In this age of climate-change discussion, Fuel looks like one of those rarest of things: a smog-belching racing game with social conscience. The game imagines an America ravaged by apocalyptic weather conditions, with drowned cities, parched deserts, and violent storms. And what’s the best people can think to do about it? Continue to churn the place up in gas-guzzling vehicles. Naughty humans.

Conceptually, Fuel’s one of the most ambitious games we’ve seen in a while. Asobo’s aim was to create the largest play area of any open-world racing game. It’s almost too much to take in — for most of our play we stuck diligently to the career mode, just because the world was so dauntingly massive. What it means on a microcosmic level, though, is that unlike any game before it, you really are plotting your routes across the landscape. It becomes an elaborate high-speed calculation of risk and reward. Do you maximize your time spent on grippy tarmac, or take a shorter line? Do you take an offroad route with a forest of solid obstacles, or stick to the winding but well-beaten path?

These are all decisions you’re forced to make. For the most part, it works and it’s satisfying, but occasionally Fuel’s circuit design lobs a big ol’ wrench in the works. We had situations where, because we’d clipped some foliage that slowed us down, we couldn’t gather enough momentum to crawl up a vital hill to continue the race. The only option was to grit our teeth and restart the race.

Graphicswise, the game’s also the very definition of a mixed bag. Often there are simply too many gritty, noisy low-res textures in the foreground, which makes it tough to negotiate the ever-changing terrain. The more sparsely decorated environments are often the most pleasing simply because they don’t totally assault your retinas.

A few problems with the handling also crop up. While each type of ride handles differently and none of them are unmanageable, there’s an inherent floatiness to the physics of every vehicle. It’s a shame when you can see the suspension bouncing away, but none of that is relayed to the player.

So Fuel has its problems, but then every couple of races or so, something strange happens. Everything comes together in a perfect storm and you can see exactly what Asobo was aiming for with this ludicrously ambitious project. For example, one course called Stormy Trail takes place at sunset in relatively heavy muscle cars on an icy road that winds its way up a mountain. Once you reach the peak, you’re then powersliding through snow and eventually rain as you descend the hill. Not only is it one of the prettier circuits, but the course design is bang-on as well. These potential-fulfilling races are enormously entertaining, and when the extreme weather effects kick in, such as the spectacularly atmospheric thunderstorms, it’s even better. When Fuel’s doing it right, it’s unlike anything else on Xbox 360.

Fuel’s also a riot online. When 16 offroad vehicles are bouncing off each other and tumbling off cliffs — all driven by human players — the massive playground that Asobo has crafted is an absolute blast. We’re genuinely looking forward to taking our garishly painted offroad fleet onto Live and mucking about with friends.

While Fuel is definitely rough around the edges, it’s not without charm. The complete lack of boundaries means it’s a totally unique challenge, and with such exciting technology at its core, we can’t help but hope that Asobo gets another roll of the dice to create something truly — and consistently — astonishing.

On Xbox 360

+ Vast open environment with really sharp atmospheric weather effects.

+ Some great large-scale courses to conquer.

- Floaty handling.

? Why isn't this game as pretty as Grid or Dirt?

7.5