Motor Storm Apocalypse

[SlowCoder]

Was going to wait to get this game until the price dropped. But my son had some allowance, so I went ahead and halvies'd with him. Got it home, put it in and ... am disappointed.

 

For those of you who like to play MotorStorm and MotorStorm Pacific Rift. the first 2 games had a definite "MotorStorm' feel to them. They were basic racers, no real story. Pretty much just straight racers. But physics are good and the games are fun.

 

Apocalypse is obviously a complete redo. They completely lost the "MotorStorm" feel.

The cars feel different. They are WAY too twitchy for MotorStorm, and the screen shakes violently (be very careful if you're epileptic). The crash destruction is a big step back from the first 2, more like what you'd expect from a PS2 game. And, unlike the first 2, where you could easily flip, this one makes it much harder to flip your car, effectively babying you around the tracks.

 

The graphics are different (they now make it available in 1080p for HDMI and TVs that support it). This could be a good thing, but in this case I don't think so. And there is no way to downscale the output to see if I can remove some of the artifacts and smooth the display.

 

They tried to make some lame storyline. Don't know where this came from. The cutscenes are badly done, and there is no REAL story at all. Just hit continue at the beginning of each one.

 

In short ... Not worth full retail. Wait till it comes down to $20. Probably won't take very long. I'm not normally critical of video games, but when I paid for a PS3 game, and I feel like I'm playing a PS2 game, I'm not happy.

[Reaperman]

Just curious, what kind of a storyline? I'm going to assume it's more intrusive than the typical Motorstorm--where in the intro video, they all go some place to race offroad and listen to loud music. And after that the plot is never heard from again.

 

I wasn't terribly happy with arctic edge either. Sure it was neat to play something that looked and sounded like motorstorm on PS2, but I found myself crashing and exploding on only the rarest of occasions. Sure the annoying deaths weren't a problem, but they're also the charm. Some sick part of me actually wants to fly off the mountain to my death when I hit a small rock just a little far to the left.

 

I wonder if online will save it a bit. Obviously not now, but someday.

Edited May 11, 2011 by Reaperman

[SlowCoder]

The plot is that a city has been abandoned due to multiple impending disasters, earthquakes, tornadoes, etc. One thing this game does to is change the courses as you race. Earthquakes knock down buildings, etc. Taken from Split Second.

[Bucket]

That's a shame. I'll stick with Pacific Rift. They really should have re-released the first game with splitscreen...

[Rex Dart]

It really ripped off the look & feel from Jet Moto on the PS1

[SlowCoder]

It really ripped off the look & feel from Jet Moto on the PS1

You got it to?

[durkada]

Undeniably, its still Motorstorm. Now it is Motorstorm in an urban disaster zone, but it is still Motorstorm. The core driving experience remains: a wide variety of vehicles in your pool, all suited to different paths on the same course. The driving remains rough 'n' tumble, with a good dash of strategy and tactics to boot. The music remains quite good, but is almost entirely electronica (suits me!).

 

But the story does mar what was, otherwise, a classy franchise. The story is god awful. Maybe I am being snobbish in saying this, so be it: the racing in Motorstorm was smart -- you had to think about what you were doing, despite the arcade nature of the game. To play Motorstorm well, you have to be a thoughtful person. And a thoughtful person will despise the narrative surrounding the races. It simply dumbs down the whole experience.

 

If they had left the rave motif found in the previous iterations, it would have been a perfect sequel. As it is, there is some great racing action sandwiched between slices of stupid. Fortunately, its easy to bypass the stupid and get back to the racing -- if you are going to bother with the single player.

 

Some of the courses are very busy, in terms of things jutting out the terrain. I don't mind this -- but pay close attention when near walls, or travelling through tight corridors, or you will likely find that destruction engine showing your vehicle mangled and your limp body flying.

 

The question I have... with the incursion of a very stupid narrative in the game, I wonder who is in control of the franchise? The game is still good... I wonder if the next one will be.

 

And, on a semi-related note. Split-Second, also with the environmental destruction, is excellent.

Edited May 19, 2011 by durkada