Gravel | PS4, XBO, PC | Arcade, off-road racing

Detail
Title Gravel
Format PS4, XBO, PC
Launch 27 February 2018
Developer Milestone
Publisher Milestone


Cover artwork




Background

The definitive off-road challenge: explore exotic locations, drive iconic vehicles in extreme conditions, defy the champions, and become the ultimate Offroad Master. Gravel celebrates off-road racing by taking you to exotic locations around the world with some of the most exciting vehicles ever created. Become the Master in four exciting disciplines and be part of the greatest off-road competition ever seen, Offroad Masters: will you be able to #StealTheShow? Unleashing the full power of Unreal Engine 4, Gravel bestows each location with an unprecedented level of detail and makes the competition fun for everyone: photorealistic graphics, dynamic time of day and weather system, accessible physics that can be enjoyed by everybody, breath-taking locations where the player can race at full speed rushing through forests, snowy mountains, dunes, deserts, impressive lighting and particle effects.

Wild rush game mode
The wildest locations around the world make for a perfect theater to host the Offroad Masters show. Tracks made to show yourself and crush your opponents, without holding anything back.

Cross country game mode
Wide, open maps perfect to race with opponents in checkpoint competitions or to explore freely. Drive without boundaries, and steal the show!
Speed cross game mode
Take the fight into real tracks, and show your true skills as an offroad driver!

Stadium circuit game mode
Arenas filled with spectacular jumps: feel the roar of the crowd and launch your vehicle in extreme acrobatics!

Gravel channel
Everything you do in Gravel is for the show: Offroad Masters, hosted by Gravel Channel, is the wildest offroad show on earth, and you are entitled to beat the Masters and take the top spot in the competition. Will you be up to the task?

Links
> Official website: Click


Screens / Artwork




Videos

> Pre-order trailer (Jan 2018)

> Gameplay - Namibbia Wild Rush (Dec 2017)

> Gamespot preview (Oct 2017)

> Gamescom trailer (Aug 2017)

Milestones DiRt?

Always had a soft spot for Milestones rally and motorbike games. Not brilliant games, but there has always been something compelling about them.

Gamespots preview video shows Gravel to be quite promising.

This is Milestone though, so wait and see if there are any glaring launch issues and if they actually patch them or not before buying.

The game launched at midnight and the first reviews are just appearing. Plenty of "6/10"s so far, with The Sixth Axis, Heavy, and GameReactor plumping for that mark. In a nutshell, not a bad game; a fun arcade racer but little ambition.

At this stage, I'm kinda glad I didn't drop £45 on it but it is a title that I'll look out for in a sale.

Edit:



ACG really liked it, though. Hmmn.... it does sound like the kinda arcade racer that I'd enjoy.

I'll check out ACG later as he's quite reasonable, however I have plenty of off road racing games as it is at the moment so not sure I need another, even though a steam key is on £20 on cdkeys etc.

Edit: watched the review, it does seem pretty good and free from the jank which has plagued milestone as of late. I might consider picking it up this evening.

Edit 2: there's a demo on steam so i'll give that a try first to make sure it works. Is it me or are demos coming back, particularly for racing games?

Edit 3: Tried the demo, and unfortunately I have to run it on low settings to get 60fps and it looks a bit guff, or run it at 30fps to have it look better. The game is solid enough from the two tracks and handful of cars on offer, however for me it isn't different enough from Dirt/2/3 or Forza Horizon to get my festival-themed semi-serious racing fix, all of which either look or run better on my PC or Xbone. If you're on PS4 and are turned off by Dirt Rally/Dirt 4/Sebastian Loeb Evo and want something like an offroad Driveclub which is a bit more accessible, this will definitely scratch that itch.