If Velocity was Futurlab’s big critical and commercial success, Fuel Tiracas, their second PlayStation Mobile game after Slidin’ Beatz (now Beats Slider), will be that cool cult hit that everybody’s talking about and – with PSM’s ability to use global leaderboards – the one everyone wants to be the best at.
Take the first level of this quirky, futuristic, neon-tinged take on plate spinning and whack-a-mole. Free from any of the later levels’ dangers and intricacies, all you need to do is tap enough of the coloured areas when they light up to fill an energy bar, flip to the other bar, and then do it all again.
[videoyoutube]There’s no time limit here, no chance of failing, it’s just you against the clock. The first time I played it I managed about 30 seconds. By the end of the night, once I’d checked the leaderboards, I had it down to about six. Practice? More like persistence, and the realisation that nothing about Fuel is random…Any game that draws upon our competitive streak is likely to find immediate favour, of course, especially when it’s ranking us alongside everyone else on the planet, and Fuel Tiracas, which is the game’s slightly amended Sunday best moniker, does this rather well.
It’s not a belt and braces approach – it’s literally just the best times for each level, but it’s good enough. Good enough? We’re not frustrated by the lack of Friends-only filters, or ghost-like replays? Nope, because of one simple thing: Fuel costs just 40 pence. Yes, it looks like one studio at least is going in hard with the pricing, bettering even the iOS App Store, and at such a disposable amount it’s hard to find much wrong with the game.
In reality, there really isn’t a great deal to complain about, and as you move through the twelve levels on offer the mechanics mature rapidly into something more than just a twitch tapper: skulls when tapped lose energy, some circles need to be tapped multiple times, or together in pairs – and as the number of bars to fill up increases (and the rate at which they automatically drain bumps up) Fuel actually ends up feeling like much more than the sum of its parts.
There’s a joyful abandon about Fuel that shows the Brighton-based developer in freeform mode, experimenting with ideas and concepts that wouldn’t hold weight as full commercial titles at silly prices. Fuel, much like Beats Slider, demonstrates that all you really need is an idea.
James Marsden, studio head, told us they’ve had little time for play testing, such was the rapid development and says he’s had to go with his own “personal hunches” – that’s what gaming can be all about at this sort of price point, the consumer under very little risk. He needn’t have worried, this is a lovely little game.
Crucially, it’s one that works just fine across multiple devices, too, the PSM platform pushing the same code, visuals and sound effects to various Android phones and tablets as well as the PS Vita, and barring any last minute changes the game should be out to buy this week.
Try it, there’s really no reason not to.
Erroneus
A Futurlab game is at this moment, always a must buy :)
Erroneus
Also I hope Futurlab makes a Velocity HD for PSM, when full PSN support is there, I pay for that.
Tuffcub
Bah, it’s not the Aliens bumming game i was hoping for. Curse you Marsden, curse you! :)
recurv
Get back on the naughty step :p
Taylor Made
I’m wondering, I haven’t read a lot about PSM but i can use my psn money to buy games right? It’s not like apple straight take your card details?
Carl
Yeah you should be able to
Alex C
Yep.
bmg_123
I’d assume so since it uses the PSN id to sign in.
Kivi95
I thought Sony set a minimum cost of $2? Oh and is this game touch based only?
Carl
Apparently not :). And yeah this and Beats Slider are both touch-based AFAIK
Alex C
Yep, both 100% touch.
Carl
This is so sold.
colmshan1990
I wonder how many they’ll have to sell to turn a profit?
I just hope a race to the bottom price war doesn’t do to PSN developers what it’s done to a lot of iOS devs who struggle to actually make money from their games.
colmshan1990
Also: Sold.
At that price, and having enjoyed their last game, how could I not?
recurv
This will be the only game you’ll buy from us that low.
It’s that low because of its bare bones simplicity.
Velocity was a complex, highly immersive, mechanically rich game, and was £4.00.
This is all about perceived value, and we think Fuel Tiracas, despite being highly addictive, sits at around that mark against up against Velocity.
We can only afford to do this because we’re at launch, when 10% of the entire, global PSM choice, is represented by FuturLab :)
colmshan1990
Good points, I didn’t think about the reduced competition at the start.
Still, you certainly didn’t have to set the price so low.
I appreciate it though, thanks! Consider it pre-ordered, if I was allowed to pre-order that is. :P
Carl
Reading FuturLab’s blogpost – http://bit.ly/WeFh8X – it only took them 8 weeks to make. So i’m sure it didn’t break the bank in any form.
DixNeuf
I’ll be honest, the game doesn’t look like my sort of thing, but given the quality of Velocity, I’d have to be a complete arse not to give this a try for 40p.
hazelam
i was sure it was some kind of track and field deally from the video.
anyway, i thought the Playstation mobile minimum price was 2 quid.
guess not.
i might give it a try for that price, if i had a vita, or if it was playable on ps3.
and i guess being a touchscreen game that wouldn’t be an option.
hazelam
and i see somebody else already addressed the price. ^_^
bap10
Is it Wednesday yet?
Gadbury
Definite buy. Happy to support Futurlab and Sony’s PSM. For that price, it’s a no-brainer, and sounds perfect for the Vita.
p.s. loved Velocity – brilliant game! Can we have more retro chip tunes in games, please? =]