The latest release from developer Techland (known for their Call of Juarez series for the XBOX 360 and Playstation 3,) nail'd is an over-the-top, adrenaline-fuled off-road racing game. Thinking outside the box and trying to differentiate their product from other MX/ATV racing games, Techland decided to create something much more chaotic and unrealistic. The result is an incredibly fast-paced racing game where you must make sure to watch the track ahead of you, or else you'll end up flying off of a cliff or crashing into one of the many different obstacles that litter each track. Their creativity should be applauded, but the game feels like it needed some more time in the shop for fine-tuning.
At its core, nail'd is still structured like a traditional racing game. You win races by being the first one to the bottom of a lengthy course, or by being the first racer to speed around a track three times. Its seven to eight hour long career mode is predominantly filled with these types of races, but it also features stunt events and modifiers (which change the rules of races. For example, modifiers can eliminate crashes between players or make it so your boost gauge is constantly full.) Unfortunately, the stunt event moniker that the game uses is very misleading because the game doesn't technically feature any tricks in the traditional sense of the word. The only way to earn points in this mode is to complete boost feats by doing things such as planting a stable landing with all four wheels, driving insanely fast, or going through flaming hoops and gates. This is the type of game that would benefit greatly from having a real stunt mode, so it's too bad that it is not included on the disc. However, the game also includes a time trial mode, as well as a custom tournament option.
Boost is a vital part of the game and you will need to use it well in order to win because the A.I. racers can be quite challenging at times, utilizing catch-up A.I. to close large gaps quickly. You can fill your boost meter by pulling off the aforementioned boost feats. The flaming hoops and gates (referred to as sniper, fan and expert boost feats,) are spread out across each track and add an extra level of challenge to each event, as some of them can be quite tough to hit. The harder to reach ones (especially the expert gates) can be found in confined areas, so it's very easy to crash and take yourself out of the race for a moment if you miss them. Quick decisions are necessary in order to decide whether it's worth it to go after them or whether it's a better idea to stay your course. Careful maneuvering will help you hit the aerial hoops, as you can press the left joystick up after going over a jump to speed up and fall at a faster rate, or press it down to prolong your time in the air.
One of the best aspects of the game is its unique track designs. Most of the tracks twist and turn all over the place with a lot of creative shortcuts, including being able to drive up the support structure of a large bridge or the ability to jump on top of a crashed airplane to outrun your competition below. It's this creativity that makes nail'd unique. It's four different environments (the Arizona desert, the mountain ranges of the Andes, the great forests of Yosemite Park and the exotic countryside and seaports of Greece,) all offer a few unique and varied tracks. For example, the forest tracks in Yosemite Park are much more confined than the other environments and offer many more obstacles in the form of large rocks, falling boulders, trees and ravines. Conversely, the Greece countryside tracks are much more open and happen to be full of decaying architecture, orchards, sailboats and incredible jumps.
Although the unique track designs are a breath of fresh air for the genre, there are some incumbent issues in relation to the way that the game plays and its relation to the design of some of the tracks. Techland went to great efforts to make sure that players feel a great sense of speed as they fly through the countryside, go over an incredible jump, or soar through a group of hot air balloons (which serve as aerial obstacles in some tracks - especially in the Andes mountain ranges.) However, this great sense of speed is occasionally detrimental to the core gameplay mechanics because the blur effect that the developers employed sometimes makes it difficult to see the twists and turns ahead of you, or even the racers directly ahead of you. In a game like this, it's essential that you're able to see what is coming up ahead of you because the tracks twist and turn so often and sometimes without much warning. You have to be able to know what to expect and must be able to steer accordingly (whether you're doing so in the air or on the ground.) Luckily, there isn't much of a punishment for crashing, which is something you will do a lot of.
Visually, the game looks decent. There is a lot of variety in the visuals and the different tracks, environments and vistas are well-detailed. Each location has its own individual look and colour scheme (for example, the Arizona tracks are primarily red because of the colour of the sand and rocks, whereas the mountain ranges are distinctly white and brown for the most part.) However, the riders' animations are quite stiff and the character models are quite basic. One very positive thing is that the game runs well and doesn't suffer from any major framerate issues, which is a good thing considering the great speed you're driving at and the quick decisions that need to be made each race.
Online multiplayer is available for up to twelve players to compete for online supremacy on each of the tracks. In this mode, players are able to compete in the same types of events that are found within the single player career. However, I found it very difficult to find matches, as the servers were a ghost town.
The soundtrack is worth making a note of as it's one of the game's standout aspects. In addition to big name artists such as Slipknot ('Duality,') Queens of the Stone Age ('3s and 7s,') and Rise Against ('Re-education Through Labor,') the developers went out of their way to assemble a group of well-known metal musicians to compose an original soundtrack. This 'super group' contains members of bands such as The Deftones, Hatebreed, Static-X and DevilDriver. A lot of these songs are instrumentals and, unfortunately, it seems like some of them were recorded at a lower audio quality than others, making them somewhat hard to hear at times. To even hear the soundtrack, you will need to go into the audio options menu to turn down the sound effects audio, because the roar of the engines is a lot louder than the music at default settings.
Overall, nail'd is a game that sounds great on paper, but is hit and miss when it comes to the finished product. The game features some great ideas and interesting elements, but it feels unfinished and lacks polish. As it stands, nail'd can't keep up with the likes of Pure, which was released earlier this generation. If you're a fan of this type of game and the sport it reflects, then this game is worth looking into. It's entertaining, but won't blow you away.
Rating: 5.5/10
nail'd was released on November 30th, 2010 for the XBOX 360, Playstation 3 and PC.
