Review: MotorStorm (PS3)

What MotorStorm lacks in substance and depth, it more than makes up for in terms of glamour and graphics. Evolution has created a hypnotic feast for the eyes, boasting huge expansive areas, multiple opponents, outrageous courses and the atmosphere of a carnival. It's a fantastic realm to visit, but does that shine still remain if you stay on a little longer?

MotorStorm does not have a story to speak of, but instead offers a festival environment set against a dramatic backdrop - Monument Valley in the American desert. Previously this was more likely to be seen in a Western movie, or on National Geographic channel, but has been torn up in the pursuit of something else. The MotorStorm Festival is the Glastonbury of motor racing; bizarre cultures and drivers collide in one of the most inhospitable places on the planet. Being green and caring for nature goes out the window here in the scramble for victory. Evolution has just enhanced nature's own deadly creation by turning it into a racing course - are they mad?

The setting of Monument Valley is a marvellous decision, and perfectly suits the new direction in which Evolution is aiming to take the off-the-road racing genre. The extreme terrain has been harnessed to provide multi-layered courses that allow motorbikes, buggies, rally cars and big trucks to race in harmony. This is an achievement, as you'd fully expect the bikes or buggies to offer the best chance of victory, but each track has been meticulously created. These firm foundations provide the basis for some enthralling gameplay. Gamestyle is well versed in racing but rarely have we been off the road and had so much fun. Again, it's a shame there is no rumble function in the controller to enjoy, however the more ambitious can control their vehicle simply through movement of the SIXAXIS.

To fully appreciate what MotorStorm offers in 720p it is best to let someone else play the game, then sit back and take in everything as it whizzes by. It is almost picture perfect and pushes anything we've seen to date from the Xbox 360 off one of the deadly cliffs you race along. The soundtrack in comparison features heavyweight guitar offerings from Nirvana and Queens of the Stoneage that go well with the festival setting. However there is little variety and the short list of artists means plenty of rotation as you play the game.

The presentation and show-stopping visuals are new, but the actual gameplay brought back memories of a little known Dreamcast Japanese release TNN Motorsports Hardcore Heat, also known as Buggy Heat. This also attempted to take the off-road genre in a new direction, with the mine level being a particular highlight, yet CSK lacked the budget, panache and vision to truly break free. With the clout of SCEE, no expense has been spared in bringing what was hoped would be an essential PlayStation 3 purchase. To fully appreciate budget, just watch the short documentary about the developer filming Monument Valley. All for a videogame - remarkable.

At times, MotorStorm tries too hard; the crash cams that show an instant replay (Burnout style)become tiresome after the first few collisions, and yes, we have those Havok physics in full effect. The festival setting is initially impressive but ultimately shallow and irrelevant, as it remains out of touch. The AI is also predictable with one mistake from you resulting in a dramatic fallback in the race order. The racing field also seems to separate into packs and it's up to you to work your way through this with ever improving lap times. Yes, that style utilised by Ridge Racer, it makes the option of the online mode an instant relief, especially as there are no offline multiplayer options available.

The later levels are extremely frustrating to overcome, especially as that's all you have on offer for a single player experience. Disappointingly there are no offline multi-player or split screen options, making a shallow experience even more superficial. It seems a bizarre decision that in the middle of such a carnival atmosphere there is nothing do pursue outside of the main races. Neither is there any opportunity for customisation, which is probably a good thing given how long it takes to load the vehicle selection screen.

Online works remarkably well, when you can actually get a race underway. The problem is with the lack of co-ordination, as lobby members cannot communicate. The result is that you spend half your evening waiting for the host to start the race - he may have a good reason for the delay, but you'll never know. Or players selecting their vehicles - just what takes them so long? Again, you cannot prompt them or find out what is going on, you just wait and listen to that soundtrack. And as the host has complete control, quite often the game defaults will change and you find yourself in what was a free-for-all suddenly becoming motorbike-only. The good news is that online take-up seems very high with the UK lobbies being practically full over the launch day weekend. Hopefully that take up will extend to USB or Bluetooth headsets so races can kick into gear more quickly.

Just how much you value remarkable graphics will decide if MotorStorm is for you, as the few tracks on offer are magnificent to behold. For any proud new owner of the PlayStation 3, it's a standard bearer, but all too soon you'll be looking to leave Monument valley.

Rating: 7 / 10

Words by Jason Julier