MotorStorm [PS3]

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.