Game Review PS3's MotorStorm

The Baja 1000. Dakar. Tunisia. Monument Valley?
That's right, gearheads, there's a new rally on the block quickly gaining in popularity and more brutal than the other three combined. How's that, you say? Because this one takes place in the virtual world of Sony's MotorStorm for PlayStation 3. But it's only a game, right? It is until you hop aboard your bike, line up against rally cars and diesel trucks, and sit in the rugged photorealistic environs of Monument Valley anxiously anticipating the third blow of the horn and the start of the race. If you think riding for your life in an ensemble of driving anarchy is fun, then you might just be up to the challenge of being crowned MotorStorm Festival champion.

Start out by selecting one of three bikes Motorstorm offers. These can be individualized by selecting different skins, but there are basically only three motorcycles. Sure, you could choose a mud-slinging rally car or a behemoth mow-em-down diesel, but for reviews on game play behind the wheels of one of those vehicles, you'll have to see what Car & Driver or some other auto mag has to say. We are going to concentrate playing the game primarily on a motorcycle, because that's how we roll.

The object of the game is to be the first racer to do three laps around the course and survive. Easy, huh? Not so fast. The other racers are ready to take you out, gladiator-syle, and crashing is part of the game. In fact, it's one of the highlights of the game, but more on that later. As you speed across deserts with a vague notion of recognition (the programmers used many of the U.S.'s most recognizable desert landmarks as a basis for the settings), the terrain rolls up and down before you, constantly changing, dangerous cliffs looming around the next bend. Players will never experience the same track twice. Obstacles on the track get destroyed. The vehicles leave realistic tire marks behind them, carving up the track in varying depths, making navigation of each lap different than the last.

Being on a motorcycle has both its advantages and disadvantages. The first advantage is in maneuverability. The bikes are fast, agile, and don't need to rely on the benefit of the speed boost to make quick changes in direction as much as the other vehicles. You also get to enjoy some old school Road Rash style action as motorcyclists have the ability to bash their opponents. But being on a motorcycle, you also have the least protection and are subject to being bullied around the course by cars and trucks. In this realm, your vehicle is a weapon. The A.I. (artificial intelligence) racers are trying to win at all costs, always searching for the quickest routes with the least amount of obstacles, and adjust their level of aggression to yours. You want to play dirty, then the computer is more than willing to get down and dirty, too.

So the path you choose on a motorcycle in the race is vital. Each track has about three different paths. Each path is usually intended for a certain type of vehicle. While trucks tend to stay on the mudbogged, obstacle-strewn low road, it is best for motorcyclists to take the high road, which is usually loaded with jumps and narrow paths. Hit a ramp and you're shooting across a wide chasm. Hit the turbo and you'll really catch air. For beginners, the responsiveness of the motorcycles comes in handy and they are one of the easiest modes to learn to handle when you're becoming familiar with the intricacies of the game.

And even though many will deny it, the creators of MotorStorm have plugged into one of the underlying reasons people watch races. For the wrecks. MotorStorm has capitalized on this obsession by providing some of the greatest collisions in the biz. The effect is heightened by showing them in slo-mo. At the point of impact, time seems to freeze, you hear the collision, and auto parts are splayed across the desert. The programmers have gone to great lengths to simulate vehicles breaking apart, basing the damage to a vehicle on physics-based research. It's definitely one of the high points of the game.

So that's the scoop from a motorcycle magazines viewpoint. For more of a gamer's perspective, we turned MotorStorm over to one of the truest gamers we know, Jeremy Shipley. Shipley logged hours manning his PS3's controls and gave us his opinion of the game.

First the upside.

"The intro is awesome. It's like watching a movie and is one of the tightest intro's I've ever seen. The racing is intense. The graphics are high-quality, and the soundtrack is awesome, too. With bands like Slipknot, Nirvana, and Wolfmother on it, it suits the game perfectly. The wrecks are spectacular, and the jumps are cool, too," Shipley said.

On the downside.

"By the cover and the back, I was hoping it would be more like Twisted Metal III. The graphics are great, but it seems like they spent more time developing the graphics than focusing on game play. The controls lag behind other big racing games. It is a little difficult to learn the turns. On sharp turns, often you end up stopping or wrecking. And there's no split-screen multi-player. Overall, on the fun factor scale, I give it a 7," Shipley concluded.

So what's the best thing about MotorStorm? We've all been in this position. We've been cut-off, tailgated, or had red light runners put our lives in peril and make our blood boil. Driving on public roads can be a frustrating, angst-ridden experience, and the law won't allow you to drive that Sherman Tank you bought at a WW II-surplus sale on the freeway. So how do we vent our road rage in a constructive manner? Buy a copy of Sony's PowerStorm for PS3, load the disc, and exorcise those pent-up demons without risking getting stomped or going to jail.

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

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