To let the cat out of the bag: in general sequels suck. In general…

But let’s start from the beginning. The critically acclaimed Motorstorm was one of the better PS3 launch titles. That’s a fact. Its amusing and very arcade gameplay and the at that time phenomenal graphics were definitely a reason to buy this fun to play off-road racer.

As it is common for a blockbuster, the sequel wasn’t a long time coming. Motorstorm: Pacific Rift bases upon the same game mechanic as the prequel yet takes the game itself a bit further by adding new features and tracks, updating graphics and sound and so on. You catch the drift. On a closer look, MSPR is basically the same game, only bigger, more diversified… but not necessarily better as MSPR keeps the changes rather conservative by obviously concentrating on the well known strenghts [absurdly bad-ass (multiplayer) gameplay, nice environmental design (the blur and water effects look amazing), soundtrack] and fixing the few weak points like the missing split-screen multiplayer mode. The former USP to be the only heavy-arcade offroader has long been relativized as Disney Interactive’s Pure, THQ’s Baja and MX vs. ATV Untamed nested in more or less the same genre. The concurrence products are well crafted and rocksolid titles but the Motorstorm franchise can still claim to be the only next-gen ancestor as good products always entail copycats. And that’s enough appreciation.

MSPR is good but not great, it is fun but not overwhelming. Let’s say it’s nice and the only arcade offroader (pretty niche, ain’t it?) you’ll ever need. Got it?

Btw. the island seems to be a nice place to hang out. See you at the festival.

Developer: Evolution Studios
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
Platforms: PlayStation 3
Release: 7th November, 2008