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.
Buy Motorstorm from Amazon.com
