MotorStorm: Pacific Rift dated News

17 October, 2008

Sony has announced that PS3 exclusive MotorStorm: Pacific Rift will be released in the UK on 7th November.

The Evolution Studios-developed racer transports the game's rally/ATV/motorbikes/monster truck mashup from the original game's Monument Valley to a new island location full of volcanoes, rivers and jungle.

It's got 16 beefy tracks, introduces monster trucks and up to four-player split-screen play, and allows you to cool off the vehicles' fearsome boost by driving through the surf or pools of water.

As with the original, Pacific Rift also features online racing, this time for up to 16 racers.

There's a demo on the PlayStation Store now, featuring the Rain God Spires track (for single-player or two-player split-screen), if you fancy trying before you buy, and you can find various previews, screenshots and videos on the MotorStorm: Pacific Rift gamepage.

Check back for our review very soon.

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awb83

17/10/08 @ 13:18

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oooooh

turnget2005

17/10/08 @ 13:18

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played the demo last night and it was crap, i LOVED the original but something has definately change in terms of handling and physics. plus is it just me or do the graphics look worse?

Razz

17/10/08 @ 13:22

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Too many good games coming out all at once ;_;

Widge

17/10/08 @ 13:24

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turnget, yes they are worse. You need to go here:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php...

to see why.

Darren

17/10/08 @ 13:24

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It only got a 7 from Edge although without reading the review itself I don't know exactly why.

My own feeling from having played the demo a while back is that they maybe think it's too similar to the original (which they gave an 8 to) and doesn't show enough improvements. I'll wait and see what the other reviews say about it first but I'm in two minds to cancel my pre-order and pick it up when it's cheaper next year. I *did* enjoy the demo but not as much as expected and only after a few plays, my first impressions were not favourable as the track felt like a remix of the ones from the first game (other videos I've seen show that the new tropical setting is not really that obvious), the vehicles feel a bit floaty and the graphics look exactly the same (including those horrible flickering shadows).

lambtron

17/10/08 @ 13:26

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"plus is it just me or do the graphics look worse?"

No I thought this too. I also had the same feeling about Resistance 2 when I saw it on a show floor recently.

samaran

17/10/08 @ 13:37

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the demo's clearly from an earlier build, i don't think they had time to sort out minor concerns such as 'textures' and 'shadows'.

Widge

17/10/08 @ 13:43

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The thing is, if its more of the same (which I enjoyed) but the fix the user interface then to be fair I don't really care if its similar to the original.

I think tinkering would lead to crappiness.

turnget2005

17/10/08 @ 13:45

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@Widge

wow thats quite a difference. after the demo its now just dropped off my pre-order lst. probably not a good idea to release a demo thats going to put people off buying the game. really hope this all get ironed out cause i had high hopes for this.

menage

17/10/08 @ 13:47

#10

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Not impressed by the demo at all. And in 3 weeks I won't have any money left to spend either.

GamesConnoisseur

17/10/08 @ 13:50

#11

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Likewise, I was quite disappointed with the demo, thought they could have done better. Fine I accepted that it was running on an earlier build, but not a good advert compared to the first game which was a defining 'and a standout PS3' moment for me in the post launch period of PS3.

Now more cautious about getting this, Edge giving only a 7 is not an end of the world as numbers of games I have enjoyed do get less than 8 but perhaps better as second hand buy?

Darren

17/10/08 @ 13:54

#12

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I hope Evolution have addressed the horribly obvious rubberbanding A.I. in MotorStorm. Pure has really spoilt me in this regard as it was nice to play an arcade racer where you can gain a huge lead if you're skilled enough rather than be first for three laps, take a corner badly on the last lap and have half the pack race past you causing you to lose. Pure was only harder in the later events because the A.I. was also better and racing more powerful quads like you, not because it used rubberbanding. MotorStorm on the harder tracks was often frustrating because of this. I don't see really why developers use it, it just cheapens the game and turns what should be a skilled racer into one based on heavily on luck. I did notice the rubberbanding in the demo however so the signs are not good... :(

evilfoxhound

17/10/08 @ 14:03

#13

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The demo is a bit "meh". Which is annoying.

Also, why the hell are the graphics WORSE than the original!??? It's supposed to be the other way around

tobsen

17/10/08 @ 14:07

#14

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The handling and driving physics in the first Motorstorm were just about perfect, so if they really botched that aspect now it would surely count as an epic fail. I have that sinking feeling that I will have to cross that game off my list after playing the demo later today.

Darren

17/10/08 @ 14:10

#15

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It's a very early build from E3 apparently, evilfoxhound, at least NeoGAF seem to think so. The newer build supposedly looks a lot better with more foliage and better lighting. The textures still look the same to me though from the comparison shots they posted (there is an awful lot of motion-blur though) and I'm betting those flickery shadows are not fixed. Looks OK otherwise though but not mind-blowing and certainly nowhere near the quality of that E3 2005 pre-rendered-to-PS3-spec trailer... still.

farticusmaximus

17/10/08 @ 14:43

#16

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I loved the original motorstorm, it felt balls-out-on-the-verge-of-losing-control all the time and although the controls were a little bouncy it was handlable bouncey if you know what I mean.

The MS2 demo left me stone cold. I won't comment on the visuals as it seems there are improvements waiting in the release vs. the demo, but the game just felt very wrong. Controls were horribly stodgy and I dont think there was quite the same feeling of reckless speed as the original.

Pure is better looking and better handling than MS2 at the moment, but hopefully the retail release will improve things.

menage

17/10/08 @ 14:44

#17

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Well, releasing an early build as a demo on the general console public doesn't sound like an idea that would make you more money.

Darren

17/10/08 @ 14:58

#18

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@menage - Yeah, I agree that putting out an early build of a game when the final one is so better *if that is the case here* is stupid as it just puts people off buying the full game. I know there's usually a disclaimer saying that it's not representative of the quality of the final product but the truth is that demos usually *are* and so people judge the games by them. The whole point of a demo, after all, is to help you decide whether to buy the game or not.

neil_likes_bums

17/10/08 @ 15:04

#19

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You'd really want a demo to be a demonstration of the actual final game :) The first one did nothing for me, but I'll play with an open mind.

smernicki

17/10/08 @ 15:55

#20

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ambient occlusion FTW

ParanoidZombie

17/10/08 @ 16:11

#21

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@Darren: on the other hand, have you ever played a demo of a game, only to find out 3 weeks later that the retail version was significantly better than the trial version? ... I know it never happened to me, sometimes developers mess up by giving you a sample of a rather uninspired section of the game, but in the end, what you see is always what you'll get IMO.

Darren

18/10/08 @ 12:20

#22

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Check out this IGN video review:

http://uk.ps3.ign.com/dor/objects/965107...

It's the first video I've seen that genuinely shows how varied the tracks are compared with not only each other but particularly the somewhat bland-looking first game. It's revived my interest in this game, especially as GAME have just emailed me today to let me know that price of MS:PR has dropped to �34.99.

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