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94 of 102 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
GREAT GAME, BUT WON'T STAND THE TEST OF TIME, March 30, 2007
Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars
THIS REVIEW COMES FROM SOMEONE WHO HAS NOT ONLY COMPLETED, BUT WON 1ST PLACE IN 30 RACES ON MOTORSTORM. So I guess you can say I've played it a lot.
I've read quite a few of the other reviews so far, and most of them are written by people who just got the game and haven't really played it through yet, I would imagine. I've played it at least a hundred times, and I've got a different view point. I'll try to keep it concise, and I'll discuss the game's shortcomings first.
#1: THE SAME TRACKS OVER AND OVER AGAIN...After 30+ races, the tracks go from repetitive to out-right boring. I'm sorry, but there are only 7 or 8 tracks to race on. The change? except for a few of the races,you are forced to use a different vehicle each time. The level 1 and 2 races are fun, but by the time you get to the level 3 races, your opponents spend the entire race pushing you off cliffs and into rock formations, and everyone's vehicles are faster than yours. I really enjoy 2 or 3 of the tracks, but the others aren't to my liking, and I find myself cursing at the game as it forces me to run those tracks repeatedly.
#2: BLAZE YOUR OWN TRAIL? Hardly. Other reviewers have said that you don't have to follow the track; that you can go your own way. Not true. Each track has a "high route" atop cliffs, plateaus and mesas (for rally cars and motorcycles) a "middle route" across bridges, ramps, rocks and gravel (for any vehicle but a big rig) and "the low road" through the dirt and mud underneath all the bridges and ramps (for the mudpluggers and big rigs). At certain junctures of the track, you can choose one of two or three of these routes. During most of the race, though, you are bound to the route you have chosen. It's your job to learn the tracks and remember where those junctions are so that you can take the route appropriate for your vehicle. Big rigs and mudpluggers are a disaster on the high routes, and motorcycles and rally cars are useless in the mud. Other than that, you are following specified routes and there is no "free roam" during a race. If you go too far away from the track, you get the dreaded "WRONG WAY" text flashing, and your vehicle comes to a dead stop and immediately gets redirected onto the proper route, which most likely puts you into last place.
#3: SIXAXIS MOTION CONTROL...I still haven't figured out how to use this to my advantage. I am sure it has something to do with where my console is located in my livingroom with regard to where I am sitting with the controller, but the motion control puts my vehicle right into a ditch or the side of a mountain every time, like a jet ski with a broken steering cable. I have it turned off, as the game is just too difficult. I cannot navigate at all with it turned on. This is the PS3's first game to really utilize the sixaxis motion, so I am sure that all of us will need some time to adapt. Trust me though--the game is plenty challenging just using the traditional controls.
#4: NO MISSIONS, JUST TIMED RACES...In some games, you get a break from the timed race, like in the Midnight Club or Burnout games, and you get to race a course backward, or your mission is to run 20 cars off the road or cause a huge wreck. Not in MotorStorm. Your mission is the same across the board--win each race. It does tend to become monotonous at times.
Let me discuss the GOOD THINGS associated with MotorStorm now...
The graphics are the best I've seen on any game--bar none. The stunning detail is a major distraction in this game, as you leap over ramps and view monument valley while flying through the air. The wrecks are astounding as well. Sometimes, it's fun to choose and ATV or motorcycle and purposely cause huge wrecks. You get to view your body hurling through the air in slow motion with the ability to spin the scene around with the R stick. More often then not, your body bounces off of rocks and ends up being run over by another vehicle. Awesome! The jumps are amazing, too. Depending on your vehicle, you can control your tilt and wah in mid-air (which seems like an eternity, the jumps are so huge) to set up the perfect landing.
The vehicles are terrific. All of them react different to the different tracks, which makes the game truly challenging. As soon as you've mastered the motorcycle on the mesa race, you then have to compete in a race through the mud with a mudplugging jeep. Each vehicle has different acceleration, braking, turning radius and what I like to call "dent quotient." The bigger vehicles can take a real beating, whereas the ATV's and motorcycles might get hit by a rock and go flying into a rock formation in pieces. Very realistic. Also, your vehicle retains its damage until you wreck it; which means, you could smack into another vehicle, and then be racing with no doors and your hood flapping against your windshield the entire race. You can knock your wheels out of alignment, too. Your wheels will wobble until you wreck and get a new vehicle. Navigating the dirt buggies is like riding on a constant trampoline: they just bounce everywhere, which is fun until you are trying to cross the finish line in 1st, you come out of a jump, and bounce right into a gravel pit and flip over. It's an insane ride that will have you laughing hysterically, albeit with sweaty palms. To make it even more stressful, you can change your camera view to "shoulder cam" (for ATV's and motorcycles) or "in cockpit" (for the others) where the terrain moves more than you do...it's dizzyingly fun!
Lastly, the controls are so simple, you'd think you were playing the Atari 2600. One button for gas, one for braking (which doubles as reverse also) one for boost, and one to knock an opponent off his bike (if you're on a bike) or peep your horn (if your in another type of vehicle). This makes it so that anyone can jump right in and start playing the game.
All of this leads me to believe that Sony Entertainment is leaving the door wide open for an entire series of MotorStorm games. Why make a game this good with different missions, tasks and tracks when you can string it out through 4 or 5 games? I guess I'm old fashioned--I paid $60 for this game right when it came out, and I'm staggered at the boring, old-school "win the race to open other locked races and vehicles" mentality. I bet that a MotorStorm 2 will be out just in time for Christmas, boasting more tracks, more vehicles and more missions. Get your wallet ready--we're all in for an amazingly fun, expensive ride.
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19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing Graphics and Cool Vehicle Variety, March 30, 2007
Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars
Motorstorm gives you a variety of interesting vehicles racing on the same muddy track. Race a motorcycle against a large truck, and see who comes out on top!
The graphics in this game are just stunning. The details in the canyon ridges, the scrubs and shrubs along the path, the tiny details on the vehicles, are are rendered in amazing detail. We sat and watched MANY crahes just to marvel at how well done the physics were, how the tiny pieces of the vehicle sprang apart and bounded along the path.
The sound is a heavy metal rock beat. This will be great if you love this kind of music - or will get quickly very annoying if you don't. The solution is of course just to turn down the music and play your own if you're not into it. Problem solved pretty quickly.
Gameplay is fascinating because of the wide variety of vehicles involved. Most games have buggies against buggies, or racecars against racecars. In this one you can choose motorcycles, ATVs, buggies, race cars, trucks, jeeps, and a variety of other vehicles. The tracks are set up with a high, medium and low path. The heavier vehicles can plow through the mud and take the easier route. The lighter vehicles need to skirt along the canyon edges, taking advantage of their small size.
This is super in theory - but in practice there are only a small number of courses, and each type of vehicle really only does well on its own set track. So unlike some racing games where there are a variety of paths and options you can take for victory, for here it's more like there are interweaving tracks and you have to stay on "yours" if you want to win. It's still fun of course, but it could have been much better by really giving you multiple options.
Another real downside here is that there is NO LOCAL MULTIPLAYER. The package says 1-12 players but they mean solely online. I really think packages should list local and online separate on their packaging so there is no confusion. I opened this up wanting to have some fun races against my boyfriend - but we couldn't! To me, that really takes away from the fun of a game, if it's this sort of multiplayer game but the only let you play online.
Still, if you're the type of person who only plays single player - or someone who thrives in the online environment - this game really is a LOT of fun. The physics are simply amazing. You could use this game in physics classes to explain various actions and interactions.
Great fun - but I'd really like to see a Motorstorm 2 that had local multiplayer and more courses.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Extremely fun and too short, March 9, 2007
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
I first saw this game at a local Sony Style store where a customer was playing it on the store's demo PS3. I was really impressed. A couple weeks later I found the teaser version on the PS Network and downloaded it. It was really a lot of fun. So I bought the game.
MotoStorm is a one-of-a-kind racer that gives you all the highs you want from a game racer. As many have commented out, the best part are the crashes... esp. when they are catastrophic. The explosions are gorgeously rendered in real time, as is the rest of the hi-def graphics. The speed -- and the associated adrenaline rush -- are exactly what a gamer wants in a game. In the fun arena, no other game beats this one.
Unfortunately the game is ultimately a short one. With only eight tracks and one single-player mode, it's bound to get boring. I'm still enjoying the solo experience but I can imagine very soon I'll start playing online. But I doubt I'll be hooked for too long, unlike, say, NFS Carbon. The mitigating aspect is, of course, I can always pick up this game any time and have a blast (pun intended) with it. I just wish the designers had made this a better, deeper game.
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