[PS3] MotorStorm

Introduction

Yeah, I think I love this game. MotorStorm is an off-road racer that was released shortly after the Playstation 3 launch (early 2007), and is the first game that pushed me to get a PS3 over a 360. Two years later, I finally have a PS3, and got MotorStorm dirt cheap (about $14). It does not disappoint one bit. Actually, if anything, it’s even better than what I expected.

Single Player

The game takes place at the MotorStorm festival in Monument Valley, Arizona (Hey, I know that place!), which is weeklong series of insane off-road races with different kinds of vehicles racing at once+. There are no rules; only to do whatever it takes to win. But really, is the storyline that important (I didn’t even notice it until I looked in the manual)? What you really need to know is how you advance through the game. There are 21 tickets, and each one gives you access to a set of races. To advance throughout the game, you need to finish in the top three in those races in order to get respect points. As you get more respect points, you unlock more races; Simple.

Multiplayer

You can also play MotorStorm online with up to 11 other people, which allows you to set the number of laps in the race, as well as the vehicle classes that are allowed. But even though you can play online, for some reason MotorStorm contains no split-screen mode at all. That’s a pretty boneheaded mistake, because the first thing you’ll want to do with this game is race your friends on it. This is by far the game’s biggest flaw.

Gameplay

But even without a split-screen mode, MotorStorm is an absolute blast to play. The whole concept of having all kinds of off-road vehicles racing across desert canyons is just brilliant, and is executed very well, thanks to a few excellent design choices. First of all, there are 7 different types of vehicles that include MX bikes, rally cars, buggies, racing trucks, and even big rigs (very large trucks), and they all have unique strengths and weaknesses. The MX bikes and ATVs have the advantage of being small and easily maneuverable, but literally anything can knock you off your bike. On the other side, big rigs can smash their way through the competition, but they’re slow and have poor handling; the rally cars are the fastest vehicle class, but don’t do well in all terrains, and so on. The fact that there are usually (but not always) all types of vehicles racing at the same time makes the races more chaotic and interesting.

Another area where Evolution Studios (the company the game was developed by) excelled at are the tracks. There are only 8 tracks, but these are 8 of the greatest, most well-designed tracks I’ve ever seen in a racing game. Not only are the tracks full of diverse terrain, plenty of opportunities to catch big air, and obstacles that can instantly wreck you, but every track also has multiple paths in it. Most of the time there are two, three, or even four paths that you can take. These are, of course, designed to add a bit of strategy to each race. Since there are so many different types of vehicles, you’re going to want to take a specific route through the track. For example, if you’re in an MX bike, you’re going to want to take the path on higher ground (usually containing plenty of ramps), so that you can stay out of the way of the larger vehicles.

As for the races themselves, they’re pretty much what you would expect from a game like this; they’re fast, halfway out of control, and just plain awesome. The amount of racers can range from 7 to 15, and the beginning of every race is a mad battle to see who can get in front. Since the tracks are pretty huge, the races usually run pretty long (over six minutes). This can get annoying when you can’t qualify on a race and you have to keep restarting it. That’s actually pretty likely to happen, because the computer AI for this game is surprisingly good, and your opponents aren’t afraid to get aggressive and start trying to run you off of the road. The controls are really good, with a good button layout and two different configurations. There’s an option to use Sixaxis motion control to steer, but that’s never worked very well for any game. You can also use boost for more speed, but if you boost too much, your vehicle will explode. Thankfully, your vehicle will be respawned good as new within a few seconds of crashing. And yes, you will get wrecked…a lot. At first, MotorStorm seemed like Excite Truck (Wii), but considering the more interesting tracks, greater range of vehicles, and the amount of strategy involved in the races (which route to take, when to boost, etc.), MotorStorm is definitely more sophisticated. And yes, MotorStorm is better than Excite Truck.

Unfortunately, MotorStorm isn’t perfect, and there are a few problems I noticed with it. You don’t have to sit through an annoying install process before you play it (which is on most PS3 games), but you have to pay for it with load times that are way too long. I actually used a timer to see exactly how long the load times were. And my results were that it takes about 30 seconds to load a race, 13 seconds to load the vehicle select screen, 6 seconds to change vehicles on that screen, and 1.5 seconds to change the paintjob. That’s just insane. There’s also only one game mode (racing), and the lack of a splitscreen mode means that if you don’t have an internet connection and you finish the singleplayer mode, you’re kind of screwed. But aside from that, these are only minor flaws that barely affect the game, anyway.

Graphics and Sound

The graphics in MotorStorm are, well, fantastic. This has to be the best-looking video game I’ve ever played on any system. The tracks look virtually flawless, and are detailed right down to the smallest ridges in a canyon or the smallest rocks in the dirt. The vehicles look equally amazing as they realistically model damage and pick up mud and dirt. And when they wreck, they make a are sent flying through the air in an explosion of wheels, metal scraps, springs, and anything else that might have been attached at one time. Nearly anything[ can be knocked off of your vehicle if it’s hit hard enough, but as long as your wheels are still attached, you should be fine. It looks really cool watching your vehicle go from a brand new rally car to a totaled piece of junk that’s somehow still moving. There are even some nice effects, like when you’re tailing another vehicle, and dirt gets sprayed on your screen. All of this is made even better by superb lighting effects. I can’t really fault anything here. It’s just too good.

For the music, most of the songs sound okay. But the problem is that there aren’t very many of them, and you seem to hear the same ones over and over again. And since the races run so long, you’re pretty much guaranteed to hear at least 2 or even 3 songs play in one race. The sound effects are pretty much what you would expect; loud engines, scraping metal, and of course, the sound of kicking up dirt. Overall, it sounds really good, but it's also very loud. I had to turn down the volume down on my TV a little bit.

Conclusion

MotorStorm has its fair share of issues, and with the lack of a splitscreen mode or any other modes aside from racing and online play, MotorStorm might seem kind of shallow. But it makes up for it with quality, and if you want a really good racing game for PS3, then this is it. Plus, it’s currently dirt cheap (under $20, easily), so there’s really no reason not to get it. Actually, why are you still reading this? Go! Buy it now!

+ Excellent Graphics
+ Racing requires strategy
+ Great Concept
+ Brilliant Track Design
+ 12-player online play
+ Smart AI
+ It's inexpensive

- Lack of gameplay modes
- No splitscreen. Only online
- Agonizingly long load times

. Buy

Do want.