In depth review for Motorstorm.
Within the action of MotorStorm is something exotic, mysterious and, occasionally, full of the kind of wide, glorious expanse. What makes MotorStorm work for me even more is the breathless feeling of the game is big. While MotorStorm isn't perfect by any means, it features a very worthwhile melding of intense, ever-evolving artwork with technology obviously programmed by persnickety individuals who are anal about every detail, especially the way the vehicles move and the courses change. So, when Sony manufactures a phrase like Real-Time Deforming Terrain to describe the way the racing courses alter constantly with each lap, with new ruts and freshly-loosened earth. The game works well, so lets eat dirt! Before you begin, you'll choose a ride from any of seven vehicle classes, including bikes, ATVs, rally cars or big-ass trucks. Then, get your motor runnin' and head out on the muck-encrusted, off-road highway. Initially, you'll have two vehicle choices in each category. The rest of the 20 cars, bikes and trucks? You'll have to unlock them by winning races. The Sixaxis is especially versatile as a controller. No, it's not a steering wheel, but it acts like one on TV, er, when working with your TV screen. The offline single-player portion of MotorStorm is all about jump-starting your emotions, stoking the fires of insult and anger within your soul like a software devil whispering sweet evil into your ear. Your focus should be on passing other vehicles with speed or by nudging them just enough so they'll spin, roll or crash. You can watch the spectacular results of the crashes with a rear view, too, but it just wastes time in your quest to win the MotorStorm Festival. As enthralling as MotorStorm can be, its AI can be unforgiving in the later levels. It almost seems as though your savvy opponents have some kind of traveling, portable holodeck to transport themselves to very near your speeding derriere -- even if you've pressed the X button to boost your way to the head of the pack and beyond. (Don't boost too much: You'll literally explode.) Another glaring negative is the lack of tracks. As varied as the vehicles can be to handle, more wacky courses should have been a natural for a game that costs $60. Plus, I wouldn't have minded seeing the occasional coyote crossing the path and, on the next lap, vultures feasting upon coyote roadkill to slow someone's bike, or even a bearded, bipolar gold miner crawling across the mud in search of cool, clear water -- you know, just things to get in the way to make sure the synapses are sparking properly.
Gameplay is solid in Motorstorm, but comes with it's annoying bugs and glitches. Handling is good, and take for instance, driving through a muddy hole, may make you roll of the track, but you will be reset (like a arcade game) onto the track. There's a fair amount of strategy involved in winning, especially when it comes to leading a big rig to the finish line. Since courses are often divided between wide, low roads and skinny, precarious high roads, don't even try to steer your truck up high: that way lies madness...and an exploding engine. With a bike or dune buggy, I've found it's highly useful to use your yaw (the left controller stick) to straighten the rumbling machine out when you've rocketed off a ramp high in the air. And, if you hit the damn ground after a crash and are facing the wrong way, a light tap on the Select button will set you in the proper direction, as said earlier. Overall, Motorstorm is a solid racer, but comes with it's drawbacks. A rent, not a buy.
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Graphics: 4/5
Gameplay: 3/5
Story: 1/5
Online: 3/5
Lengh: 3/5
Replay Value: 3/5