Email
When a city is devastated by a natural disaster, what is the first thing to do?
If you answered “race through the rubble in overpowered vehicles,” then MotorStorm Apocalypse is the game for you.
This second sequel to 2006′s MotorStorm abandons the off-road environment of the first two games for a city called The City, a devastated metropolis, replete with roving bands of residents, a military trying to control access and continuing destruction.
You begin the game as Mash, a rookie racer looking to make a name for himself in the single-player Festival mode.
Piloting vehicles ranging from motorcycles to big rigs, Mash competes across rooftops, along destroyed beachfronts and through crumbling urban landscapes.
With especially sterling graphics and the added bonus of large-scale mayhem, the game makes natural disasters playable. In one level, you even race across a beach being invaded by military tanks and soldiers.
Along with the high-speeds provided by the vehicles, players can activate boost to overtake competitors. Boost is available at any time, but is limited, with an engine-overheat gauge showing when to ease off the throttle. Boost can also be used to deliver blows to opponents from behind or to the side. A quick elbow does wonders for race position.
After completing the single-player mode as Mash, you can choose to try two more difficult runthroughs, as Tyler and Big Dog. The competition toughens up considerably as you assume these roles. A hard-core Festival mode is unlocked when finishing first in a race.
The game also features a full-fledged online mode, called Wreckreation, but since the PlayStation Network has been down for a couple of weeks, the mode wasn’t accessible.
Wreckreation also includes quick race mode, allowing a customizable experience, from number of laps to type of vehicle to split-screen play. It also includes two other game types.
The first gametype is Chase, with each lap of the race awarding points. The game is reset at the start for each subsequent lap, until a player reaches 20 points to win.
The second is Eliminator, in which the last place racer is eliminated every 15 seconds. Play continues until the final two battle it out in sudden death.
The game also offers useable perks, similar to those awarded in first-person shooters. Players can select loadouts – specific tweaks to vehicles that can provide an advantage. For instance, you can activate Swift Return, which cuts the restart time in case of a crash; or Parting Gift, which sends out a shockwave when you crash. There are several others available.
A photo mode allows you to capture your racing feats, positioning camera, controlling depth of field and even ading in some motion blur, for that perfect wallpaper of your high-speed prowess.
The action in the single-player mode is retold through the use of “motion comics,” brightly-colored animation that’s short on actual animation and long on voice over-acting.The game offers a nice selection of vehicles, with monster trucks, muscle cars and others.
Customization is probably more limited than many fans of the genre are used to, but unlockable upgrades for each vehicle type and parts challenges are available.
MotorStorm Apocalypse does a good job of conveying the utter chaos of racing through a city in collapse. The spectacle of a skyscraper tumbling across your path or a tsunami sweeping in makes for some adrenaline-pumping moments. The action should get even more heated when The PlayStation Network is revived.
Platform: PlayStation 3
Rating: Teen
Manufacturer: Sony
Score: 8.5 quake-crumblin’ chilies
Call the reporter at 505-823-3888
