MotorStorm: Pacific Rift (PS3)

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Pacific Rift is more of the same, but that's not a bad thing for fans.

MotorStorm dazzled on its release, but the rush to get the game out for the European PlayStation 3 launch resulted in a rather bare bones experience. In the months that followed developer Evolution Studios added more content and features, but we wanted a full-on sequel that took the best parts of the original, expanded on them and added all the things we'd have had in the first game had time not been an issue. MotorStorm: Pacific Rift is pretty much that. We've got a new island, more tracks, more vehicles, more game modes and the same exhilarating gameplay.

Pacific Rift's premise is very similar to that of the original game. Instead of heading to the middle of a desert you head to an island to take part in a racing festival - complete with over the top intro that sets the mood for the kind of epic racing that's about to take place. Rather than having a single identity, the courses in Pacific Rift are split into four quite distinct zones: Earth, Air, Fire and Water.

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One of the criticisms levelled at the original MotorStorm was the lack of variety in tracks. This isn't a problem in Pacific Rift, with zones and tracks within each zone looking and feeling very different to one another. You can be soaring high into the air after climbing a mountain on one track, only to be careering down a ravenous river on another. Evolution should be applauded for delivering on the variety front. Having said that, the tracks vary quite significantly in quality, with the Fire zone tracks in particular feeling less impressive than those in the other three zones.

The ticket system from the previous MotorStorm returns here, which is essentially another way of saying you need to win points in a certain amount of races before new tracks and events are unlocked. It's a fairly traditional progression system, with the slight difference being bonus event unlocks if certain objectives are achieved. These range from finishing a race with fewer than the specified wipe outs to finishing under a certain time. These special events can only be unlocked in this way, giving you a reason to replay completed events at a later stage.

The sense of scale is immense

If you're new to MotorStorm you'll probably be slightly surprised by the handling model Evolution Studios opted for. Although the game has the appearance and progression system of an arcade racer it's far from it. Cornering in Pacific Rift is just as tough as it was in the original game, so if you weren't a fan before you won't be now either. We'd have liked the handling to have had a slightly more arcade slant, but it's just a personal preference. Pacific Rift handles well for a serious racer - you just have to get the fact that it's not an arcade racer drilled into your head before it starts to click.

As in the first game you'll be racing in a number of different off-road vehicles. Bikes, ATVs, Buggies, Rally Cars, Racing Trucks, Mudpluggers, Big Rigs and Monster Trucks are all included. Fans will likely gravitate to their favourite vehicles from the original game, but races often force you to choose from a limited selection, including the new Monster Truck. This falls into the big class of vehicles, able to churn through boggy land and water, and smash through barriers that other vehicles can't.

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