While surfing my RSS feeds earlier today, I found that Eurogamer posted an article about Codemaster's newest game to be unveiled at Leipzig, a game called FUEL. As I read on, I became more and more intrigued. Yes, the story about an alternate present where climate change has ruined the world seems kind of lame, but there will supposedly be a 5,000 square-mile playing area with "no boundaries" and 16-player racing. Also, tuning is included in the game, as is a dynamic weather system featuring tornadoes, sandstorms, thunderstorms, lightning strikes and blizzards.

Awesome, I thought. I had loved DiRT and GRID, and the new Codemasters F1 title would probably be great. Getting two games from the DiRT/GRID team would be fantastic for a racing nut like myself.

Then, one particular line caught my attention:

"Developed by French outfit Asobo Studios, the game's due out on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC in 2009. "

Developed by French outfit Asobo Studios. Having never heard of them, I Googled them to find out what they had done in the past. The result: Wall-E for the Mac and PC, Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties, Super Farm, The Mummy: The Animated Series and Sitting Ducks. It was at that point my smile eroded as I stood up out of my chair, walked over to the corner, curled up in the fetal position, and wept tears of anguish.

Maybe these guys will prove me wrong, but the GRID team not working on this game leaves me wondering what kind of quality we will be getting. To be honest, I am doubtful this game will be any good now that I know who is behind the game and that Codemasters is taking a great idea and throwing it away. I'll hold off any further judgment until it is fully unveiled at Leipzig, but as for right now, I'm not positive I'll be playing this game at all.