MotorStorm: Pacific Rift (PS3)

The new environment makes for a very different looking MotorStorm

MotorStorm, a racer from the off-road genre that had been seen as quite a niche, became a very important title for Sony. Available at the launch of the console in Europe, it offered a glimpse of what Sony's next-gen console would be capable of when in good hands (Evolution Studios in this case) and provided some much needed quality in a pool full of lacklustre ports. Despite its action-packed gameplay and stunning visuals it wasn't really a game for everyone. After a few minutes behind the wheel of the off-road vehicles it became quite clear that this wasn't another arcade racer.

The sequel, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift, has a lot riding on its well sprung shoulders. For many PS3 owners MotorStorm is seen as one of the console's premier racing series and as such the sequel must improve on the original in every way and look like a game only possible on the most powerful console on the market. I got some hands-on time with the E3 build to see how Pacific Rift is shaping up, both as a solo and multiplayer game.

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I headed straight in to a one-player race on the Cascade Falls track. This two-lap race features 16 vehicles, with a choice of Bike, Racing Truck or Monster Truck. Being greedy I had a few races with all three and, as you can expect from MotorStorm, had three very different experiences. Being a new vehicle type in Pacific Rift I opted to try out the Monster Truck first. It was by far the biggest vehicle in the race and was able to take the route that featured plenty of low-lying water while the smaller vehicles stuck to high land. The hulking vehicle felt suitably heavy and very strong, especially when using the new left and right attack moves. By pressing one of the shoulder buttons the truck jolts to the side, smashing into opponents - sending them flying if small enough.

Bikes and Racing Trucks are much more familiar. At this stage the Racing Truck seems a tad too sluggish around corners, while the bike seems just about right, easily being the nippiest of the vehicles available in the demo. As in the original game, the tracks will all feature numerous routes designed for each vehicle type, so knowing which route is best is key to success. In the bike I kept away from the water and whizzed around the high ground, taking numerous jumps on the way. The E3 build was labelled as 70% complete and unless some drastic changes are made it'll be just as tough as the original.

Multiplayer fans are in luck. Four players will be able to play on a single console.

I didn't get a chance to try out the game's four-player split-screen support or online multiplayer, but two-player split-screen was on offer. The Raingod Spire track was far more similar to old MotorStorm tracks, featuring less jungle and far more dusty brown dirt. Performance when in split-screen seemed about on par with the single-player frame rate although detail did seem to take a hit - having not seen the track when racing solo it's hard to say for sure. Hopefully the frame rate will remain high when playing with four players on the same console.

The original MotorStorm still impresses with its visuals so anything but stunning visuals in Pacific Rift would be a surprise and a big disappointment. Currently it's definitely on its way to greatness but isn't there yet. The size of the environment impresses, as does the excellent draw distance, but there are issues with frame rate and texture quality that will hopefully be improved before the game hits stores. The new jungle setting looks great though, offering far more detail than the original game's quite barren desert locations. The incredible destruction of the first game is also back with a vengeance, with car parts flying all over the place if you do more than just touch bumpers. Given the development time remaining I'm confident it'll end up as one of the best looking racers ever made.

So far Pacific Rift seems like we're getting more of the same, which is no bad thing. But then I'm yet to see most of the tracks (there are sixteen in total set across four zones), and I've only played one in all its single-player glory. New gameplay mechanics like the barge attacks, a bigger emphasis on destructible track objects and a tweaked turbo system could all make for a very different MotorStorm experience, but at the moment it's too early to tell. What's for sure is that Pacific Rift will have some competition. Disney has its stunning looking quad bike racer Pure and THQ will be offering similar off-road thrills and spills with Baja. Tough competition indeed, but with Evolution Studios MotorStorm: Pacific Rift is in very safe hands.