Motorstorm, developed by SCEA, has quickly become a fan favorite of many PlayStation owners. Motorstorm: Arctic Edge is the most recent of the 3 entries in the series. It was released on the PlayStation Portable on September 30 of this year. The PS2 version reviewed here was released on October 20.
The game features a variety of modes that fall under two main categories: Wreckreation and Festival. Wreckreation mode features Time Attack, Free Play, and two-player split-screen racing. However, Festival mode is where the main content of the game lies. Festival mode contains a total of 101 races for the user to complete. While players may breeze through the first couple, events get ridiculously difficult towards the end of the race ladder.
The game plays like previous titles from the series, so fans will be able to jump right in, and the controls are as responsive as ever, but newcomers to the series will still have to get used to them and learn gameplay strategies, such as when to boost. Boosting too much will cause vehicles to overheat and eventually explode, forcing players to respawn and lose valuable time.
Arctic Edge is a racer, but it isn’t a typical racer. To do well, gamers must learn the layout of the tracks in order to know what obstacles are coming up. The tracks are typically over the top for the series and fit in perfectly with the extreme nature of the sport.
The tracks are set up off-road, so there are usually no barriers to save players from flying off cliffs, and boosting on a corner is a risky move for all but the most skilled racers. The terrain in the game must be accounted for as well, as vehicles handle differently on ice than they do in deep snow.
