MotorStorm Review
Mar 6, 2007
Since launch, the PlayStation 3 library has resembled a desolate wasteland. A few oases have popped up -- Virtua Fighter 5 being a big one -- but the situation has nonetheless been grim. MotorStorm faces that PS3 desert, and blasts across it at 100 miles-per-hour in a dune buggy, blaring heavy metal.
MotorStorm takes parts of Burnout and Sony's own popular ATV Offroad Fury series, and tricks them out with impressive next-gen bling. With a dozen or so vehicles swapping paint and careening off cliffs in awesome explosions in each race, MotorStorm is as fun as it sounds, and is one of the most intense racing experiences the video game world has ever witnessed.
MotorStorm's vehicles range from motorcycles to semis. Which one you're driving makes a big difference in how you race along the tracks -- each one is filled with branching paths that cater to different vehicles. The key to victory is blazing the proper trail to take advantage of your strengths. Avoiding pitfalls and boulders helps, too. ATVs and MX bikes generally take the high road, filled with jumps, while lumbering trucks prefer powering through the mud and anything else that gets in their way. Like characters in a fighting game, with the proper strategy you can take the checkered flag driving any vehicle. The AI knows how to utilize its craft, and you'll see it make both mistakes and clever maneuvers -- just like a human player.
In keeping the good times rolling, the game dishes out speed boosts liberally. Avoid letting your car overheat, and you have a limitless supply. While the motorcycles and ATVs are the most susceptible to being bullied and don't control as well as bigger choices, they have the hilarious option of punching others on similar vehicles. It's a great nod to EA's classic Road Rash, and never fails to draw a smile. While there's obviously no rumble feature, you won't miss it much here. It would need to rumble basically the entire race to be accurate, and that would numb your hands in a hurry.
Crashes occur often, and have never been portrayed better. You'll be speeding along, and either smack into an immoveable object or get assaulted by another vehicle's irresistible force, and WHAM! When crashes happen, they actually represent a moment of clarity in MotorStorm's otherwise-manic races: You have no choice but to take a deep breath, sit back, and watch the carnage ensue in slow motion. Then it's back to the task at hand. In first-person view, you'll experience the helpless thrill of watching the horizon spin around you. It's quite a buzz.
MotorStorm's graphics serve to showcase the power of PS3. Vehicles are modeled in minute detail, and collisions make all that complexity turn into catastrophic debris. You'll also witness your ride constantly getting dirtier and more damaged as the race progresses. Mud will literally cake onto your hood before your eyes. Environments are eerily realistic, and each track has its own unique goodies: dino skeletons, hot air balloons, etc. The odd bit of popup and slowdown does happen and replays are absent, but by and large this is an absolutely beautiful game.
Does MotorStorm have its share of problems? Yes, it does -- quite a few, in fact. The beauty of the game, however, is that you don't really care about most of its shortcomings. You're having way too much fun blazing along, with all your senses being assaulted and tantalized, to pay them much mind. You have to retry a race for the 10th time because you took dead last again? Bring it on! Vehicles crash too easily? Hey, that just means you get to watch the destruction unfold more often! What will knock the wind out of your sails a little more severely are the lack of race options (why can't you just pick a track/vehicle for offline single-player?), and the fact that vehicle control isn't as responsive as in other games.
MotorStorm's online multiplayer puts a lot of next-gen titles to shame. It supports 12 player-controlled vehicles racing simultaneously. You'll never tire of the varied strategies and goofy behavior exhibited by your online opponents, and it's a great way to enjoy this game. It's still a shame that this -- along with more and more next-gen titles -- are missing local multiplayer. We accept the fact that the performance will suffer with split-screen; we still want to do it.
The audio deserves some praise as well. No expense was spared to provide a killer soundtrack. Songs by Nirvana and Slipknot are instantly recognizable, but even the lesser-known artists pack some power and perfectly complement the action. The sound effects are just as intense as everything else, and add to the experience.
Finally, Motorstorm gives PlayStation 3 owners another reason to make their 360- and Wii-owning friends jealous. MotorStorm is one of the best original next-gen offerings so far, a truly unique racer, and just a kick-butt video game overall. While we look to a sequel to fix the complaints, no PS3 owner should pass up the chance to get swept away by MotorStorm.