MotorStorm: Pacific Rift Review

By Tom Bramwell Published 19 October, 2008

Cloudy.

Version tested: PlayStation 3

Released alongside PlayStation 3 in March last year, MotorStorm was a raw, single-minded distortion of the successful WRC series that gave Evolution Studios the opportunity to make it in the first place, introducing multiple vehicle classes to the same track and playing host to the seemingly cunning technical innovation of persistent surface deformation. But while the rutted surfaces left in the wake of each lap's storm of thundering metal - and the implications for those that followed - made for easy headlines, given that they planted a flag for things that the then-four-hundred-quid console did over and above its predecessor, they never defined the first game. Instead we eulogised sensations dormant since the heyday of EA's SSX, which are now enjoying a renaissance best exemplified by the critical success of Black Rock Studios' excellent Pure a few weeks ago.

For MotorStorm: Pacific Rift, the sequel of only 18 months' construction, Evolution has left surface deformation alone to the extent that it's completely anonymous, preferring to spend its time delivering a measured response to criticisms of the first game. That means more definition for each each vehicle class, a tweaked boost system, and alternative routes designed to emphasise these changes across more numerous circuits. Impressively, the developer also finds time to repatriate split-screen racing after the former genre staple's spell in the downloadable wilderness.

This is always-on racing, another 16 tracks of constantly fighting for grip, dodging obstacles, searching out the optimal route, and straining for speed across grass, mud, rock and water, where you can never resort to autopilot because smashing your vehicle up inevitably follows, and having to rebuild speed is a price too high to pay often and still succeed. Making the most of your vehicle's turbo boost is still vital, and fiery lava levels and pooled water elsewhere play into the way you approach each track. Water has implications that taper from the biggest to the smallest vehicle classes, uncorking relentless top speed for big rigs ploughing the pacific surf and easing but not eliminating the heat build-up in other, faster classes like bikes and racing trucks, while nearby lava accelerates overheating considerably.

'MotorStorm: Pacific Rift' Screenshot 1

Bigger vehicles are occasionally able to reshape the track by crashing through a wall or loosening some perilous scenery, but these are less important factors than vehicle and route selection.

Individual circuit design is more elaborate than before, and each track now resides within a distinctive overarching label. Earth tracks are predictably dense and muddy affairs, while Air magnifies the first game's occasional rock-hopping and multiplies the number of big jumps to accentuate frantic last-minute adjustments before each ramp, often teasing you with several options. Fire tracks are a battle to avoid the grim, scorching embrace of molten rock gathered around unpredictable plateaus, inclines and tunnels hewn by the volcanic activity shown off in the background, and Water circuits are similar to Earth, but with more emphasis on plotting a route to either match your vehicle to or divide it from the streams and pools that will embolden or drown it. All are full of interlinked pathways that add or subtract from your momentum depending on what you're driving.

Some of these tracks are brilliant. The Edge takes Rain God Mesa's sliding-off-a-cliff bit and drags it out for most of its rocky duration, pocked with subtlety, and Caldera Ridge begins with a brilliant downhill rush trailed by a brief tweak to the camera angle, which also dares you to cut the corner with a jump that has to be inch-perfect. Sugar Rush is another highlight: a fantastic dash through a Swiss-cheese warren of rusted metal buildings, dividing its routes across several floors with patchwork ramps and gangways before sending you through a plantation thick with threat.

The rows of sugar cane pulverise bike-riders and overturn buggies and even heavier vehicles, but a monster truck can beat a path through them that weaker classes can follow, and while these little inter-vehicle harmonies are more occasional than perhaps expected, the different vehicle classes are individually refined too, most notably with the excellent bikes, for which steering is now responsive enough to justify their fragility. Buggies can boast of the same considered balance, but the tracks make different demands of them, and the new monster trucks are towering, top-heavy bullies. The main Festival mode, where players tackle around a hundred events gradually unlocked by an experience-based ranking system, plays on these distinctions to compensate for its inevitable repetition, and there are some great individual battles among its many race 'tickets', peaking with a lone bike fighting through a 15-strong pack of monster trucks and big rigs.

But these moments of inspiration are ultimately fleeting. The bumpy downhill rush of Caldera Ridge is unique, despite its obvious potential, and the majority of tickets attempt to perform too many of the game's many instruments in chorus, which comes across as noisy and indistinct. Equally, too many of the tracks force you into uphill struggles that emphasise a general lack of speed, while some of them layer on too many branching paths until you actually get lost; and although the bikes and buggies are almost always great, other vehicle classes are weaker or still too similar to one another: the big rigs are ponderous, rally cars have many of the buggies' weaknesses but few of their redeeming features, and the mudplugger's mundane handling is less flattering even than its name. Monster trucks are best in the hands of the AI, where they're used to smash and intimidate you, but they're too often lost for balance or grip when you get behind the wheel. The tickets force you to use all the vehicles at some point - a decision no doubt taken to show you around the game, but one that backfires occasionally when the choice is only between tedium and obsolescence.

In amongst the traditional 16-vehicle races there are also Eliminator and Speed events, which have to be unlocked by avoiding crashes or finishing within a certain time limit in the preceding race. Eliminator, where the last-placed car is blown up every 15 seconds, is good but inessential, and Speed, where you manoeuvre between checkpoint gates marked by flares, is ultimately frustrating because the game only shows you the next checkpoint, rather than the next two. With grip at such a premium and speed obviously a necessity, you almost always need several attempts to memorise the route before you can orientate yourself correctly each time and get on with the business of trying to get to the end with time left on the clock.

Visually, Pacific Rift has turned out better than we had been led to expect by preview builds and trailers, as the lighting conditions, which change depending on the time of day, and draw distance and horizon graphics restore a reputation blemished by a few ugly near and middle-distance textures. The first game's troubling glitches have been all but eliminated, too: we only blew up at a terrain transition once in the whole game, whereas the original was often guilty of letting you down in that regard. Negligible load times for the simplified vehicle selector and a near-instant restart from the pause menu are much-needed additions as well, even if tracks do initially take a while to load, and online there's a ranking system, better matchmaking and very little noticeable lag to record, while the promised split-screen racing sacrifices less detail than you would expect, even with four players. The frame-rate rarely tumbles from 30fps in the ten hours it takes to reach the latter stages of the Festival.

'MotorStorm: Pacific Rift' Screenshot 2

There are 50 Trophies to unlock, and while many are predictable there are a couple of good ones, including one for executing barrel rolls.

However, the inconsistent quality of Pacific Rift's tracks and vehicles ultimately gets the better of it, and there are other problems to compound these drawbacks. It's all too easy to dominate for half the Festival's duration, and when the difficulty does ascend as you graduate to ranks 5 and 6 you're allowed almost no mistakes in the quest for a top-three position. As a result you start to feel worse about being taken out when you can hardly anticipate it - rejoining a thoroughfare on a bike just as a monster truck surges through at improbable speed, for example. You have to let go of the urge to only move on when you achieve gold medals in order to stave off crippling frustration, and despite an experience system that unlocks more events even without the shiniest medals, the challenge of levelling up is only really relevant just as the Festival tightens toward its conclusion, by which time the contrasting sensations of repetition and frustration have almost squeezed out the moments of real entertainment that are intermittently promised by the first few hours of easy progress.

Those moments, when MotorStorm: Pacific Rift is at its best, are the ones where it lives up to its name - dragging a flimsy bike or buggy around searching for grip in the path of the devastating storm of your opposition - and of its 16 circuits around half are clever, challenging and memorable, at least in spurts, and serve the enjoyable multiplayer better than the patchy campaign. There, too much of your time is spent grinding second-choice metal in search of elusive pace, or cursing imperious AI and unpredictable catastrophe, and in the battle between the game's infrequent but electrifying highs and its frustrating lows, the result is too close to stalemate to match the first game's understated achievement.

7 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (121) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • absolutezero #1 3 years ago

    Embargo Embargo they drink it in the Marketing Dept.

  • yupyupno #2 3 years ago

    second!

  • 200k #3 3 years ago

    Excitetruck: Pacific Rift

  • SeesThroughAll #4 3 years ago

    Not enough an improvement then?

    Oh well. Might try it when I see it in the bargain bin.

    This also reminded me of something regarding DLC. I bought the first MotorStorm along with the PS3 on launch, and some of its DLC too.

    As a result, because I also bought DLC later on, I expected MotorStorm 2 to be a HUGE improvement in order to justify buying another (nearly identical) game that wouldn't use the same (bought separately) tracks that cost me money and space in the HDD.
    Edited by 1 at 20/10/08 @ 00:11

  • Ryze #5 3 years ago

    Oh well... nowt spesh

  • elephant_stone #6 3 years ago

    Excite Truck was way more fun than Motorstorm...Motorstorm 2 look and plays very much the same as number 1...I dont think i'll bother (too many other games to get!)

  • gohda #7 3 years ago

    i still want it

  • sirtacos #8 3 years ago

    7?

  • woodnotes #9 3 years ago

    No 'PS3lol' yet? Impressive!

  • woodnotes #10 3 years ago

    'PS3lol'lol

  • BartonFink #11 3 years ago

    So no improvement over the original then? I think I will give this a miss, really didn't get on with the first one.

  • Syrok #12 3 years ago

    It's too late for that. The kids are back tomorrow. :)

  • tobsen #13 3 years ago

    No word on the driving physics? Judging from the demo, they have changed quite a bit, and not for the better...

  • UKGN_Zoidberg #14 3 years ago

    Didn't like the first one and the demo didn't improve things. Although it did have Jesus Built My Hotrod by Ministry which was nice.

  • Mudo #15 3 years ago

    I saw the trailer for this in the cinema before Burn After Reading and was astonished by how shit the advert was. And how rubbish the game looked
    I'm sure it's smashing fun though

  • JohnnyHeaven #16 3 years ago

    enjoyed Motostorm 1

    downloaded the Beta of Pacific Rift, enjoyed that too.

    im gonna buy it, i love the graphical style to be honest, even in the beta build, its a welcome change to the usual bloomed filterness of other games, plus i just love the whole concept of monster truck vs motorbike.

    i stopped paying attention to review scores ages ago, the actual content of the review holds up well. some uninspired trackd design a few naff textures and still paper thin single player..

    i can live with that

    dead space and MS:pC here i come

  • rowsdower #17 3 years ago

    That was a pretty wordy, flowery, and tough to read review. Was the EG editor on a fag break for that one?

  • Stormflood #18 3 years ago

    No surprises.

  • Tetragammatron #19 3 years ago

    rowsdower, try the Rez HD review ;)

  • barnard666 #20 3 years ago

    I dont think the franchise has the depth of something like burnout, unless they give a major overhaul. There will be a third one I am sure, hopefully it will have a substantially widened feature set.

  • hy4000uk #21 3 years ago

    lol Year of the PS3

  • Kenshin001 #22 3 years ago

    Seems Evolution fixed most or all of the crticisms of the first but with little payoff. More tracks, less loading times, reduced rubber band AI, splitscreen added = lower score! Anyway, loved the first one and will be getting this. Looking forward to some Monster Truck races online.

  • PrivateJoker #23 3 years ago

    If a review on eurogamer is enough to make your mind up on whether to buy a game or not then I think you've probably missed tons of classic games over the years...

  • PrivateJoker #24 3 years ago

    @hy400uk

    There's a strong smell of cock round here. Have you belched?

  • hy4000uk #25 3 years ago

    I dont smell anything, although I don't have your cock sniffing experience so that's not really worth much

  • CunningLinguist #26 3 years ago

    @Tetragammatron

    I took your advice and read the Rez HD review. When I got to the "esoteric rollercoaster" part I had to stop. I never thought I would come across a description of a roller coaster (be it literal or figurative) that would include the word esoteric. If that's not trying to look smart with right-click > Synonyms then I don't know what is. Truth be told the word has been so overused in recent years that it has an opposite effect on the reader, thus becoming exoteric- its antonym. Now that is comedy!

  • davisorle #27 3 years ago

    So this is more like a big expansion since its the same game more or less with no major graphic or gameplay improvements. Or Im getting it wrong? And why the 7 rate

  • t8yman #28 3 years ago

    Pure FTW.

    ps3lol etc....

  • 3william56 #29 3 years ago

    Remember children, 7 does not equal bad, it just means a good game, but not massively outstanding. And for a sequel, not that much of a improvement over the original. If you're unsure, have a pop at the demo. Which I intend to do tonight, with some hope as I loved MS1 (up until I got horribly stuck on a dumb ass headlamp-free night race level :/ ).

    Though I hate the sound of the required perfection on the later stages. As long as you can qualify with a reasonably clean run, I don't mind that a gold medal is the preserve of perfectionists. But when progress, new challenges and unlocking new tracks comes to a screaming halt with the slightest imperfection in a run, it sucks.

    Yes WipEout HD, I'm looking at you.

  • ozallez #30 3 years ago

    "and online there's a ranking system, better matchmaking and very little noticeable lag to record"

    nice to know, i found the majority of the time with MS i was online. So the criticism of the tickets and such won't really bother me so much. Was more a means to unlock vehicles in the first one.
    Provided the online is as well populated as the first one i'll be happy.

  • Kryon #31 3 years ago

    MotorStorm: Pacific Rofl

  • ScottyXTUK #32 3 years ago

    I'll still be getting it, loved Motorstom so will love this too.

  • ScottyXTUK #33 3 years ago

    By the way, howcome people are commenting on this at ungodly hours??!!


    Do you guys not sleep or have jobs??! Just curious that's all.

  • Gradius #34 3 years ago

    Not everyone who comments here is from europe
    Edited by 1 at 20/10/08 @ 07:23

  • drumbaby #35 3 years ago

    But this is Eurogamer...

  • Banksy #36 3 years ago

    But this is Eurogamer...
    Then why is it run by (and read by) Brits?

  • muscleblade #37 3 years ago

    Yet another mediocre PS3 exclusive.

    Now where is the Fable 2 review.
    Edited by 1 at 20/10/08 @ 07:51

  • Jimpanse #38 3 years ago

    ps3lol ^^

  • Beano #39 3 years ago

    "Now where is the Fable 2 review. "

    I bet that Fable 2 will be a 9... now that Edge gave it a 9.
    I noticed that EG tends to get their scores from Edge if they can. Otherwise the scores are all over the place.

  • Darren #40 3 years ago

    So a good but not essential game then? And not as good as Pure (kind of expected that from the demo to be honest)? I'm a bit disappointed to hear the rubberbanding effect is still very much in the game though and makes the latter parts of the main mode frustrating. I really do not know why developers use it personally, shouldn't a racing game be about skill not luck? :?

    I wasn't that impressed with the demo at first but repeated plays grew on me so I think I'm still buying the game. The question is do I pick it up on the 7th November or wait until after Christmas seeing as there's so much other stuff out and it doesn't seem to be a must-have.

  • Kryon #41 3 years ago

    Fable 2 will get a 10 from EG because of 'teh MS bias' innit...PS3lol

  • bad09 #42 3 years ago

    seems about right, MS is alright but not great. Still liked the demo of two so might give it a go on the cheap, maybe.

  • Kryon #43 3 years ago

    Proof of <a href=http://www.googlefight.com/index.php?la ng=en_GB&word1=ps3lol&word2=360lol>PS3lol</a>

  • Darren #44 3 years ago

    And apparently the game still has no replays except for the post-race camera angles.

    Why?

    Can't the PS3 with its standard HDD record data during a race so you can watch it afterwards from different angles and with all those spectacular crashes in slo-mo? Or are the developers afraid that everyone will notice the rather cheap (cheating!) A.I. if you could? :o

  • lennon #45 3 years ago

    I felt the demo was forgettable. Guess the score isnt a surprise. Shame really as I quite enjoyed the first game.

  • Scimarad #46 3 years ago

    What options are there on split-screen mode? Is it just single race or can you do a whole tournament?

    I wish people would mention stuff like this:-)

  • Chufty #47 3 years ago

    I found the framerate in the demo was terrible, has this been fixed in the full game then?

  • Scimarad #48 3 years ago

    Terrible? I didn't see it slow down once, single OR multiplayer. And I'm pretty sensitive to dodgy framerates.
    Edited by 1 at 20/10/08 @ 08:59

  • HarryPalmer #49 3 years ago

    Enjoyed the demo muchly, will buy cheap in sales. bye.

  • rumrum4444 #50 3 years ago




    7/10 is a fair score because there´s dozens of games like this !


    And LBP should have had 7/10 too


    .

  • Beano #51 3 years ago

    "I found the framerate in the demo was terrible, has this been fixed in the full game then? "

    The PSN demo is at least 1½ months old (=beta) and the final game is much better looking (According to 1UP).

    I didn't notice any slow daown or tearing... but it lacked polish and AA.

  • Goodfella #52 3 years ago

    rumrum444lol

  • chris_ace #53 3 years ago

    Post deleted at 11:55:13 13-12-2011

  • Widge #54 3 years ago

    @squarejawhero

    I'll check that out then. I'm going to miss on this until some £age comes off the price. My current pre-order list is way too massive and any excuse to chop it down, credit crunch stylee is welcome at the moment!

  • muscleblade #55 3 years ago

    Fable 2 will get a 10 because its fantastic ( better than LBP then ) .

  • Widge #56 3 years ago

    oh come on, at least do it with some style, thats blatant, lack of imagination, rather dry in delivery, slight reek of desperation perhaps to people ignoring you on the first page.
    I've seen better. Try dropping a comment about MGS4 in there with it.

  • nickthegun #57 3 years ago

    Does your vehicle still explode at random? I couldnt get enough of that in the first game..

  • #58 3 years ago

    I think a 7 was to be expected really.

    The first was a graphical showcase but lacked depth and options and I cant help feeling the same with the sequel even if they have addressed issues that should have been fixed in the first.

  • muscleblade #59 3 years ago

    "Try dropping a comment about MGS4 in there with it."

    No need but cant wait to post "better than Resistance 2 then" on the comments for Gears 2 10/10 review.

  • penhalion #60 3 years ago

    Agree with this review. Even the demo track had me being taken out through no fault of my own far too often to be enjoyable. You are pretty much forced to use a car of some kind simply because it can at least take a single hit without blowing up.

    They then compund this nonsense by using rubber banding to get all the cars to catch you up no matter how fast you are going. Burnout realised this wasn't fun and at least tweaked theirs so that you don't see a car crash and then somehow overtake you five seconds later.

    Epic fail.

  • Beano #61 3 years ago

    "Agree with this review"

    Have you played it?

    The final game... not the beta/demo...

  • miiiguel #62 3 years ago

    ps3lol.

    Next year... is *da* year!

  • Beano #63 3 years ago

    My god... the xbots got out early this week...
    Edited by 1 at 20/10/08 @ 09:34

  • Altrezia #64 3 years ago

    Going to buy it. After EG's 9 for Saints 'Fucking shit' Row 2, I am not so fussed by their scores.
    The Demo of this rocks, worth a DL for anyone who is 50/50 about the full title.

  • miiiguel #65 3 years ago

    Why so serious?... is just another meh game. Next year....

  • Beano #66 3 years ago

    Question: isn't the review a bit early?... thought the game was due for release mid november?

    I'm not complaining, just wondering...

  • andromeda #67 3 years ago

    sequels are too quick to come around these days, theres such an abundance of entertainment that we've incredibly dismissive and hard to please. I remember being given a game and watch for xmas back in the 80's, that thing had me hooked, was still playing it a year later, trying to better my score!

  • Beano #68 3 years ago

    "Why so serious?... is just another meh game. Next year.... "

    Why such a prick?

    You obviously CONTINUE to be a troll and only have hate towards the PS3. Just stay out of PS3 related threads instead of trolling.

  • SeesThroughAll #69 3 years ago

    Really, miiiguel. Just leave it be. Just don't troll. No big deal.

    You don't need to make it look like average videogames on a console you don't own give you any kind of satisfaction. That would be ridiculous indeed.

  • groovychainsaw #70 3 years ago

    The worst thing about the first motorstorm was being forced into dull dull dull larger vehicles, i only ever enjoyed nipping through on a bike, 3 seconds from being knocked off for the race. I gave up after a series of big-rig events. Sounds like they haven't fixed that flaw. I want my racing to be fun all the way through, not suddenly get dull...
    Edit: I notice also that in the demo, they give you a choice of 2 light vehicles and the track is the one I've seen mentioned as being a standout in most reviews (and it is a great track, and fun on the motorbike I picked). Sounds like the demo is giving a somewhat better impression of the game - Fair play to them. But if you liked the demo, its no guarantee you wont get bogged down in the main game, as you tended to in the first game.
    Edited by 1 at 20/10/08 @ 09:46

  • miiiguel #71 3 years ago

    Beano, dude, chill I wish you no harm, nor I will call you names. Can´t you take a (maybe bad) joke? I mean, that PS3 got you old n and cranky, you have to admit that ;)

  • Goodfella #72 3 years ago

    miiguellol

  • penhalion #73 3 years ago

    @Beano

    Question: isn't the review a bit early?... thought the game was due for release mid november?

    I'm not complaining, just wondering...

    Actually you tend to complain about anyone who doesn't say a PS3 game is brilliant or dismisses a game based on the demo (you know the thing games companies release to show you how the end product plays). I notice that anytime you don't like a demo, you say it's from beta code and surely can't be used to form an opinion of a game. Reality cheque here! Demos are released precisely to allow people to form an opinion of a product and boost sales. They most certainly are not cut from buggy beta code either.

  • ligurmatic #74 3 years ago

    I thought the demo was too similar to the original. Sure, there was foliage, but it didn't feel like a lush environment that I was expecting. Perhaps this was a poor choice of track for the demo, but it put me further off a game that I wasn't especially excited about in the first place.

  • SeesThroughAll #75 3 years ago

    Aye, I liked driving Big Rigs in MS1 too.

    Cockpit view, and sixaxis controls worked perfectly for Big Rigs. It was great fun, unlike most vehicle classes I tried the tilt controls on.

  • miiiguel #76 3 years ago

    anyaway, just for the record, I don´t have any opinion on the game... never played, and probably never will. Liked the review though. I'm sorry if I 'offended' anyone with a bad joke.
    Later.

  • Beano #77 3 years ago

    "Actually you tend to complain about anyone who doesn't say a PS3 game is brilliant or dismisses a game based on the demo (you know the thing games companies release to show you how the end product plays). I notice that anytime you don't like a demo, you say it's from beta code and surely can't be used to form an opinion of a game. Reality cheque here! Demos are released precisely to allow people to form an opinion of a product and boost sales. They most certainly are not cut from buggy beta code either. "

    You are mixing things up a bit and drawing wrong conclusions.

    1) I mentioned that the PSN demo (which is bad IMO) is 1½ months old beta/demo - this is a FACT and not my speculation or "hope".
    100% same demo as on Qore (over a month ago) which was allready a few weeks old and 1UP talked about it in their podcast and about how much better later builds were. Of course they are also making stuff up?
    Reason for mentioning this is that people should not judge the game on the demo and panic reg. graphics. See IGN video review which is much nice looking. Of course no need to look at that either...
    Sony should not have released a old and dull demo of the game - they are not selling the game well.

    2) I ask about the early post of the review - was hoping that the game might have been pushed forward a bit since reviews
    are allready popping up more than a month before release.

    3) I'm not complaing about the MS:pR score - it actually fits fine with Edge and IGN scrores (for once). 7/10 does just no mean a "fail" or "meh" game to me like many trolls want it to be. Game of the year?... no, but it sound like a solid racer for fans of the first one. Is every game with a non 10 score considered a failure?
    Edited by 3 at 20/10/08 @ 10:10

  • Beano #78 3 years ago

    Here's IGN's video review mentioned above:

    [link url=http://ps3.ign.com/do r/objects/965107/motorstorm-2/videos/motorstorm2_vidreview_1 01708.html
    ]http://ps 3.ign.com/dor/objects/965107/mo...[/link]

    Shows of some of the different environments and gameplay elements which is not in the dull demo :)

  • samk #79 3 years ago

    (From the review) "when the difficulty does ascend as you graduate to ranks 5 and 6 you're allowed almost no mistakes in the quest for a top-three position. As a result you start to feel worse about being taken out when you can hardly anticipate it"

    This is precisely why I didn't like MotorStorm, and why I deleted the Pacific Rift demo after 5 minutes when it was clear it was just more of the same. Having to driving perfect laps in such unpredictables races isn't fun at all imo. And compound that with the elastic band AI; even if you drive a series of great laps, if you then crash you'll see half the field whizz by.

    I'm usually a sucker for driving games, but this series seems to intentionally wallow in everything I dislike about arcade racers. :(

  • DrDamn #80 3 years ago

    @Farticus
    You'll have to wait for it to become available on budget - too much other stuff to play this side of Christmas

    RE: Frame rate on the demo
    They included a new "juddery" effect when you activated boost for this version - I thought it was frame rate issues at first but it was an effect. Might explain your experience.

  • oreillymj #81 3 years ago

    While I liked MS1, except for the cheating bastard AI towards the end of the game.

    The demo seems that the game has taken some major steps backwards.

    Poor graphics in places. The ground (at the start of the race featured in the demo) is a single flat polygon with texture applied. No bump mapping at all.

    The physics and handling seem "off". Hard to explain what's wrong, but it just doesn't work for me.
    And the camera seemed to sit slightly off horizontal, which was tiring to watch.

    MS1 was the first game I played on my launch day PAL PS3 and was miles ahead of anything I'd played on PS2 in terms of Gfx,SFx etc, but MS2 just doesn't feel special at all. In fact, I only played it 3 times before getting annoyed and switching it off.

  • neil_likes_bums #82 3 years ago

    I wish idiots would stop defending the demo. If you release a "beta" build as the demo then I think it's fair people will assume the final product is similar to the one you released as a DEMOnstration. This is the whole point of demos. It may be unfair, but life is.

  • septimus #83 3 years ago

    Played it quite a bit now (not the demo, that was next to pointless) and it is better than Pure. Sold Pure as it became monotonous after a few hours. Over rated.

    This is underrated here, but PS3 exclusive so makes sense.

  • m0thr4 #84 3 years ago

    I actually liked the red and brown look of the original Motorstorm (surely based on Monument Valley?), as I hadn't really seen it in a racing game before. The new game's graphics (and yes, I've seen the IGN video review) are just dull, uninspiring and far less grounded in any kind of reality than the previous game. Although I have no intention of buying Pure either, I have to say the graphics in Pure were a lot more impressive.

  • muscleblade #85 3 years ago

    "This is underrated here, but PS3 exclusive so makes sense"

    For all of you PS3 fans who think Eurogamer has some sort of 360 bias. Well if they do there must be a reason right? Maybe the 360 actually is a better console with better games. Live with it.

  • Beano #86 3 years ago

    @neil_likes_bums : But it IS a old version - it's nothing to do with defending (I accept EG's score) - it's just a simple fact that's it 1½ months old. Also it's not only a old build, It's also a DULL level they choose for the demo.

    BAD and STUPID marketing on Sony's part. I can only recommend people to check out IGN video review for real footage.
    Edited by 1 at 20/10/08 @ 11:19

  • Beano #87 3 years ago

    @squarejawhero: I agree. Pure is great. Fun and accessible and looks fantastic. Very SSX'ish :)

  • PrivateJoker #88 3 years ago

    Pure lasted a week before it got traded in. It got boring too quickly. However i couldn't give a shit what eurogamer give as a score anyways and this game is still on a very long list of must buys till xmas.

    To all the clinically depressed xbot trolls in the wrong comments page, can you gargle some mouthwash or something cus' there really is a strong smell of cock round here.

    I do hope PS3 owners rise above this kind of B.S and don't pathetically hang round Xbox review comment pages fanning the flames that personally I wouldn't piss on. We're better than that. You only have to listen to the bile that's spewed from their ignorant vapid mouths on xbox live in Halo 3 or COD4 to understand they're a disgrace to the human race.

  • Darren #89 3 years ago

    @samk - Yep, the rubberbanding is one of the things I dislike intensely about MotorStorm... it's cheap and there's really no need to include it in games these days or make it so blatantly obvious as it is in this game. I still ended up enjoying the first game but it did feel unjustly unfair at times and ended up being very frustrating, not something I like to experience in games I must confess. Pure shows how a game can gradually get more difficult without resorting to cheating A.I. as you see the other racers doing tricks and (presumably) racing on more powerful quads like you are, hence why later races feel more competitive and are harder to win. At no point did I feel the game was unfair, something that the MotorStorm PR demo often felt as even when you have a perfect lap and boost most of the way round, the A.I. drivers are never more than half a second behind ready to overtake you as soon as you make the slightest mistake. Also crashes take far, far too long before you can press X meaning that going from 3rd to 15th is a depressingly regular occurrence. Even online MotorStorm still has this catchup feature so even that doesn't get round the issue.

    Actually re-reading that paragraph is making me think twice about whether I do actually want this game or not. I may wait and pick it up for £20 sometime next year. I absolutely loved Pure and although MotorStorm PR will be more varied, I cannot see it being more fun (the demo certainly wasn't). I think I may cancel my pre-order after all... isn't the game out the same day as LittleBigPlanet now?

  • Trebor2 #90 3 years ago

    Oh well Curry's £10 quiid sale this time next year.. Although I think the revies on this site are getting a bit harsh. dead Space too got 7 Yet Gamespot and IGN were 9+

  • Retroid #91 3 years ago

    The original MotorStorm was a 'good, but...' and I hated the rubberband AI as others have said. Disappointing that it's still in there, but I'll probably still pick this up. When it's cheap.

  • muscleblade #92 3 years ago

    "Although I think the revies on this site are getting a bit harsh. dead Space too got 7 Yet Gamespot and IGN were 9+ "

    Yeah 7/10 seems very low for Dead Space. That they also gave Alone in the dark 7 makes me take Eurogamers reviews with a huge pinch of salt.

  • ParanoidZombie #93 3 years ago

    @hedbog: thank god you came in this thread to save the day and tell us what to think. Since Edge gave the game a 7/10, I guess "print journalism" is shit, too, with the exception of playstation official magazine, of course.

  • hy4000uk #94 3 years ago

    PS3 fans should be very happy that they finally got another mediocre racing game, when GT5 comes out in 2011 they'll have a good one as well. 300 quid well spent

  • peterfll #95 3 years ago

    Just goes to show you how subjective these things are as I liked the original, didn't mind the demo and will be buying this still (7/10 = good in my book). But I still not interested in Pure (despite that clearly getting the better reviews.... that tricked-out-43-button-press-combos it not my idea of fun).

  • Retroid #96 3 years ago

    7/10 is far from <a href=http://www.answers.co m/mediocre>mediocre</a>

    /Joey

  • Les #97 3 years ago

    Loved the first one though I still haven't finished it. Whether I need part 2 remains to be seen, probably not. There's only so much action packed driving one needs and thanks to the unpredictability and intensity I think the first game will last me quite some time.

  • spudsbuckley #98 3 years ago

    First one was greatly over-hyped. Looks like they got the score right this time.

  • Amoebalove #99 3 years ago

    ha! hedbog you are one crazy, crazy fool!

  • captainrentboy #100 3 years ago

    ''I do hope PS3 owners rise above this kind of B.S and don't pathetically hang round Xbox review comment pages fanning the flames that personally I wouldn't piss on. We're better than that.''

    Brilliant! :)
    Well done for not trolling comments section that you have no interest in, that's called being an adult. But believe me your fellow PS3 owners are no better than those pesky 'xbots'.
    Shame about the 7/10, this was one of the games I thought I'd get with my PS3 around chrimbo time, but rubber banding AI is a massive no no for me. Let's see how Resistance turns out huh?

  • Les #101 3 years ago

    "First one was greatly over-hyped. Looks like they got the score right this time."

    And you know that because you played it?! Furthermore, the greatly over-hyped first part scored a gigantic full point higher...

  • spudsbuckley #102 3 years ago

    I was referring more to the general over-hyping that happened with the first one.

    I got the original at release and stopped playing it a couple of hours and then gave up on acccount of the sameyness of it all. Never understood why it was nearly universally lauded.

  • JHuxley #103 3 years ago

    @peterfll

    Same. I just can't understand all the hype over Pure. It's more of an extreme sports game than it is a racer.

    MS, on the other hand, is about as close to an off-road Burnout as we're going to get without Criterion doing it themselves. It certainly captured the same kind of 'almost losing control' thrill that series did at its best.

  • Les #104 3 years ago

    "It certainly captured the same kind of 'almost losing control' thrill that series did at its best."

    Totally agree. It's more 'Burnout' than Burnout Paradise IMO.

  • TRUTH #105 3 years ago

    If you want a great off-road arcade racer with great graphics - I recommend PURE on XB360 or PS3...Fantasic fun online and off-line. Excellent handling, graphics, physics, sound, career mode, online.

  • HermitArcader #106 3 years ago

    Post deleted at 09:17:39 22-12-2011

  • Tallon4 #107 3 years ago

    PURE rules :p

  • Godhather08 #108 3 years ago

    Motorstorm PR is a first day buy for me, can't wait.

  • Widge #109 3 years ago

    BOLLOCKS to Pure. Keep fucking about with tricks and such balls OUT OF DRIVING GAMES.

  • Execta #110 3 years ago

    You didn't say anything about the game's most important thingy, the online game. And there is also a feature to listen your own musics from PS3's hard drive, take snapshots during the game and so on and you didn't even mention the awesome ragdoll physics that are really improved, and so are the driving and crashing physics of vehicles.

    Damn, by the demo, this doesn't deserve a 7 and if you didn't even try the game online, shame on you.

  • SeesThroughAll #111 3 years ago

    I for one wouldn't mind paying an extra 5 euros for a split-screen patch for MS 1.

  • Retroid #112 3 years ago

    SeesThroughAll: "I for one wouldn't mind paying an extra 5 euros for a split-screen patch for MS 1."

    Bollocks to that, should've been in there to start with and if it had to be patched in later, should've been free :p

  • Chufty #113 3 years ago

    The crashing physics are crud. It makes you feel like you've just crashed a toy car into a table leg.

  • XastenBR #114 3 years ago

    SELECT * FROM (Eurogamer or XboxFanGame) ORDER BY FANBOYGAME

    Result: Eurogamer.net is XboxFanGame :)
    Edited by 1 at 22/10/08 @ 19:02

  • Arwin #115 3 years ago

    So when I heard the motion controls were still in after all, I picked up the game over the weekend, and I have to say, this game is a surprise hit for me. I played every time I could spare over the weekend, the game is absolutely unquestionably stunning. I don't know what magic they pulled in the last days before release, but this game is incredible. It leaves Pure literally in the dust.

    Once you've played The Rift you've played some of the best this gen has to offer in terms of racing, period. It's just awesome. And then being able to pick any server (i.e. EU, US, etc.) and all the other stuff, wow ...

    Game is a 9/10 for me. I wanted it purely for the split-screen motion control, as the latter is such a big hit with the non-gamer crowd that visits our place.

    Oh, and track deformation is definitely still in and look much better than ever before.

    I feel this game has been greatly underrepresented by the gaming press, just as Pure has been totally overhyped, especially when you put the two next to each other.
    [link url=http://www. niwra.nl/tmp/MSPR_niwrA_12.jpg
    ]http://www. niwra.nl/tmp/MSPR_niwrA_12.jpg
    [/link]
    [link url=http://www. niwra.nl/tmp/MSPR_niwrA_18.jpg
    ]http://www. niwra.nl/tmp/MSPR_niwrA_18.jpg
    [/link]
    http://www. niwra.nl/tmp/MSPR_niwrA_20.jpg

    And how wonderfully the track changes with the different lighting:

    [link url=http://www. niwra.nl/tmp/MSPR_niwrA_24.jpg
    ]http://www. niwra.nl/tmp/MSPR_niwrA_24.jpg
    [/link]

    And another great shot or two:
    [link url=http://www.n iwra.nl/tmp/MSPR_niwrA_4.jpg
    ]http://www.n iwra.nl/tmp/MSPR_niwrA_4.jpg
    [/link]
    [link url=http://www. niwra.nl/tmp/MSPR_niwrA_11.jpg
    ]http://www. niwra.nl/tmp/MSPR_niwrA_11.jpg
    [/link]

    All just quick photo-mode stuff! And yes, the game really does look like this when playing. It's amazing. And then with the awesome physics (think Burnout style crashes but slightly better)
    Edited by 2 at 03/11/08 @ 15:20

  • chalkitdown #116 3 years ago

    I think the review code is inferior to the final game. It must be. It's the only way I can understand how so many reviews claim the graphics aren't all that great. I know a guy who reviewed it, and he could'nt believe that the pics I'm about to show you below were from the same game he reviewed. Which just begs the question, why send out an inferior game to the press?

    It's probably the best looking racer I've ever played. I've had it since Friday(imported). I've taken about 100 pics in the photo mode(which is great fun, btw).

    Here's some of my favourites...

    <a href="http://i38.tinypic .com/2ahuzc9.jpg
    ">http://i38.tinypic .com/2ahuzc9.jpg
    </a>
    <a href="http://i38.tinypic .com/24w63id.jpg
    ">http://i38.tinypic .com/24w63id.jpg
    </a>
    <a href="http://i36.tinypic. com/r2jfwl.jpg
    ">http://i36.tinypic. com/r2jfwl.jpg
    </a>
    <a href="http://i35.tinypic .com/35k72o6.jpg
    ">http://i35.tinypic .com/35k72o6.jpg
    </a>
    <a href="http://i36.tinypic .com/2zsoa9x.jpg
    ">http://i36.tinypic .com/2zsoa9x.jpg
    </a>

    It really does look stunning.


    Track design is also incredible. Best of any racer I've ever played.
    Edited by 1 at 05/11/08 @ 12:49

  • NinjaWilliams #117 3 years ago

    Yeah, it's a shame that this game was given such an above average score.

    Motorstorm 2 is an absolute corker, if you like the first prequel, you'd definitely love this even more! The graphics are vastly superior and much more detailed. The loading times have been reduced alot, overall it's just amazing; more tracks more terrains, more challenges AND splitscreen, what more could you ask? (replays?) :)p

    By the way, it also has Photo Mode, so you can now pause the game and really go to town and scrutinise all the details to your hearts content and save them too! (As shown by the previous posters above^)

    9/10
    Edited by 1 at 08/11/08 @ 21:01

  • TONYgr #118 3 years ago

    pacific rift is a SUPER PERFECT GAME.its so much fun.it has 4 player split screen,16 perfect tracks,custom soundtrack.i really cant understand the low scores(7,8 etc).its SO much better than mt1.and if you get bored you can play online where the REAL FUN IS!!!!10/10!

  • Arwin #119 3 years ago

    I got to rank 5 and I'm still loving this game, and winning races. Lots of online friends are even further, or are close to completing the game.

    I'm upgrading my score from 9/10 to 10/10 for this game. It keeps surprising me how good this is, and how much better than anything else, never mind the original. I don't think I've found myself disagree with Tom a lot on reviews, but on this one it's a big disagreement. ;)

  • webcider #120 3 years ago

    Gotta say i to am amazed by the way this game has been recieved from the press.
    I know you shouldn't take Reviews for granted.

    But personally this game delivers a stunning experience, I hope Evolution studios continue there ambition to create a sweet off road racing game as they clearly have some very unique ambitions that you don't see in the Industry. I love how they took the Burnout concept and took it too Off road racing but with twists that make it unique all together.

    The way Motorstorm is thought out and realised must have taken lot of work to predict how Each different track on the same level should be. The feeling of the racing is intense brutal and beautiful all together i am really just astonished by this.

    For me this game is best arcade and most unique arcade racer i have played its fun brutal hectic and chaotic.

    Ohh yeah i have played Sega Rally - Outrun - Burnout and all those other arcade racers yeah Even Wipeout HD but motorstorm is my choice for fun in 2008 and probably 2009.

    From playing this game its been one hell of a ride with amazements all together (broken factories, stunning waterfalls, caves with river, hot lava, blinding sun and nasty trees, huge jumps, hidden tracks that looks amazing)

    Example Driving in a small tunnel very fast and when you see the light you are presented to a great jungle like environment This is the "The Rift"

    Again i am really astonished by this game and how it all are put together. If motorstorm isn't innovation i have a hard time believing what innovation then is.

  • f01re #121 3 years ago

    I bought this cheap for 20 quid and can't believe it scored so average with reviewers.

    Best driving game I've played for years, and so very beautiful... 9/10

    A mile better than the particularly vanilla Pure too.

  • Bilbo_bobbins #122 3 years ago

    I do think that the reviews should be changed when new patches come out and new DLC. This game has improved alot since the release.

    7/10 is a bad scrore. The review infact was a complete nightmare to read, sort it out.