Motorstorm (PS3)

[Johnny]

Thought I'd start a topic dedicated to what must be the most anticipated post-launch PS3 title this side of Christmas.
Anyone who has played the demo will know that this is shaping up to be very special indeed, both graphically and in terms of the gameplay.

I've played the demo track a lot and was kinda concerned that the full game may feature very similar tracks (as the game is set within one location) but reading a few previews, this doesn't appear to be the case thankfully, with quite a bit of variety.

Not sure at this point whether I prefer the trucks or bikes. Both handle very differently though and we are promised more vehicles, all of which handle uniquely, in the final game.

Anyone picking up the Japanese version released next week?
I have it preordered but am in two minds about getting it. Not because I'm having doubts over the game, but the JPN version doesn't feature online play and that should be an amazing feature once it's up and running on the Western releases.
With only a Q1 2007 US release date though, it could be a few months off yet.

[DiGiKerot]

Honestly, Johnny, I can't see you being so short of games to play already that it isn't worth you just cancelling that Japanese copy. If the US version is going to be superior you may as well wait on it - there's plenty of other games you could be playing or buying where there isn't a better version due within s couple of months (like, say, using the cash freed up to get Oneechanbara VorteX of EDF for the 360).

[Johnny]

Honestly, Johnny, I can't see you being so short of games to play already that it isn't worth you just cancelling that Japanese copy. If the US version is going to be superior you may as well wait on it - there's plenty of other games you could be playing or buying where there isn't a better version due within s couple of months (like, say, using the cash freed up to get Oneechanbara VorteX of EDF for the 360).

Well that's definitely true. It's a pity (although understandable) that Oneechan/EDF3 are full price rather than budget priced like their PS2 predecessors as I could have bought both of them for the price of Motorstorm.
I need a new PS3 game more than a 360 game atm though...

[DiGiKerot]

I need a new PS3 game more than a 360 game atm though...

Trying to belatedly justify the cost? :P

[Johnny]

I need a new PS3 game more than a 360 game atm though...

Trying to belatedly justify the cost? :P

Haha well it's true though. I have Tony Hawk 8, N3, DoA 4 and PGR 3 to play more on the 360 and I'm pretty much done with Resistance and Genji on the PS3, although now that I'm online, Ridge Racer 7 is going to last me for many more weeks and months.

But Motorstorm will be the last game I buy until January. Honest :nervous:

[Chacranajxy]

But Motorstorm will be the last game I buy until January. Honest :nervous:

I'll give you to the end of tomorrow to retract that statement. :P

[Johnny]

But Motorstorm will be the last game I buy until January. Honest :nervous:

I'll give you to the end of tomorrow to retract that statement. :P


No, seriously. I don't have much of a choice if I want to buy stuff in the future anyway. I've had to cancel 8 game preorders for December :sad:

I'll pick them up in January though once my CC bill is down a little. I went waaay overboard in November, even for me :nervous:

But anyway, back to Motorstorm - anyone else interested?

[Chacranajxy]

But Motorstorm will be the last game I buy until January. Honest :nervous:

I'll give you to the end of tomorrow to retract that statement. :P


No, seriously. I don't have much of a choice if I want to buy stuff in the future anyway. I've had to cancel 8 game preorders for December :sad:

I'll pick them up in January though once my CC bill is down a little. I went waaay overboard in November, even for me :nervous:

But anyway, back to Motorstorm - anyone else interested?

Oh, right, the original question :nervous:

I'm cautiously optimistic. It looks like it has potential... a lot of potential as of late, but what it's going to come down to is the track design. The recent videos made the game look as though it really had a good sense of speed, so as long as the tracks feel fast and the physics are enjoyable, it could be a very good racing game. I'm taking a wait and see approach for now though.

[GHardin]

I didn't really care for the demo. It wasn't bad per se, but it felt like it was terribly lacking. Hopefully the retail product has more variety and less slowdown. :nervous:

[Johnny]

I didn't really care for the demo. It wasn't bad per se, but it felt like it was terribly lacking. Hopefully the retail product has more variety and less slowdown. :nervous:

Well yeah, I'd say the full version will be more polished for sure.
As far as I'm concerned, the only area that I'm a bit concerned about is the handling of the different vehicles. Sure, the bike handles differently from the truck in the demo, but hopefully everything is unique enough to really feel the difference.

[GHardin]

Eh, who needs handling? It was fun enough to go blazing off the cliffs! :D (Okay, that didn't happen that often...) Or how about taking an alternate route, only to end up flipping and landing on the roof? ;)

[cheezisgoooood]

Famitsu gave it a 30/40 = 75% = C = mediocre

I don't see any rush in having to play the game. You might as well save your money for the time being.

[Johnny]

Famitsu gave it a 30/40 = 75% = C = mediocre

I don't see any rush in having to play the game. You might as well save your money for the time being.

Fair enough, but I'm not asking for recommendations. I just want to know if anyone else is interested in the game.

[GHardin]

Famitsu gave it a 30/40 = 75% = C = mediocre

I don't see any rush in having to play the game. You might as well save your money for the time being.

A 30/40 strikes me as above average. not merely mediocre. I guess it's up to different tastes.

[ape2020]

So Johnny are you going to get the rather sparse (and some say rushed) Japanese version or wait for the US/European version?

-No online or offline multiplayer
-No time attack or free run modes
-Just basic settings for number of racers and lap count
-45 second load times (not really that bad most of the time)
-Offline (read manual) for vehicle stat comparisons.

Still it does look pretty.

-ape2020

[Johnny]

So Johnny are you going to get the rather sparse (and some say rushed) Japanese version or wait for the US/European version?

-No online or offline multiplayer
-No time attack or free run modes
-Just basic settings for number of racers and lap count
-45 second load times (not really that bad most of the time)
-Offline (read manual) for vehicle stat comparisons.

Still it does look pretty.

-ape2020


Japanese version is on it's way to me as of last Thursday, when the game came out.
I'll likely rebuy the US version for the online stuff although having said that, there is (going by various translations of Japanese sites) a patch upcoming for the JPN release which allows online play and will probably fix some or all of those other things too.

[Johnny]

I got my copy of the game today and have had a while to play it and initially I'm very impressed.
This is the Japanese version which, of course, doesn't (yet) feature online play and is, as some have put it, pretty "bare bones" - you get the main part of the game and a few videos thrown in and that's pretty much it.
Having said that, the main game is very long and looks like it will last for weeks if not months.
IIRC there are 21 "levels", each with 3 or 4 separate races within them which is around 60-80 races in total.

The courses so far are excellent. The very first one is the one that Phil Harrison demoed at E3 and the mud/tire marks really do change as the game goes on. For example, what starts out as a slightly wet patch on a corner on the first lap turns into a mud bath by the final lap making things pretty interesting if there are a few vehicles trying to take the lead. Similarly with the tire marks, these stay throughout the entre race and the more of them there are, the trickier the handling becomes on certain places.
The second course is the demo track and the other 3 or 4 I have raced on have been varied (in other words, not just brown rocks and mud/dirt/dust) enough to actually feel different from one another.

The vehicles themselves are exactly what I was hoping for - all completely different in terms of handling. There's everything from bikes to off-road trucks to Daytona style cars to big-rigs.
From what I've played so far, the Daytona cars are the most fun as they are the fastest.

Graphically, the game is even better than the demo. Everything from the cars to the mud and dirt details to the draw distance actually feels next-gen and not just like something that could have come from any PS2 off-road racer.
Particularly impressive is the second camera angle when on bikes (shows an over the shoulder view rather than directly behind the rider) and when looking behind from an in-car view (where you can see the very detailed driver).

So overall, this is a great PS3 game which will fill the void nicely until Virtua Fighter 5 arrives.
The Japanese text is minimal so you can import without any worries, although the main thing people will be concerned about is the lack of online support for the JPN version.
This is likely to be fixed in a patch which will probably arrive sometime around the US release.
And even if it's not, I'll definitely be rebuying because believe me, this game will be cranage online! :)