nail’d – Hands-on Impressions from E3 2010

Being surrounded with hundreds of new titles at E3, it is sometimes refreshing to pick up a controller and experience gameplay that can bring you back to old school memories of games that don’t require you read an encyclopedia to get the point. Luckily, Techland and Deep Silver had a title at E3 that I could sink my teeth into and not come out feeling mentally exhausted. The game is nail’d, an ATV/motorbike off-road racer, that has you competing for supremacy of the mountain in a number of breathtaking settings. The hands-on gameplay at-show offered two different levels, each with different play styles, as one had you trekking across multiple waterlogged laps, while the other was a race to the bottom of the mountain speed trek through a logging camp.

Having heard details about nail’d prior to meeting at-show, I felt I had probably seen it/heard it before, but luckily, the gameplay and visuals, although still in the early stages, were enough to keep me on the edge of my seat. nail’d feels like a homage to classic racers like Jet Moto, Big Red Racing and ATV Offroad Fury, but with its own style and taste.

The beauty of nail’d is that it isn’t trying to be the most over-the-top stunt induced racer out there. It is a classic pick up and play off-road jaunt that has you trying to get from point A to point B faster than your opponents. During the races, you’ll have huge jumps that will increase your power boost meter, but don’t think you’ll be seeing 360s, Super Man grabs or anything else. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as nail’d isn’t trying to be SSX with wheels. The gameplay is locked down tight with solid controls and speed that will blow your hair back. I was unable to race against other real players, but the computer AI was putting up enough competition to have me sweating down to the wire.

I was informed that despite winning first place in my race, I was still two and a half minutes slower than the record holder. The sad part is that the race took me five minutes to complete. That means I took twice as long as the record holder. WTF?

Deep Silver and Techland aim to release nail’d during Q4 of 2010. It will be available on the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. With a deep single-player campaign, multiplayer with up to 12 racers playing at a time, tons of heavy metal cuts on the sound track and un-lockable vehicle customization options, you’ve got a lot to look forward with this title. If you’re the off-road racer type, get nail’d!

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