A lot was made of Motorstorm in the run up to the release of the PS3. It looked incredible, especially for a laucnh title. It was one of the first games to use a fully fledged Havok physics system. It responded to your actions in clever, realistic ways. Almost inevitably, a lot of the weight of the PS3's initial success was placed on it's shoulders.
A couple of years on, and a sequel has been released, while developers across the globe have made huge progress on the console. So, is the original, one of the PS3's first AAA titles. still worth playing? In a word - absolutely.
Motorstorm is an off-road racing game. It allows you to choose your vehicle from several types, ranging from nimble motorbikes and ATVs to middle of the range racing trucks to speedy rally cars to immense Big Rigs. You progress by winning events, or tickets, which get progressively harder. The premise is simple, but very well executed.
The brutal off-road racing is innovative, fresh and never seems to get old. The game is perpetually exciting, and can either pull you in for hours on end, or thrill you in a few short minutes. Firstly, the graphics. Visually, Motorstorm will quite probably take your breath away. Even with all the advances made since it's launch over two years ago, it still holds up remarkably well - the recent sequel only looks a little better, which is testament to the capabilities of the first instalment. The vehicles and environments are detailed, although all tracks share the same muddy premise. This mud is actaully very attractive though, and works in a highly original way - it flicks up onto the screen as you drive, and the racetrack stays deformed as the race progresses. For example, on the third lap, the tracks made in lap one will still be visible. Graphically, Motorstorm is masterful.
The soundtrack is similar to marmite - you'll either love it or hate it. Personally, I fall into the latter category. It mainly consists of hard rock and heavy metal, which will annoy you if they aren't your favourite genres. The shortage of songs is also irritating, and quickly becomes repetitive. The vehicles sound decent enough, and vary from class to class - for example, you can tell the difference between a bike and a big rig. This doesn't make up for the poor soundtrack though.
The racing itself is addictive and extremely enjoyable. Vehicles have a realistic sense of weight, and bashing into one another is great fun. The handling veers towards the arcade end of the scale rather than focusing on realism. It is consistently fast paced and high octane - getting bored is not easy. The highlight is definitely crashing; the game slows down to show you the carnage in full detail, and never fails to look spectacular.
The single player mode is good, but not perfect. The gameplay is so good that it distracts you from a lot of the flaws, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. There are two few tracks - only eight - and while you won't get bored because of the exciting racing and multiple routes through each one, depending on your vehicle, some more variety would have been nice. The lack of two player split screen is glaringly obvious and a huge shame, while the online portion feels tacked on and unfinished. The single player mode is good fun, but can become cripplingly hard towards the end of the game.
The core mechanics of Motorstorm are spot-on. Graphically it excels, and the gameplay is insanely addictive and a hell of a lot of fun. Unfortunately, the game itself feels under-developed in places. It's like they had top quality ingredients, but followed the wrong recipe. That's not to say you won't enjoy it, because you undoubtably will - Motorstorm is still one of the best racing games on the PS3 - but there is a slightly disappointing sense that it could have been a lot more.
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Breathtakingly brutal off-road racing.Chaotic battles to the finish line between ... more
motorcross bikes, ATVs, buggies, rally cars, trucks, mudpluggers and big rigsChurn the beautiful wastelands of Monument Valley, Arizona into a wreck-strewn mudbath ? with ...
Advantages: Frantic and insanely fun gameplay with extrmemely detailed textures Disadvantages: No split-screen which is a massive let down. Limited game modes and race courses
olly29018 03.09.2007 (04.09.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of MotorStorm (PS3)
Advantages: A fun, fantastic looking game! Disadvantages: The Al is too clever!!!! They are just like real humans and will do anything to stop you winning!
kingchris 07.04.2007 (07.04.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of MotorStorm (PS3)
![Motorstorm [Platinum] PS3](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/97615904.jpg "Motorstorm [Platinum] PS3")
Jan 28th, 2009
very helpful by (100%):
