The Xbox 360 has a lot of racers, but unfortunately almost none of them are of a sci-fi nature. WipeOut has long been the standard by which all others are measured, but the whole genre seems to have fallen by the way side. Quantum Redshift on the original Xbox was an excellent take on hovercraft racers, but the lack of name brand appeal and online multiplayer doomed it. Koei’s Fatal Inertia on the 360 is a welcome addition to the Microsoft library for anyone who loves fast, gorgeous, and otherworldly racing action.

Magnetic Racing

Using Unreal engine technology to power its slick visuals, Fatal Inertia is clearly a first attempt at a new genre for Koei. That’s not to say the game is bad, or full of flaws, because it isn’t. In fact, this is a remarkably solid racer with some creative and original elements. On the other hand, it’s far from perfect and has a way to go before it matches the polish of Sony’s quintessential hover racers. Although, Fatal Inertia’s vehicles aren’t so much hovercraft as they are low flying aircraft.

The racing controls are easy to start, though the need to constantly adjust your altitude can take a slight adjustment. Generally, the controls are solid and responsive. You’ll have far more pitch and altitude control here than in any other racer, and nosing up or down and paying attention to your height plays a key role. In addition to staying above the many ground obstacles, you’ll need to master strafing, rolling evasions, and a weapons system that allows you to actually hit yourself if you are not careful.

Magnetic weapons play a major role. You’ll toss magnet mines on opponent ships, or even magnetic grapples that can tie a ship up with the landscape or even another ship if you’re talented enough. If an opponent tags you with a magnet, double tapping the strafe button will cause your ship to roll sideways and dump any unwanted presents. There are also shields, EMP pulses, time slow, and rockets, but you’ll have to be careful that you don’t miss a nearby enemy as you can easily accidentally hit yourself with your own attack thanks to the game’s speed and the claustrophobic track design.

Future Cliché

As with most of these games, the future is run by mega corporations that strive to find more brutal sports to quell the masses. The most popular form of entertainment is, of course, the Fatal Inertia competition where only the best compete. Snore. You’ll find more familiarity in Fatal Inertia. The various tracks are spread out across a burnt out urban setting, and other themed locations including jungle, glacial, volcanic, and an ocean setting.

None of the landscapes feel particularly fresh or original, but the hackneyed plot is even more generic. Another problem is the scope of the tracks. Although the game looks great—complete with plenty of gorgeous views, realistic water, and an overload of shininess—the tracks just feel too compact and limited. Don’t expect to find much in the way of shortcuts, and most of the difficulty lies in avoiding the landscape around tight turns. There isn’t a shred of originality in the set up or the presentation, leaving the game to rely purely on the gamer’s love of racing.

Fatal With Friends

The career mode is spread across three ever more difficult tiers. As you advance, you’ll be able to tweak your vehicles. Tweaking is important, because there isn’t a large selection of base craft to choose from. Each craft starts with the usual array of handling, speed, and armor differences, and each has a distinctive feel.

Fatal Inertia, despite the flaws, offers an entertaining single player race, but the real fun comes with other humans and the game has plenty of options for multiplayer action. There is support for split-screen two-player, linked play, and eight-player Live racing. While you’ll want to unlock options and achievements in the main campaign, the online mode is where most players will spend their time.

Non-Fatal Delivery

Koei has made a good first attempt to break into the genre. Fatal Inertia has solid mechanics and graphics, but is almost completely devoid of personality. The storyline is lame and utterly generic, the locations are clichéd, and the game just lacks a memorable sense of enthusiasm. Still, the actual racing is definitely serviceable, the sense of speed intense, and there are enough clever gameplay elements to make it worth playing.