Out of the three next generation systems the Playstation 3 has been lacking many interesting titles to keep people with their brand. Of course this was a bit of an issue when the Playstation 2 came out, but after time the system found its stride and became a juggernaut. Indeed Resistance: Fall of Man was a very nice game, showcasing Sony’s best online game to date on any console, but it lacked something that Gears of War had. Now in my opinion the Xbox 360 is lacking a killer racing game so it seems that Sony possibly leads the market with this hit.
For those unaware about MotorStorm, either because you do not own the system yet, have the system but have not tried out the demo, or even tried out the demo in any major store, it is the next evolution in racing games. It features many different vehicles -- from ATVs to Mach trucks -- that you must race to the finish line before other people do to win the race. These vehicles also range from motorcycles to general trucks and many different cars. This allows players to choose what kind of vehicle best suits them and push the pedal to the metal (Or throttle to the bottle?). This alone opens up many different ways to play the game by using different techniques, but these techniques are only as good as the maps you play on.
Of course since it is a racing game it has a fairly limited control scheme, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. You can steer and gas, but you also have the taunt and horn options. On motorcycles you can even try and punch other riders so long as they get close enough to you, though you can also take a swing at a driver of a car. Probably the feature that you will use the most is the boost system, and you able to boost just after the beginning of the race when a few seconds roll by.
The boost really gives your vehicle a kick in the pants, rocketing it forward, but only with realistic speed. Flames will spew out of your vehicle, which will also upgrade in size depending how close to full the boost gauge becomes. If you use the boost for too long and drop into the danger zone part of the meter, your vehicle will explode. The controls handle very nicely, depending on what shape your vehicle is in, but you also have the option of turning on the motion sensitive controls. I personally recommend avoid doing this since it takes a long time to get the steering down properly, but it is still an option.
The game allows you to crash your vehicles over and over again. Each of these crashes brings you back immediately in a brand new vehicle ready to take on the world. Of course there are other ways that you will crash and not get a new car, though that is mainly by going out of bounds with your vehicles. Since the game starts you off at a dead stop you will often boost to quickly get you back in the race, but your boost meter may already be full from gaining speed, which caused you to flying off over an edge in the first place. This gives a disadvantage to those that went out of bounds, verses crashing into a wall, which is a little annoying. Other problems with the non-refreshed cars involve the minor crashes where handling can be reduced. It really is a shame to punish one type of crash and not the other.
MotorStorm introduces a multi-layered overall map system allowing players to drive the way they want to drive, depending on the circumstances. Just as in life there are many different paths to reach the finish line, but like reincarnation you will at least have another run through until you are done. Sometimes you can drive up ramps or tiny dirt paths to separate yourself from the pack. These paths are generally much more difficult to navigate, especially if you are battling with other people for them. They generally allow you to get in front of other players though, but depending on what type of vehicle you are driving they may not be the best for you. Obviously taking a car through the mud is not going to do as well as a giant truck, which is why these different paths were created. You will not find an overall map though, so if you are in the front of the pack you may end up becoming a little lost and losing your spot.
Graphically the game is beautiful. Not only are each of the vehicles highly detailed but they also race very differently. Of course you can see even more of the detail when they are split apart on impact. These vehicles will often explode too, sometimes on questionable impacts, and while the slow motion affect is overused, it helps show you over and over again how much work was put into these creations.
The graphics are not limited to vehicles though, but the maps feature some of the best looking maps ever created. They will also change depending on how the race goes, so if you crash through a sign it will split apart in front of you. Likewise if you drive through a pile of vehicles, those vehicles will remain on the field in their new positions. Perhaps my favourite thing involves tracks in the mud, where not only are the visible, but also they will also pull you into them. I would have liked to see previously crashed vehicles remain on the map but that was not the case in this game. Sometimes the driver is also ejected from vehicles, mainly flying off of ATVs and motorcycles, which sports some good rag-doll physics, but I would have liked to see them ripped apart. It is a teen rated game after all, and I think people could deal with lopped off body parts. I guess Sony is going the way of Mario and keeping as much of the questionable content out of their own games.
Of course the other side of the coin of graphics is music, and the game features a lot of music. I am luckily enough to say that most of it is very entertaining. Most of the music gets you pumped and ready for action, though some of it subtracts from the overall pleasure of the game. As a side note, I loved the music by Monster Magnet and Lunatic Calm. General sound is also top notch, where the sound of the environment is a pleasure to listen to. Crashes sound bone shattering, and collisions with other drivers sound almost amazingly good.
In the end, this is a beautiful title. I personally found it much more enjoyable than Resistance: Fall of Man, since it immersed you into the game much better. It features the best graphics on the system so far. This is the second title that if you own a PS3 (and enjoy racing games) you should buy. I had a few minor issues with the online play, where rooms seemed to take forever to load up, but overall it is a great title. I would have also liked to see multiplayer on the same system... But maybe I can do that on the next game. The game had an extensive system for different styled races to even the playing field on some of the levels. I did find that some of the loading times, mainly when it came to races and just showing a vehicle on the selection screen, were a bit ridiculous. Wrapping up, Captain Gordon gives MotorStorm a B+.
Questions? Comments? Suggestions? CaptainGordonEdward@Gmail.com
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