Hello Moto!

Motorstorm was one of the PS3's debut titles, and a very good one at that. It was a real showpiece, hinting at what the console was capable of. That was last year though, and Evolution Studios faces a tough task to make Motorstorm's sequel the top dog in offroad racing.

Motorstorm: Pacific Rift had two main issues that needed to be addressed from the original. The first was the colour pallet, which mainly consisted of different shades of brown. The second was the loading times, especially on the vehicle select screen.

So, um, whats new?

Thankfully Motorstorm: Pacific Rift deals with both. Motorstorm: Pacific Rift takes place on an island, surprisingly in the Pacific. So there is a lot of colour. As for the loading times, the Vehicle Select screen now uses static 2D images of vehicle, which helps kill the loading times. Although they are still there for the levels; they have been drastically cut. Big sigh of relief all round.

Having said that, the setup for Motorstorm: Pacific Rift is really quite familiar. You take place in a racing festival that includes all the off-road vehicles from the previous Motorstorm; but this time around you'll have to duke it out with Monster Trucks too. As you race you earn points to help you climb up the Festival tables and unlock new racing tracks and vehicles. But there is one small difference, you now have four zones to race through, each based on an element. Be it Fire, Earth, Air or Water each zone brings something different.

I hope you have insurance

The Earth zone is the kick back to the previous Motorstorm; lots of Mud. Air involves lots of jumps. But the Water and Fire zones are the strategic zones when it comes to boosting. In the previous Motorstorm you had Infinite boost, but you did need to let it cool down after prolonged periods of use. The same holds true in Pacific Rift. But Pacific Rift holds a trick up it's sleeve, if you're racing through the Water zone, you may be able to use you boost longer than usual if you go through a waterfall or a large puddle, but go hammering around the Fire zone and it's the reverse. The fire zone actually heats up your boost, so you can only use shorter bursts. So Motorstorm: Pacific Rift's zones really will have an effect on your driving style.

The zones all look and feel different to race in as well, so it doesn't feel like the same track with a different coat of paint. Dotted around some of the tracks are little shanty towns, billboards, and on the fire tracks sprinkler systems to give you a brief break from the heat. But no matter what track you're on, it looks stunning. Especially when you're racing over a cliff top and you see the sun set against the ocean; the orange glow lighting up the track and vehicles. Magic. There's no noticeable slowdown in Motorstorm: Pacific Rift, either. It doesn't matter how many cars are on screen, or what scenery is blowing past: Motorstorm: Pacific Rift just keeps going.

It's Louder than I remember...

On an audio level Motorstorm: Pacific Rift has not changed in quality and that's a good thing. The vehicles still have the deep gut wrenching sound of a vehicle being pushed to its absolute limit. And they sound as they should, so the bigger the vehicle, the louder the noise. The soundtrack to Motorstrom Pacific Rift is in much the same vein as last year; loud and proud, featuring tracks from artists and bands such as Nirvana, David Bowie and Fat Boy Slim as well as some unsigned bands. In all, a very good mix.

Motorstorm: Pacific Rift had a challenge ahead of itself. Not only did it need to live up to the previous Motorstorm, but it needed to go head-to-head with some surprisingly good releases like Pure. Gratifyingly, Pacific Rift not only lives up to the original, it surpasses it. Motorstorm's issues have gratifyingly been addressed and improvements made. Motorstorm: Pacific Rift is a no-nonsense offroad experience that should not be missed.

GAME's Verdict

• +Looks so much better than the original Motorstorm
• +The four different racing zones give it much needed variety
• +The Loud and proud sound, apologise to the neighbours in advance!

• -Being crushed by a monster truck, when you're on a bike
• -Not spotting rocks in the road and crashing
• -Like the last one it can get really difficult

Review by: Tom 'Trucking' Daly
Version Tested: PlayStation 3
Review Published: 07.11.08