this game being one of the better ATV titles, but from what I saw I am going to remain a bit skeptical. Nail’d will be releasing on PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3, and is slated for a Q4 2010 release date.

Tags: Deep Silver, e3 2010, nail'd, SouthPeak

This entry was posted on Monday, July 5th, 2010 at 11:41 pm and is filed under E3, PC, PlayStation 3, Previews, Xbox 360. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.