Fourteen hours player. Seven hundred miles driven. Three zones explored, with a short detour into a locked zone to pick up a Vista Point I’d seen from the border.

I love it. Online’s a bit rubbish, I’ve heard, but I’ve not tried it myself. People are complaining about running out of Fuel to buy new cars, but I’ve got 80,000 in the bank right now. I’ve seen the odd disappearing truck, but haven’t encountered any real bugs at all. Even the Achievements seem to work properly so far.

It won’t be for everyone, I know, but it works for me. For a while now I’ve had an idea in my head. A huge expanse of hills and trees, having a target in the distance and finding my own way there, barreling down hills, splashing through streams, just driving. And it turns out that Fuel matches this ideal perfectly. It’s just exactly what I’ve been wanting.

(And I’m very pleased that the 360 supports streaming from iPods for custom soundtracks. Wouldn’t have been the same without my country songs playing as I drove.)