MotorStorm unconcerned by Split/Second
Evolution will "stick to this vision".
MotorStorm: Apocalypse game director Matt Southern has told Eurogamer that his initial reaction when he heard about the similarities between his game and Black Rock's Split/Second was to hold the course.
Apocalypse, unveiled this evening, takes place as apocalyptic earthquake decimate an unnamed American city, while Split/Second is about overcoming an environment being torn apart by controlled explosions.
"I heard about it fairly early on from an outsource partner when we were already well under way with this concept, and the decision for me was very easy - stick to this vision," Southern explained.
"All we're really seeing here is other people who work in our genre trying to excite and trying to take it somewhere else. And it won't be the first time that it happens while we make this game because we started it so early."
MotorStorm: Apocalypse is the third game in the PlayStation 3-exclusive racing series. The original and its sequel, Pacific Rift, were noted for their impressive, vast courses and the multiple routes it was possible to explore within them.
At the time of the first game's launch it marked a departure for Evolution - usually associated with WRC rally titles - and a demonstration that the racing genre can support more than just accepted archetypes.
That's a view that the likes of Black Rock, Blur developer Bizarre Creations and other UK-based racing teams have tried to build upon in the intervening few years, to greater or lesser success.
"The UK's full of racing developers, some absolutely outstanding ones, and I would include the likes of, people like Sumo [Digital - OutRun 2 developer] that I don't think don't get anywhere near enough credit for the outstanding racing games they make," Southern told Eurogamer.
"We all know each other, and I think it's very nice that we try and support each other, try and outdo each other and keep each other on our toes."
Check out our big old MotorStorm: Apocalypse hands-on preview and screenshot gallery to see what Evolution's up to this time.