When oil reserves are running low it’s nice to know that we still can do some heavy off-road driving with the forthcoming game Fuel from Asobo Studios. The game was announced by publisher Codemasters at the Game Convention in Leipzig, and they released the first pre-alpha screenshots today for us to look at.

The game has been in development by Asobo Studios for over four years and the game engine has been built entirely from scratch. The game is set to deliver the largest environment ever created in multi-terrain race gaming — the area will be over 5,000 square miles (14,000 km²) in size and full of nasty surprises. The setting is a fictional present where the earth has finally taken its toll from global warming - creating a vast, open landscape that’s constantly being affected by tornados, blizzards, sandstorms and all the things that makes your life as an off-road racer a living hell. The game also features night and day transitions, everything to make the world surrounding you feel as vivid as possible.

A game like this can’t survive solely on space and graphics though, it needs high speeds, a varied terrain and some big frickin’ jumps to make it fun to bring out your bike or four-wheeler and go racing. The free-roaming mode in Motocross Madness was possibly the most fun part of the game, and if Fuel is bigger, faster and more vibrant, it could be an excellent way to release some stress. The declared “hundreds of multiplayer challenges” also serves as proof that there’s some depth to the game.

Fuel is bound for release in 2009 for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.