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MOTORSTORM RC (PS3)
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Publisher: Sony.
Developer: Evolution Studios. Released: February 2012. Genre: Racing. Other versions: VITA. Posted 23rd May 2012. By Tom Clare © 2012 |
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After four MotorStorm’s high on quality though low it seems on marketability, devising a strategy from which the racing series could flourish long-term was starting to look a difficult proposition. Moving the fifth instalment to the PSN, at a budget price, with miniaturised remote controlled cars proved a radical change of direction, but whilst many may have been sceptical at the outset, MotorStorm’s rebirth is a phenomenally good one.
It gets everything right. Pricing it at £4.79 was the first smart move, meaning it represents fantastic value that even penny-pinchers can’t legitimately ignore, as RC is no more expensive than some of the more-cheekily priced minis and PSone Classics currently doing the rounds. And what you get for not-quite-a-fiver is a better package than most full retail releases. There are sixteen excellent circuits, dozens of challenges and enough content to last for weeks, a sensation further enhanced by the inclusion of a decent smattering of trophies (including a Platinum) to chase.
Whilst still providing a robust challenge, RC is the most accessible and user-friendly of its lineage. The latter stages of the mainline MotorStorm’s were excessively difficult to conquer, as regardless of practice, a mixture of unflinchingly efficient A.I. and misjudging the fine line between absolute commitment and having a big shunt, often made victories seem frustratingly illusive. Punishment is still meted out for straying too far off line, but there isn’t the feeling your race might be compromised because of hitting an unkind bump. You won’t necessarily be brilliant straight away, but you’ll get how it works, and to those who invest the time, RC is as kind as it is cruel.
The Festival serves up all of the one-player challenges, where you’ll find the self-explanatory Race, Hot Lap which sees the player aiming to set as fast a single-lap as possible; Drift, which grants points for sliding your way around a given circuit, and the enjoyable new Pursuit mode, whereby the clock stops when a designated number of competitors have been overtaken. Three medals can be attained per event (you’ll get all three for coming 1st in a race, or beating the fastest designated time and so on) and in turn open up new events to tackle.
Tracks are segregated into four categories, each paying homage to the settings of previous MotorStorm games. ‘Monument Valley’ consists of dirt tracks, rocky terrain and criss-crossing sections of track that evoke memories of top-down racing classic Super Off-Road, whilst the dense jungles of ‘Pacific Rift’ require a keen eye to pick out the route forward. ‘Arctic Edge’ is tremendous fun and a stern challenge, adding slippery surfaces, big jumps and heart-stopping hairpins to the equation, and last but not least there’s ‘Apocalypse’ which, with its scatterings of junk and etched arrows marking the route forward, is the closest you’ll come to a modern-day Micro Machines.
Tracks are segregated into four categories, each paying homage to the settings of previous MotorStorm games. ‘Monument Valley’ consists of dirt tracks, rocky terrain and criss-crossing sections of track that evoke memories of top-down racing classic Super Off-Road, whilst the dense jungles of ‘Pacific Rift’ require a keen eye to pick out the route forward. ‘Arctic Edge’ is tremendous fun and a stern challenge, adding slippery surfaces, big jumps and heart-stopping hairpins to the equation, and last but not least there’s ‘Apocalypse’ which, with its scatterings of junk and etched arrows marking the route forward, is the closest you’ll come to a modern-day Micro Machines.
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These templates are superbly realised in miniature form, aided as they are by the wide catalogue of vehicles the series has become synonymous with. The range encompasses eight types, with bikes and ATVs being omitted for obvious reasons. Superminis and racing trucks make for pleasant starters that mix modest pace with robust handling, but before long the player is introduced to trickier fare. Muscle cars are used exclusively in ‘Drift’ events, encouraging the player to develop the deft skill of holding slides so as to accumulate points. Rally cars require you to make use of the brakes as they’re too lively for many of the corners, whilst the supercars provide the ultimate mix of speed and control, but require significant skill to contain their frenetic speed on the often-uneven terrains.
It represents the ultimate in bite-sized racing. Laps last only 10-20 seconds, whilst races can typically be polished off in under a minute. Mess up, and you can restart instantaneously, with no pointless loading screens or daft menus. Around the lap, you’re given ghostly reminders of the lines and speeds you need to beat in order to best your own record or attain all three medals up for grabs in each event. Beat that, and up pops the lines of those on your friends list or from others around the world who’ve set better times still. You keep improving, but there’s always another time to beat. Before you know it, you’ve lost an entire afternoon nibbling a few spare tenths off your best, convinced your ghost ran wide, didn’t take the fastest line, got held up by competitors, or didn’t otherwise achieve the perfection you feel is no near, and yet so far.
And this is RC at its brilliant best. An inch from perfection one second, an inch from disaster the next, but for all the near misses, you just won’t be able to put the pad down. Micro Machines was fun, particularly with friends, but it was never as compulsively addictive as RC is. Moreish beyond belief, you may repeatedly curse your luck after meeting a stray piece of scenery, or blame the physics of the leery buggies or manically speedy rally cars, but you won’t stop until you’ve achieved your goal. The handling is almost perfect; totally satisfying, simple to pick up and yet, thanks to the characteristically perilous course physics, the tracks need plenty of practice to master.
It represents the ultimate in bite-sized racing. Laps last only 10-20 seconds, whilst races can typically be polished off in under a minute. Mess up, and you can restart instantaneously, with no pointless loading screens or daft menus. Around the lap, you’re given ghostly reminders of the lines and speeds you need to beat in order to best your own record or attain all three medals up for grabs in each event. Beat that, and up pops the lines of those on your friends list or from others around the world who’ve set better times still. You keep improving, but there’s always another time to beat. Before you know it, you’ve lost an entire afternoon nibbling a few spare tenths off your best, convinced your ghost ran wide, didn’t take the fastest line, got held up by competitors, or didn’t otherwise achieve the perfection you feel is no near, and yet so far.
And this is RC at its brilliant best. An inch from perfection one second, an inch from disaster the next, but for all the near misses, you just won’t be able to put the pad down. Micro Machines was fun, particularly with friends, but it was never as compulsively addictive as RC is. Moreish beyond belief, you may repeatedly curse your luck after meeting a stray piece of scenery, or blame the physics of the leery buggies or manically speedy rally cars, but you won’t stop until you’ve achieved your goal. The handling is almost perfect; totally satisfying, simple to pick up and yet, thanks to the characteristically perilous course physics, the tracks need plenty of practice to master.
There’s a fair number of vehicles to unlock as you progress, with the game’s generous pricing given further credit in light of a host of free models available for download from the PSN, even if it’s more for a change of livery rather than a seismic change in performance. Multiplayer sadly doesn’t include competitive online play but, barring some rather unattractive boarders, the two-player split-screen makes for an excellent distraction, with some top-notch races with a full complement of A.I. competitors. The only element missing here is a multi-race tournament. A small complaint in the scheme of things, but there’s certain scope for expansion in the multiplayer suite.
The fast-looping dubstep soundtrack gets a little repetitive, but seems oddly fitting when paired with the hypnotic, stop-start gameplay. It’s very attractive for a network title; it’s forebears were technologically cutting-edge, but RC opts for a neat and tidy approach, keeping the action smooth and the cars solid. It’s very easy on the eye.
The move away from the series roots inevitably won’t please everyone, but the simple fact is, no game has had such a strong ‘one more go’ factor for a very long time. Perfect handling, characteristically fiendish course design and a great variety of tracks and vehicles mean that MotorStorm may have been bigger, but it’s never been better. Absolutely essential.
The fast-looping dubstep soundtrack gets a little repetitive, but seems oddly fitting when paired with the hypnotic, stop-start gameplay. It’s very attractive for a network title; it’s forebears were technologically cutting-edge, but RC opts for a neat and tidy approach, keeping the action smooth and the cars solid. It’s very easy on the eye.
The move away from the series roots inevitably won’t please everyone, but the simple fact is, no game has had such a strong ‘one more go’ factor for a very long time. Perfect handling, characteristically fiendish course design and a great variety of tracks and vehicles mean that MotorStorm may have been bigger, but it’s never been better. Absolutely essential.
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VERDICT
Visual: 8/10
Audio: 8/10 Gameplay: 10/10 Longevity: 9/10 OVERALL: 9/10 |
PIXEL SECONDS: MOTORSTORM RC (PS3)
MotorStorm RC is a very fine example of updating the style of an older game mechanic and bringing it kicking and screaming into the modern world. Evoking memories of top-down arcade racers like SuperCars, Skidmarks and Micro Machines there is nowt here that hasn't already been seen before, but MRC doesn’t really give a toss and instead makes up for it with pure adrenaline fuelled gameplay. The racing is fast and furious, more so when you consider most races last less than a minute, which makes the ‘just one more go’ feeling ever more compelling. The difficulty against success threshold is also wonderfully balanced. Given time to appreciate the controls, the 16 courses available and the super-high speed vehicles that are initially insane to manoeuvre, and soon enough you’ll be racking up the medals and progressing to newer and tougher challenges. Whilst the lack of a split screen multiplayer option is disappointing the online leaderboards keep you coming back for more. Eeking out those few additional hundredths for bragging rights against your mates is a highly rewarding endeavour. Importantly though, MRC is exceptional value for money. At just under five quid, the expectation of a low-lend PS3 budget title is immediately quashed by the stupidly fast RC vehicles whizzing around excellent backdrops, smart AI and great gameplay all wrapped up in a tidily presented package. Hardly a new concept, but MotorStorm RC does what it does extremely well and you would have to be clinically insane to ignore it at that price. Get. It. Now. [9] - Alan Passingham © 2012
MotorStorm RC is a very fine example of updating the style of an older game mechanic and bringing it kicking and screaming into the modern world. Evoking memories of top-down arcade racers like SuperCars, Skidmarks and Micro Machines there is nowt here that hasn't already been seen before, but MRC doesn’t really give a toss and instead makes up for it with pure adrenaline fuelled gameplay. The racing is fast and furious, more so when you consider most races last less than a minute, which makes the ‘just one more go’ feeling ever more compelling. The difficulty against success threshold is also wonderfully balanced. Given time to appreciate the controls, the 16 courses available and the super-high speed vehicles that are initially insane to manoeuvre, and soon enough you’ll be racking up the medals and progressing to newer and tougher challenges. Whilst the lack of a split screen multiplayer option is disappointing the online leaderboards keep you coming back for more. Eeking out those few additional hundredths for bragging rights against your mates is a highly rewarding endeavour. Importantly though, MRC is exceptional value for money. At just under five quid, the expectation of a low-lend PS3 budget title is immediately quashed by the stupidly fast RC vehicles whizzing around excellent backdrops, smart AI and great gameplay all wrapped up in a tidily presented package. Hardly a new concept, but MotorStorm RC does what it does extremely well and you would have to be clinically insane to ignore it at that price. Get. It. Now. [9] - Alan Passingham © 2012