Twist some metal and burn some rubber on an island paradise
Format: PS3 Dev: Evolution Studios Pub: Sony Out: 07/11/08 Players: 1-4, 2-12 online
Barrelling down a sheer mountain face at high speed, as the burnt carcasses of rival racers tumble through the air beside you, is tremendously thrilling. And things will seem even more gripping if you manage to actually make it across the finish line in one peace. Taking place on a remote island paradise full of beautiful sunset vistas and dense vegetation, the dusty flats of Monument Valley are nowhere to be found in MotorStorm Pacific Rift. More on par with other racing games than the bare bones PS3 launch title, there’s heaps to keep you ploughing through the mud to victory.
Monster trucks are the newest addition to Pacific Rift’s returning line up of big rigs, ATVs, rally cars and other rough, tough off-roaders. Crushing the opposition is enjoyable for a while, but don’t be surprised when you find yourself returning to the more reliable handling of the bikes and racing trucks. Applying the brakes to turn before slamming on the boost again still has its nuance – as do the physics and deforming environments, which were the crux of the original. Driving through water helps to cool your vehicle’s boost meter, while lava increase its temperature. Tilting the Sixaxis saves your ride from tipping over and the L1/R1 buttons now perform rams. AI contenders put up quite a fight and you are treated to some hilarious moments when their eagerness to overtake ends in a fiery explosion.
Pacific Rift is teeming with challenging races, checkpoint sprints and elimination events in its lengthy ‘Festival’ mode. The Island is divided into four zones: earth, air, fire and water. Race progression is standard, but achieving specific goals, like beating a set time, opens eliminator and speed events. Eliminator sees last place put out of their misery every fifteen seconds. Speed, on the other hand, is not what you may first think. It’s a checkpoint mode where you hit individual markers one after another. The problem is that the next marker only appears after you’ve hit the current one, so it can be extremely tough to choose your line.
Veteran motorheads will get the gritty gameplay and complex track design that gave MotorStorm its hook. Deserted sugar mills, sandy beaches and mountainsides bursting with lava are just some of the environments you’ll race across on the game’s sixteen tracks. Cascading Waterfalls leave speckles of moisture on the screen and greenery flourishes with colour and shadows in the twisting jungle landscapes. However, some flat textures in trees and other track details spoil the overall presentation – comforting then that it runs at a steady frame rate. Rock and electro tunes mesh with the vicious sound of rumbling engines, but custom soundtracks are mercifully present.
It’s gratifying to see the inclusion of four-player split-screen here – there was outcry for this feature, back when the original launched – as many games opt solely for online multiplayer these days. Taking the aggression online unearths a wealth of regular competition. Welcome online features, party and matchmaking, help to streamline the experience and overall the game holds up well in the network space. Evolution’s promise of DLC also means there’ll be plenty to keep players busy in the coming months. So, new tracks and new challenges. It may be only an incremental step, but all things considered, MotorStorm Pacific Rift offers another enjoyable chunk of off-road action.
Aaron Lee
[Originally published on Tuesday, 6 January 2009]
Tags: driving, motorstorm, racing, sony
