‘Nail’d’ to the Controller

A decade ago, racing games that pushed the concepts of speed, overt defiance of gravity and coolness were almost a dime a dozen, with companies like Sega, Atari and Midway producing games such as “Hydro Thunder,” “Top Gear,” “Crazy Taxi” and “Cruisin’ the World.” In this day and age though, realism has taken over the genre, with “Gran Turismo” and “Forza Motorsport” being the preferred favorite amongst gamers.

In spite of this, it’s fair to say, after taking a look at a beta build of the title, that Southpeak and Deep Silver games’ “Nail’d” has the goods to be the best new racing franchise in gaming.

Combining classic, frenetic arcade gameplay with excellent graphics, a slammin’ soundtrack, a unique sense of style and an abundance of speed, “Nail’d” will surprise a ton of gamers when it’s released during the fourth quarter of this year.

As soon as you press down on the throttle, you’re immersed in a fast-paced, off-the-wall racing experience that never lets up. Featuring a smooth and steady camera and intuitive control, that gives you a ton of command, even when you’re in the air,“Nail’d” plays like a hardcore arcade racing fan’s dream come true.

Graphically, “Nail’d” is no slouch either. All three locations shown during the preview were full of detail and looked fantastic, with a myriad of things to catch your eyes while playing, which you absolutely find a way a way to drive into during the course of your gameplay experience. Add in sweet graphical asides, that throw everything from water and mad on the screen while you’re racing, and this game that looks and feels like a mash-up of classic arcade racers- on steroids. All in all, this is sure to be a huge selling point for gamers who think there’s nothing special here.

However, the biggest selling point in “Nail’d” is the course design. Each track, all 16 of them, are filled with a myriad of nooks and crannies that make each lap in itself a different type of experience. Featuring huge jumps and plenty of different paths to follow on each course, this title takes the cake as far as fun goes while playing a racing game.

Just when you think reality was the most important facet of a quality racing game, “Nail’d” comes along, throws gravity and convention out the window and makes the genre playable again for all the people who could care less about having real cars and tracks.

Simply put, the game is a blast that deserves a look.

That even goes for those who haven’t been bitten by the racing game bug yet. With a bunch of other racers competing against you [and online play] and the intense and deep level design, “Nail’d” feels like the old board game “Mouse Trap” and the Sega Genesis classic “Road Rash,” a game that stretched the genre in the early ’90s and turned heads.

After a few laps with “Nail’d,” you’ll consider your head turned too.

With customizable bikes and ATVs, unlocked through the single-player campaign as well, this title is more fun than any board game and is as cool as the legacy of the Electronic Arts classic.

Already chock-full of content, the guys and gals from Deep Silver have also teased the notion of new tracks to be added once the game is released as well, giving this title even more possibilities.

With a few months left to polish this title before it’s released, Deep Silver may have the sleeper hit of the year on their hands.

Consider yourself warned: “Nail’d” is tight.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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