Nail'd is your clichéd off-road extreme racer that contains lots of outrageous jumps, lots of male bravado and a healthy dose of testosterone thrown into the mix... even sexily dressed female racers for more testosterone fun. But even though we've seen it all before in this genre, developers Techland have added new deft defying jumps to kick-start your adrenaline and I must admit that the first time I experienced these jumps, I was quite impressed, especially with the backdrop of Yosemite National Park. And for some reason I wanted to finish every sentence in this review with dude or dudette!

All seriousness aside, this game is reminiscent of many off-road ATV games of yesteryear. With that said, Nail'd gives the gamer two vehicles to master that include ATV's and motocross bikes. Each vehicle handles slightly differently but if you want vertigo spinning height, the motocross bikes are the way to go because you can really get some amazing air... dude. To help immerse you in this high speed off-road universe, the game boasts some truly visually striking graphics that assist in the overall gaming experience. However there are a few bumps in the gaming mechanics along the way, namely with collision detection.

With a few different types of gaming modes available, the gaming mechanics of Nail'd offers a few different modes to the player. From checkpoints littered around the track which require you to drive through, this will award the player a nitrous-boost that helps to fling you into the air. Add in some whacky comic type physics as you jump through hoops and riding upside down and there's plenty of action to be had... including plenty of smashes. Whether racing, free riding or performing stunts, the gameplay modes are relatively quite easy to compete that does lack a little in terms of challenge. Even so, it's still a very fun experience that will be very familiar to most fans of this genre.

The main mode in Nail'd is called Tournament that requires you to partake in races and stunt challenges in this championship mode. Apart from Yosemite, you travel around the world from Arizona to Greece and even the Andes that is truly insane. Then you have a road mode that is basically a freestyle mode which allows you to engage in any of the unlocked tracks as you just race around with a set number of AI racers.

There are even some basic modifications and unlockable accessories for your vehicles that allows you to fine tune them, depending on the track that you are racing. For example, the Andes may require more control as opposed to speed. The game even supports an online mode for up to 12 racers but unfortunately this was quite limited to when we reviewed the title, like not enough people. There was however no lag while racing but a few more competitors would have spiced things up a little.

In terms of controls, they are quite responsive on the DualShock controller as you navigate through the forests of Yosemite National Park, trying to avoid any obstacle that gets in your way, whether fellow racer or large rock. There's plenty of jumps and outrageous stunts to be performed as you share the skies with birds but one wrong move can see you hurtling to the ground like a speedy bullet which provides some wicked crashes. With that said, you'll have your fair share of crashes and every now and then, the collision detection system does hamper your racing ability. Add in trains, falling boulders and saw blades and you'll really be flying at the seat of your pants.  Physics also take a backseat as well and although a little unrealistic, it's fun in a gaming sense. Fortunately both these issues don't impact on the gameplay too much, although purists may be a tad annoyed.

As mentioned, Nail'd is a visually impressive game that beautifully recreates real world locations such as Yosemite National Park from its richly populated forests with realistic looking foliage, rocks and mountains. There's also a great sense of speed that the developers have incorporated into the title that actually makes you feel like you are racing through a forest at high speed that provides quite a rush at times.

One amusing aspect of Nail'd is that if you choose a female driver and as opposed to the male driver in their protective race gear, female drivers look like they are driving to work at the local strip club. Hey, it may not be politically correct but then again, this game is for males right? The sound effects of the game sound perfect as does the very impressive track listing that contains hard rock and heavy metal bands like Queens of the Stone Age, Backyard Babies, Rise Against, Aggressive Chill and our favourite, Slipknot.  

In the end, Nail'd may not be the most original game on the PS3 or XBox 360 for that matter but it does provide a good old fashioned off-road racer that may not win anything for originality but it does provide a high speed alternative to the influx of road racers at present. The control system works well but there are a few inconsistencies with the bump and collision detection mechanics  that will make you curse at times but due to the high speed racing, you'll jump back on your bike or ATV. Not bad at all!