Sunday 4th February 2018

Gravel: Preview

The new rally game looking to bring old school pick up and play fun back to racing

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Racing games seem to have gotten rather serious of late. Titles like Assetto Corsa, Project Cars 2, Dirt 4 and Gran Turismo Sport have all brought a new degree of realism to the genre, but what seems to have been lost in that progress is good old fashioned fun.

They're still enjoyable, of course - many will find them to be more so than games with lesser standards of accuracy - but they're certainly not as accessible. The pick up and play, father vs son, friend vs friend nature of racing games has been replaced by something altogether more serious. That's what Square Enix and Milestone Studios are looking to address in upcoming off-road racer, Gravel.

Gravel is by no means an arcade racer in the style of Burnout or Need for Speed, though nor does it require a steering wheel and race licence to play it competitively. Instead it occupies the middle ground in the mould of previous titles like Dirt 3 and the Sega Rally series.

The action takes place through the premise of a slightly forced and very shouty, but strangely endearing, TV show. Cheesy live action characters make for the racing 'bosses', who you must reach and beat in showdowns at the end of each chapter to progress. This is done by competing in a range of different events across multiple disciplines - including point to point sprint mode Cross Country, off-road circuit mode Wild Rush, Speed Cross (rallycross minus the joker lap), and Stadium Circuit (big trucks and big jumps).

Gameplay is easy to get the hang of, but tricky enough to perfect that a satisfying challenge remains. The generally solid AI can be a little overly aggressive at times, however, and seems to be able to recover from crashes and spins far more easily than the player - although the rewind button is always just a press away if things go too far awry.

Despite the lack of simulator handling, Gravel can't be accused of lacking detail. With traction and stability control dialled back, RWD cars can be pleasingly slid through the bends, especially in wet conditions. Indoors, meanwhile, the stadium trucks handle brilliantly, their suspension realistically absorbing the blows as they bound over jumps.

The graphics aren't mindblowing, but there's plenty of detail in the surfaces too, which deform nicely lap after lap, heavy snow affects visibility superbly, and the whole game sounds fantastic, with exhaust pops and crackles, engine noise and turbo blow off all faithfully recreated. There's also the ability to adjust your suspension, transmission, diffs, brakes and alignment setup before each race, providing enough detail to keep gamers looking for a more immersive experience engaged.

Players can choose from a selection of around 70 cars, with dozens of paint schemes and historic liveries to boot. The usual suspects all make appearances, as well as a few curios - including the Dakar Duster and Abarth 124 Rally for fans of PH long termers.

Gravel is set to launch for PC, PS4 and Xbox One on February 27th, and we're looking forward to giving it a more thorough test closer to that date!

[only1ian]

The best driving game in my book was the original Destruction Derby simple but fun, split screen fun with your mates and you could either race or just take each other out!

[dimma205]

Loved motorstorm wish they would do one for the ps4

[sgtBerbatov]

only1ian said:

The best driving game in my book was the original Destruction Derby simple but fun, split screen fun with your mates and you could either race or just take each other out!

Grand Prix 3 beats everything hands down.