MotorStorm: Pacific Rift Review (PS3)

We launched our motorcycle into a volcano, just to watch it burn.

by Chris Buffa on Monday, October 20, 2008

MotorStorm: Pacific Rift is a great video game to play in these tough economic times. Instead stressing over your 401k, you race through jungles, up mountains and through active volcanoes. With exhilarating speed, multi-route tracks and gorgeous scenery, it's a great way to relieve some real-world anxiety.

Pacific Rift is full of gorgeous scenery. Just don't look for too long or you'll smash into a wall.

Everything revolves around The Festival, a racing celebration where drivers from around the globe descend upon an island with one goal in mind: win at all costs. But don't confuse Pacific Rift with more technical racers like Gran Turismo. This is an arcade style game that shreds the rule book and gives you the option of driving a plethora of diverse rides, such as bikes, buggies, ATVs, big rigs and believe it or not, a dump truck. Then you mix up these vehicles (up to 16 at once) and put them on unconventional tracks where anything goes. If you're on a crotch rocket, show off your speed and blow by the pickup truck. If you're in the truck, ram into the bike and send its rider to a fiery oblivion.

Tracks fall into one of four categories: Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Each provides unique and gorgeous terrain to explore, with plenty of routes, hazards and opportunities to catch big air. You'll zip through an active volcano, explode through waterfalls, slide through beaches and climb mountains. As expected, all of the vehicles handle and control differently. Bikes, trucks and ATVs are fast and capable of going everywhere, especially off ramps. Trucks don't have that privilege and move slower, but they can withstand a lot of damage and bully their much smaller opponents. That said, it's fun experimenting with different rides, and MotorStorm is at its best at the very beginning of a race, when this diverse mix of vehicles jockey for position and get torn apart. It's not uncommon to dodge wheels, engines and charred frames to avoid a nasty collision.

Of course, that's easier said than done, since MotorStorm is one of the more unforgiving racers we've played. Slamming into a wall sends your driver to a fiery oblivion, but so will clipping a small rock, tire or the side of a bridge. This makes boosting a potentially hazardous decision, since doing so gives you less control, but you must also avoid overheating (you'll blow up) and make every attempt to cool your engine by driving through water or specially placed showers.

This makes the game both frustrating and exhilarating. On the one hand, the tiniest mistake can cost you the race. On the other, each competition is a nonstop adrenaline rush. However, since most races are two lap affairs and Sony gives you the opportunity to restart at any time (with no loading between restarts), you always have another shot at first place.

Placing (first, second and third) is key to unlocking new tracks, vehicles and rider outfits. Pacific Rift works on a points based system, so you're always looking to make a dent in the 400, 800 and other totals keeping you from progressing to the next stage. Doing this, however, involves mastering a varied assortment of races, from your standard 16-person race to Target Time (finish under a time limit), Speed Event (must pass through a certain number of checkpoints) and Eliminator (the vehicle in last place explodes every few seconds). While it may not feature the most original content, it's still challenging and addictive enough to waste a few hours.

Whenever you need a break from The Festival, you can always rev your engines in Wreckreation, where you can play Time Attack (the goal to climb the MotorStorm online leaderboards), explore the tracks at your leisure in Free Play, compete against three other friends in four-player split screen (the game's speed surprisingly holds up) and 16-person online matches. Just keep in mind that, unlike the computer, human opponents have no qualms about pushing you off the tracks.

Pacific Rift appeals to our desire to race in the mud, visit the beach and fly through the air. It's lack of event variety keeps it a step behind the competition and its punishing difficulty makes it immensely frustrating at times, but for what it is, MotorStorm is an attractive and speedy racing game that'll keep your finger glued to the accelerator. Braking optional, but strongly advised.