Hi PlayStation Blog, this is Skander Djerbi, executive producer of the half-Japanese, half-gaijin indie production Fuel Overdose for PlayStation 3 on PSN. (Update)The game will launch December 21st in Europe, and will be coming soon to North America.

Our previous post focused on the racing gameplay pillar. Today we will talk about the ‘action’ aspect of the game, introducing all the cool gameplay mechanics that you can use against your opponents to attack, defend and counter-attack. Have a look in the new trailer below.

Let’s start with the upgradable weapons.

• A machine gun that can be fired at 360° when combined with the skidding and spinning features.
• A rocket launcher that uses a homing system that skilled drivers can avoid by suddenly changing trajectory at the very last moment.
• Mines – very useful when you find yourself leading the race and trying to keep distance from your rivals.

We’ve also added detonators. Several bombs are scattered at strategic locations around the circuit, with remote triggers that allow you to take out opponents that would otherwise remain out of reach.

Grappling hook as a weapon
As introduced in our previous post [link here], you can use a grappling hook to grab other vehicles, to get back on track, or to perform perfect turns. What’s new is that the grappling hook can also be used as a weapon. You can electrify (01:13) your opponent by grabbing him and holding the circle button. But be careful, your opponent can send you the electric shock back (01:16).

Berserk gauge and combo

• The combo system: as in many fighting games, you can perform combos by chaining attacks. But what is unique to Fuel Overdose is that as soon as the combo ends, it is converted to a life bonus that fills your life gauge.
• A Berserk gauge, located in the top right corner of the screen, is divided into three sections and fills whenever you’re being hit by an enemy. I’ll explain in the two following sections how it works.

Special attacks: Skill moves, Super and Ultra attacks
Each character has a set of four unique special attacks: one skill move, two super attacks and one ultra attack:

• Skill moves: these techniques can be triggered anytime as they don’t consume the Berserk gauge.
• Super attacks: they affect all the enemies in your immediate vicinity, but in order to trigger them you’ll need to consume one section of your Berserk gauge.
• Ultra attacks: they affect all enemies on the race track – you’ll need to have your Berserk gauge completely full to trigger them.

Defense: shield
You can go on the defensive by activating your shield (01:43)… as long as your Berserk gauge is not empty. The shield consumes the Berserk gauge, which means that you’ll have to constantly make choices and decide whether to allocate your Berserk gauge on defense (shield) or on attack (super and ultra attacks).

Race Danger
The Race Danger is a mass climatic disaster that can be summoned anytime and anywhere on the race track. In order to use this special technique, you’ll have to participate in a silent auction before the race during which you bid for it out of your overall budget. Only the highest bidder will have the right to trigger it and the losers will leave with empty hands and pockets.

That’s all for today. I’ll see you in a forthcoming post during which I’ll discuss the third pillar of Fuel Overdose’s gameplay: tactics. Stay tuned!