When a PS3 turned up at Kikizo recently, we were pleased to find a decent selection of games included with the package, including some of the key titles that would launch with the system. But MotorStorm was the first, and most recent game we played, and the one that's spun inside the console most.
Simply put, there's no next-gen racing game as cool as this.
Take the mayhem of Daytona's oval circuit pile-up carnage, the addictive off-road gameplay of a Rallisport and the brilliance of Burnout's speed and crashes, then multiply it all loads and you have merely the foundation of what MotorStorm is. It's a game that comes together so effectively, you have to say 'wow'. It's possibly even better looking that the infamous, stunning target video trailer shown 18 months ago and it plays even better than it looks.
So the game plays like a dream, to be quite honest. But another big part of the enjoyment is the immersive, tangible world you race in, and that's thanks not just to the physical laws of the track, but the outstanding visual quality too.
There's no question: all the neat touches they had in the questionable E3 2005 target trailer are pretty much present and respectable in some for or another in the real, final game. It's unbelievable and an absolute told-you-so victory for PS3, with some of the lushest, best-lit visuals we have seen to date. And it's the only such told-you-so on the PS3 right now.
The HDR lighting in MotorStorm is also sexy; tilt the camera towards the blue sky with the driver still in view, and he appears dark; point it down towards the radiant orange ground to feel its warmth and the driver is bright and vibrant. OK, so many new-generation games are pulling off HDR admirably, but there's something about it in MotorStorm that looks pornographically attractive.
In conclusion, to be quite honest we're in love with MotorStorm. When you look at this code with a forward-looking perspective, if there's one game that really shows off the POTENTIAL of the PS3 beyond Xbox 360 right now, absolutely it's MotorStorm, and Evolution is to be saluted for putting together such an awesome package
Serious PS3 early adopters may even want to look into picking up the Japanese release of MotorStorm on December 7, even though there's no online play, and then trading it in for the full-on western release in February (US) and March/whenever (Europe).
Forget MGS or Final Fantasy. MotorStorm is the PS3's first killer app.
