There is something deeply satisfying about a vehicle designed and built to be driven off-road. Call me weird, but forget Ferraris, Porsches and such – give me an old Land Rover (not your modern shiny SUV, I mean your old series 3 boneshakers with leaf springs and bench seats, preferably covered in dirt, and a healthy dose of rust) then you’ve got me all tingly. Space frames, roll cages, fat tires, the fuel economy of a battleship and not a curve in sight are where it’s at, and hopefully you’ll see my peculiar brand of automotive perversion throughout MotorStorm: Pacific Rift.
You probably think I’m weird, and you’re probably right.
But it’s great to create a game where the brutal beauty of off-road racing machines is shown in all its diversity. A game where is not just all about how fast your motor is, or how much bling you can stick on it, it’s about driver skill, it’s about ruggedness of the vehicles and it’s about the variety of situations these machines have to deal with.
And it’s also about pitting a variety of these machines against each other. From the very start of the first MotorStorm game we knew we wanted to build something where a bike can share a race track with trucks, ATVs and big rigs. MotorStorm is like some latter day automotive cola advert, we’re a model of diversity and harmony, with all shapes, sizes, colour, ability and looks (scratch that analogy, you never see ugly folk in a cola advert). Pacific Rift has all kinds of vehicles, which ultimately boils down to eight distinct vehicle classes.
Cue obligatory shopping list -
The Bike – It’s my personal favorite. Yes you die a lot, it comes with the territory because you’re the most fragile thing on the track. But its maneuverable, hair-raising and loads of fun to drive.
The ATV – Sure footed and sturdier than the bike, the ATV is one of those marmite (A British, yeast based spread, either the food of the gods, or Satan’s toe jam, depending upon your point of view. Common British parlance for something you will either love or hate. IMHO the pinnacle of 10,000 years of human civilization) vehicles, you’ll either love it, or think it’s like a bike, but not as much fun ;)
The Buggy – I like the buggy in Pacific Rift. The handling model for the one in the first game just wasn’t quite right, but we’ve gone back to the drawing board and completely re-worked it. Agile, and rear-wheel driver, means there’s lots of oversteer to be had. Its also really stable in the air; when describing how it should behave to the designers I wanted it to be cat-like in its in air stability, and I think they’ve done a real good job.
The Racing Truck – This is the vehicle class you want to start with. Its fast enough, its tough enough and its sure footed enough. Steady and reliable, and slap -in-the-middle across all the traits.
The Rally Car – Acceleration akin to a fighter jet makes it awesome off the line, but it’s a thoroughbred and as such you’ve got to nurse the Rally Car through the technical and rough bits, as it’s basically a road car with better suspension. If you try and do anything too rugged with it, you’re going to get screwed. Always look for the flattest, smoothest line. However, if you’re a MotorStorm: Monument Valley connoisseur then don’t expect the rally car to be the all-conquering online car of choice this time around – the tracks are much more cunningly balanced this time around.
The Mudplugger – the forgotten son of MotorStorm: Monument Valley, the Mudplugger has had something of a facelift and a handling makeover ensures it not just a slower racing truck this time around. This is especially true as its major trait, the ability to cross any kind of terrain without blinking an eye, is more relevant this time around with our increased track diversity.
The Big Rig – The immovable object of MotorStorm. The Big Rig is great for bullying, and has a really good top sped, just try not to slow down as its acceleration is more supertanker than supercar.
Monster Truck – We’ve shouted a lot about the Monster Truck in the early press, and we think it’s a fantastic addition to the lineup. We wanted something to sit at the top of the MotorStorm food chain, something that the other vehicles (with the exception of the Big Rig) are afraid of. I’m pretty sure that not many of you have driven a real monster truck, so we’ve taken a few liberties with the handling model, creating something that feels like a monster truck ought to be, rather what they actually are. You see in real life these are fragile machines.
Yes, they can crush cars, prance around arenas and get rednecks all exited, but they’re not exactly robust, or maneuverable or particularly good at keeping up with the likes of a rally car. The Monster Trucks in MotorStorm are fast, angry, practically indestructible, and above all, loads of fun.
And ultimately that’s what it’s all about: fun. It’s a game. If you stop and think ‘That’s stupid, no one would ever do that on a bike/truck/etc.’ Then you’re missing the point, loosen up a little.
(Average: 4.59 out of 5)
99 Comments // 13 Replies
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51
leafs_fan | October 6th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Haha guys replying to my post, i didn’t word wat i wanted to say correctly. I meant i’m glad it has splitscreen, i wouldnt buy it if it didnt, and that was the only reason i didnt buy the first one.
52
FritoZ | October 6th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
thanks for the post, looking forward to seeing this game in all it’s muddy glory!
53
EViD | October 6th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Thanks for the update Nigel. I loved the first MotorStorm and I am looking forward to this one. This is a buy-on-sight for me.
54
StormLord | October 6th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
can’t wait :)
55
antonisbob | October 6th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
W00t… this is a definit buy for me.. due to the fact that ill I pretty much play is Racing/Car combat games, i wonder what the soundtrack is going to be like? lets have some Metallica like “Seek and Destroy” or “Fuel” perfect songs for this game.
56
Heavenly_King | October 6th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
I WILL BUY THIS!!!! I LOVE MOTORSTORM!!!
57
CitizenErased | October 6th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Picking this up day one. Wish they patched the first one for trophies.
58
frostquake | October 6th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
I played the Demo from Qore, and I liked it. There is just too much coming out right now to buy the second one. I have the first one and enjoy it. The demo really just doesn’t offer enough…I played it and said eh, feels the same. I want more of something new, and there really isn’t anything more here. Will pick this up in February, just can’t right now…too much else coming out..Sorry MS2
psn:frostquake
59
skaterricky | October 6th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
Will the 2 player Screen ever get a update I dont like being on LEFT or RIGHT.
Get more of a Angle with a 40″ LCD with TOP and BOTTOM!
What Happened Guys.. why couldnt it be a option??
I like to know why guys Please!
Nigel Kershaw replied on October 7, 2008 at 4:11 am
HI skatericky,
In the final game there is an option to switch to top / bottom splits on 16:9 TV’s
Cheers.
60
twooh | October 7th, 2008 at 1:14 am
I hope the load times and crash times are greatly decreased on this one. That was the thing I didn’t like about MotorStorm 1.
61
VenomX | October 7th, 2008 at 1:41 am
Day 1 purchase. LOl @ rental. This game is well worth 60 dollars.
62
SoVewySylly | October 7th, 2008 at 4:12 am
Wow, my gravatar is flipping out.
63
GGCAN | October 7th, 2008 at 5:59 am
Thanks for the post Nigel.
I don’t remember reading anything about Motion steering in MS 2.
Is it only stick steering, or do we have a choice of stick and motion steering ?
Nigel Kershaw replied on October 7, 2008 at 6:51 am
Hi ggcan
Yes, you can choose between regular and motion steering.
cheers.
64
Ghostm | October 7th, 2008 at 6:22 am
I noticed mainly sport games gets low rating here. That’s to bad because I enjoy all types of great games.
Monster trucks are super slow as hell. No thanks. Though they look very good!!! Aside from that, the game is completely awesome.
65
Scodo_Thope | October 7th, 2008 at 7:12 am
Sweet looking.
Demo??
:P
66
LeoMindfreak08 | October 7th, 2008 at 7:27 am
I play the Demo with a friend, and the split screen y very very fun!
I waiting this game (i don´t have the first version).
67
leetfoo | October 7th, 2008 at 7:31 am
I’m saddened by the fact that the demo isn’t 1080 capable. You guys stuck it to the 1080i TV crowd again. Looked good, but I’ll hold out for a game I can play in HD.
Sony needs to make scaling a mandatory feature- half the devs out there just ignore it and the other half don’t even know about the issue.
68
BigRon3400 | October 7th, 2008 at 7:40 am
Splitscreen FTW!
69
Kenshin001 | October 7th, 2008 at 7:43 am
Nigel, I realise this is a US blog but can you let the expat fans here in Japan know if the JP release will be bilingual or not? I and my friends would appreciate it. Cheers.
Nigel Kershaw replied on October 7, 2008 at 7:49 am
Hi Kenshin001
As far as I’m aware (and I’m no expert on this) the Japan version will just be in Japanese.
70
zeke2040 | October 7th, 2008 at 7:50 am
i can’t wait to pick this up.. the first one was a tease… i think the second will ferfill my needs..lol.. and with the trophy’s its an extra bonus..:D
71
GGCAN | October 7th, 2008 at 7:55 am
Thanks for the quick reply Nigel.
I will definately be purchasing Motorstorm 2 now that you’ve comfirmed the motion steering.
Appreciated.
72
typikal82 | October 7th, 2008 at 8:19 am
Hey Nigel, I’ve always been a big fan of MotorStorm, awesome game as always, it was my 1st PS3 game. :D A few questions though.
Whats the soundtrack going to feature? I see no point in custom soundtracks for this game, MS music rocks.
Will the camera/control feel the same as it did in the demo? It just felt really odd to me, like the camera was loose and so much understeer, not tight like in the 1st game.
Will there still be the impossibly tough AI? My god Buggy Byway and Devils Weekend still give me nightmares but I loved it.
Is this game going to be compatible with Home when launching games? Do you guys have any special rooms or anything planned to do with Home?
Thanks!
Nigel Kershaw replied on October 8, 2008 at 3:38 am
Hi typika82,
The soundtrack is bigger than MotorStorm 1, and very much in the same vein, but as there is going to be an official announcement I’d get a good thonging if I gave away the track list right now :)
We’ve tweaked many things since the demo, including the cameras, so yeah, it is different now.
We’ve spent a lot of time working on the AI and making them better at turning laps without having to rely upon rubber banding. The learning curve is also gentler, so it does get tough, but by that point in the game you should be good at it ;)
We are working on home compatibility at the moment, watch this space.
73
COOL__JOSH | October 7th, 2008 at 9:02 am
I have a question will there be split screen online? Cant wait for MotorStorm: Pacific Rift guys!!!
74
Statix | October 7th, 2008 at 9:12 am
Please, dear Evolution Studios, enable 1080i upscaling support in Pacific Rift! Many disgruntled PS3 owners have slightly older-generation HDTVs that don’t support 1080i, as evidenced at this Official Playstation forum thread:
http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?board.id=ps3&thread.id=1543693&view=by_date_ascending&page=1)
These PS3 owners are very unhappy to hear that the BETA of Motorstorm: Pacific Rift does not support 1080i upscaled output at this current point in time. We urge you to please consider enabling some form of upscaled 1080i/p output for Pacific Rift.
It’s easy and trivial to enable hi-def upscaling in a PS3 game; all that’s required is to run the game at an unorthodox resolution (e.g., 768×1080, 896×1080, 960×1080, etc). For more information on the hidden upscaling hardware within the PS3, please read the following technical article at Beyond3D: http://www.beyond3d.com/content/articles/16/
75
Statix | October 7th, 2008 at 9:14 am
Anyway, aside from some issues I had with 1080i upscaled output on the beta, I just wanted to drop by and say that the game look absolutely terrific. Keep up the good work.
76
Foxx | October 7th, 2008 at 10:00 am
Demo is great and I’m loving the franchise but I do have one question.
Will there be more variety in the gametypes this time around? I know there is great variety in the levels but what about having some type of destruction race where you try and take out as many other cars as possible before you blow up like 5 times or something? Or just any other modes than circuit?
Thanks and keep up the great work Evolution.
77
Azured_Scorpio | October 7th, 2008 at 10:30 am
I will buy this game, and will keep the first one too!
78
CaptionLoken | October 7th, 2008 at 10:41 am
will the monster truck out show the bigrig? because i love the bigrig, can the bigrig kick the monster trucks rear end? or is the monster truck going to be as destructive as the bigrig and faster? if so i may not even buy PR.
yeah, im that obsessed with semi-trucks
Nigel Kershaw replied on October 8, 2008 at 3:43 am
A monster truck is a nasty predator, able to take out other, smaller vehicles, but the big rig is the unstoppable force, and woe betide any monster truck that tries to mess with the big rig ;)
79
CaptionLoken | October 7th, 2008 at 10:48 am
oh and why no steering wheel compatibly?
ahh it doesnt matter, the only ones that have wheels are the people who like it urban
80
MrCamo | October 7th, 2008 at 10:48 am
I am going to buy this game for my “Nephew” when he comes over :)
81
the_matrix | October 7th, 2008 at 10:51 am
Hi Nigel,
How computationally complex was interactive vegetation in the game?
As for I know pacific rift is the first racing game which offers this technology. I have pre ordered the game, looking forward to play it.
:)
82
toombzie | October 7th, 2008 at 11:27 am
i already pre-ordered this game… looks pretty awesome.
83
NEJI64 | October 7th, 2008 at 11:49 am
i gotta say motorstorm was wicked i got it as a gift and i thought i wouldn’t like it. but i was wrong MS was hot and with the Qore demo it was just as gud as MS. if you couldn’t come in first, second or third than ur garbage dont blame the game.
Nigel will the Qore demo track be on the full game? i like how you catch air on the game
84
warezIbanez | October 7th, 2008 at 11:51 am
@45
Well, there is also the possibility of buying Burnout Paradise for your wheel…
Yeah, I’ll most likely be picking this game up.
85
Fritzatdean | October 7th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Nigel –
The wife and I thought MS1 was amazing – good show.
QUESTION If I may –
Will there be a time attack option in MS2 ?
or do we have win races JUST to experience the next track ?
Fritz
Nigel Kershaw replied on October 8, 2008 at 3:45 am
Time attack is in Pacific rift, with fully featured online leader boards.
86
DooM | October 7th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
MS 2 is a game that i will buy blind, cous i loved MS.
but…
I have a question about a big deal.
Microsoft has bought exclusieve DLC for GTA4.
But thats not the only game, Micro did it also with Fallout 3, and now again with
Tombraider.
What is Sony going to do in this matter?
Cous when more games on the 360 get exclusieve DLC and the PS3 version not thats a bad bad thing…
Nigel Kershaw replied on October 8, 2008 at 3:46 am
Its a bit hard to play exclusive DLC when your 360 is in the repair shop ;)
87
HaVoK_08 | October 7th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Ahhhh motorstorm, amidst the prancy little racers with all their high tech motors, DSC, AYC, traction control etc etc it’s good to go back to exploding fuel tanks, mayhem, and the vehicular chaos which is Motorstorm. I can almost hear the drum and bass getting closer and closer:) I did notice a particular nasty looking dumptruck in one of the videos..is that a monster truck class vehicle or some type of DLC or unlockable?
Nigel Kershaw replied on October 8, 2008 at 3:47 am
The dump truck is a Monster Truck.
88
PSWii_Gamer | October 7th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Well, MotorStorm was a decent game, but its lack of split-screen multiplayer was what made me really not get into it so much.
This one I’m picking up for sure. It’s the reason I bought 3 extra DualShock 3 controllers earlier this year.
89
Faceless_Shaman | October 7th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Are we going to be able to pick our own vehicles unlike the last game.
90
madgame | October 7th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
Well, I tried asking these questions on the previous blogs but no luck getting an answer. I can hold out ’til the end of the month but…..
Are there any vehicle restrictions on any of the tracks in Pacific Rift or is every vehicle class playable on every track?
What are the online lobby options? The online lobby in Monument Valley was great especially after the updates….any drastic changes in Pacific Rift? Any cool new online game modes?
Nigel Kershaw replied on October 8, 2008 at 3:59 am
Hi Madgame,
sorry I didnt reply to your previous posts, I only get chance to answer a handful of questions from each post. However, your tenacity has born fruit…
All vehicles can race on all tracks.
Online is quite different from MS1 now that we have added a couple of Matchmaking modes. Ranked matchmaking throws you instantly into races against players of a similar skill level, and gives you the opportunity to increase your rank amongst the world of motorstormers.
Casual matchmaking games are similar, but are more of a free for all, with no ranking at stake.
We’ve also got custom games in there, that allows the host to configure the game of his dreams, or something like that.
Cheers.
91
typikal82 | October 8th, 2008 at 8:04 am
thanks for the replies! this blog is the best
92
Fritzatdean | October 8th, 2008 at 10:03 am
wow – Super thanks for the responses to these questions (including my own)
MS2 – will clearly be amazing –
thanks again
93
Angelus_55 | October 8th, 2008 at 11:12 am
Awesome to hear that the camera and controls have been tweaked. That was the only thing that I didn’t like about the demo, the loose handling and odd camera, and I’ve been making noise about it all over the internet.
As long as the handling is fixed, this is a day one buy. Thanks for all the replies!
94
Vip3r | October 8th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Any chance of adding tanks to the game? Sound a little extreme but it would be cool.
95
flesh.impin | October 9th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
I’ve played the first Motorstorm and loved it for it’s pain staking difficulty in the later parts. Traded in and regretted it. Hope Motorstorm: PR rocks. It looks more awesome than Motorstorm 1.
96
ezalor | October 11th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Can four players in split screen go online against more players?
97
ferrarimanf355 | October 12th, 2008 at 8:36 am
The monster trucks are cool, but can you guys put in licensed ones through DLC? Barreling through a tropical jungle in a monster truck is cool. Barreling through a tropical jungle in Grave Digger or Bigfoot would be inventing 27 new kinds of awesome. ^_^
98
2manyquestions | October 12th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
I dont know why people waste their time saying why they wont buy a game. I think motorstorm is an amazing game. I cant wait to get the game when it comes out
99
SeriousGamerz | October 15th, 2008 at 6:56 am
this game 4 player splitscreen to go online?
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