MotorStorm

Mar 16, 2007

MotorStorm? It's hard.

With that out of the way, it's also one of the best-looking games on the PS3 so far. No hyperbole. No overreaching superlatives. It's hard to argue that Evolution Studios hasn't crafted one of the most visually appealing experiences that PS3 owners will enjoy since the system's launch in November. We've spent quite a bit of time tinkering around with MotorStorm since we got retail code, both on and offline, and we're happy with the game, though the difficulty that will be appealing to some will be a major turn-off to others.

The storyline is paper-thin, and better for it. Essentially a cross between Mad Max and Burning Man, the MotorStorm tournament finds drivers all over the globe competing in a bloodthirsty race in isolated Monument Valley, Arizona. Needless to say, based on their driving abilities, most, if not all of them, would be killed very quickly in real life. That's pretty much all the player needs to jump in and start pushing lots of other vehicles off into the gorgeous Southwestern landscape.

Part of what makes MotorStorm so distinguishable from other racers in its vein is its dependence on physics. Because of the way that physics play a role in the game, each vehicle class handles dramatically different from the others. There's a lot of risk versus reward involved in each class. While MX bikes are quicker and able to nimbly move through smaller passages, they can easily be knocked off a course by bigger vehicles. On the opposite end of the spectrum, big rigs can push everyone around the path, but can't move as quickly, nor can they utilize the sorts of shortcuts that smaller buggies and bikes are afforded.

In between these extremes are ATVs, which are tougher and more stable than MX bikes, but not as easy to maneuver through tight spots. Buggies are good at crossing the terrain, but have a nasty tendency to flip on harder turns. Rally cars are fast and light, but like MX bikes, can be done in fairly easily. Those are just a few of the vehicle classes that players will use to slip and slide through the desert. Sure, we've seen this sort of thing in other games, but the scale upon which MotorStorm applies these rules borders on grandiose.

The main reason is thanks to the tracks. Between the roughness of the terrain, the variety of routes, and the diversity of stumbling blocks, races are fairly unpredictable affairs that are filled with chaotic whimsy. One bump into a rock that looks like an ATV could clear it, and the player can easily go from first to worst in no time. Tracks can go from mud pits that slow down everyone to high-flying ramps that can reveal jagged gaps from take-off to landing. Some tracks, such as Rain God Mesa, which seems to be an online favorite, will leave players careening over towering cliffs with one poorly judged hairpin turn. All of MotorStorm's tracks are, in some way, completely cruel and arbitrary. Why, then, is it still appealing?

For fans of Gran Turismo's strict gameplay (but not necessarily it's take on realism), this title could hit the spot. It's not as rigid as GT, but it's leagues away from Ridge Racer 7's drift-fest. MotorStorm's finicky control scheme and precision are the stuff that completely anal-retentive racing fans will love. It takes gentle acceleration, and while boost is good, too much boost will cause a vehicle to explode --which, admittedly, makes for an awesome show when players pause the game mid-crash.

For more casual PS3 owners, it might not be the stuff of party games, especially since it doesn't support split-screen multiplayer. Essentially, if your significant other enjoys the occasional Mario Kart or Burnout session, but mostly doesn't play games, do not give them a controller. They may never play racing games again. Also, it can be difficult to differentiate a harmless bump in the road from a cataclysmic launch point, especially with smaller vehicles. With all of the environmental bumpiness, vehicles can go flying in any direction, and it's up to the player to steer the yaw to get aligned with the track. It's a tough game, and the feat of clearing a stage takes players down a painful road wrought with failures and race restarts.

However, as much as MotorStorm taxes players in regard to gameplay, it also rewards the eyes. Evolution has managed to beautifully capture desert terrain with an amazing attention to detail. Crevices, cracks, and caves are rendered in great beauty. It's almost a shame that players are ripping through it all at ungodly speeds, but that's what replays are for. While we're very happy with the game's graphical quality, 1080p TV owners and standard-def owners might be disappointed for two different reasons: MotorStorm's HD resolution caps at 720p (but still looks great), and the game's amazing details are dulled a bit on a standard def TV. Nevertheless, we're impressed by what the game does on this new hardware.

All compliments aside, we'd be doing a disservice if we didn't point out a few glaring issues. While the difficulty is subject to opinion and skill level, the load times are inarguably long. While we've seen some PS3 games that take a while to pull up cars or characters, we've never seen any that take as long as this one. There are several seconds of loading between vehicles on the selection screen; it can be bad enough that at some points, we just went for the first thing available. Also, players should get used to seeing the advice on the loading screen, as it will be there for a while. In addition, MotorStorm features motion-sensing controls via the Sixaxis. However, with a game that has controls that are as picky as this one, the motion controls are way too sensitive to use for proper steering, and most gamers will find themselves reverting to analog sticks if they have any desire to win races.

We earned our lumps over PlayStation Network playing MotorStorm, and suffice it to say, the competition is fierce. Servers for North America are, at this time, fairly populous, certainly more than we're used to for most PS3 titles. There seems to be a heavier emphasis on players using headsets than we've seen in other games as well, which is a welcome relief. We're happy to report that we had no issues in finding games, nor with any lag. The matchmaking is decent, although we'd like to see how Sony's plans for Home will improve the experience of group-based play. All in all, the competition is fierce, and while the game's unpredictable nature is temperamental in single-player, online gaming is downright vicious. On more than one occasion, an opponent-induced bump took us completely out of contention. Indeed, only the strong survive online.

In conclusion, MotorStorm is a visually appealing title that is a recommended buy for hardcore racing fans. The anal-retentiveness of the gameplay will attract the sorts of people who find track memorization and careful controls to be rewarding, though we don't recommend using the Sixaxis motion control to steer. Casual gamers, however, might want to stay far, far away. It is not a pick up and play experience by any stretch of the imagination. Visually, it's one of the most impressive titles out there on the PS3, although the amount of detail seems to have taxed the system; load times border on intolerable. Our online experiences were good, and unlike many PS3 titles, there are lots of people playing right now. While we can't emphatically recommend MotorStorm for casual gamers, racing fans will be quite happy with their purchase.