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>> Dirt deluge

by ERIK LEIJON

At the time of the PS3’s launch, one of the more impressive demos was for MotorStorm (PS3/SCEA, Evolution), an off-road racing game that actually looked like an interesting version of Sony’s ATV Offroad Fury. In the grand scheme, it had the potential to be the Wave Race 64 for this generation—a tech-demo so far advanced (in WR’s case it was water physics, and in this case it’s altering environments) that a wafer-thin set of options was irrelevant considering how damn cool it looked and played. Wave Race 64, MotorStorm is not, and its utterly aggravating controls and driving mechanics had me clamouring for another ho-hum at-launch arcade racer, the Wii’s ExciteTruck.

Where to begin? I will concede the game looks every bit as gorgeous as the demo from November; the dirt environments are completely malleable, destructible and filled with secret areas and shortcuts. The first few races will be spent ogling the courses and the dirt imprints left on the road from previous laps. Mud is typically flying all over the place, and the terrain on the first lap will bear little resemblance to the war zone on the last go-around. The seven different vehicles are elaborately designed (including innards) and show more wear and tear as the races progress.

EATING DUST: MotorStorm

But after that, it’s le déluge, since the cars control so poorly, it will be hard to continue playing while feeling the same gratification you were hours before. The rally racers and bigger cars basically don’t turn if they are moving faster than 10km/hr, and the bikes jerk around so quickly when turning, you’ll find yourself coming to a complete halt. I do realize that this is an off-road game and the physics are fairly close to the real deal, but an arcade racer shouldn’t be so unforgiving. I don’t want to feel like I’m constantly fighting my own car.

MotorStorm’s utterly vexing moments are during crashes. The vehicles are incredibly sensitive and any minor contact will result in a massive explosion, leaving you to eat your opponents’ dust. Flip your car upside-down and it simply explodes rather than turning over. Touch another car and pray you have an airbag. Take a jump incorrectly and your vehicle will break into a million pieces like shattered glass. Then, in Burnout-style, you’ll be treated to a slo-mo presentation of your crash. Unfortunately, you can’t direct your wrecked wheels into other cars à la Burnout, so it does nothing but add useless seconds to what is already becoming a long and boring race (excruciating load times don’t help either).

The music is loud and fully licensed (featuring Monster Magnet, Nirvana and Wolfmother), and each vehicle provides its unique set of challenges, but at best it’s a rental to show your friends why you spent major coin on a PS3.

ROADS AND MAPS

Burnout 3 was my favourite game of 2004. It was (and remains) the fastest game on Earth, and its reward system for reckless driving is as pleasurable as it is morally irresponsible.

Although the series probably hasn’t run its course yet, Burnout Dominator (PSP/EA, Criterion) eschews the morbidly fun crash mode (where you won points for causing multi-car pile-ups) for more racing levels. It’s also hard to follow what’s up ahead of you on the PSP screen.

Also, hard to believe, but two new Halo 2 maps will be released on Xbox live (for 360 and regular) on April 17, including a re-jigging of the “Hang ’Em High” level from the first game. It’s something to do while we wait for Halo 3 Beta to be released.