When MotorStorm: Pacific Rift dropped in 2008 it appeared to be exactly what was wanted from a sequel with many claiming that it was. It went bigger, with a greater amount of content and variety, along with new additions as well. However there are some things that do prevent this from being the ideal sequel and if someone wanted to say that the first was still better I wouldn’t argue against that.

MotorStorm: Pacific Rift does really bring so much that it is tricky to find a place to start. I guess the biggest most obvious change is the shift from the desert location to the pacific location. This brings so much more visual and track variety and allowed them to split things into four ‘zones.’ There is the fire zone which is rocky and located amongst volcanic activity and lava. This means plenty of hazards. It also means the vehicles overheat quicker, impacting the ability to use boost but there are areas of water to help cool the vehicles, which is another new thing. The air zone has big drops, big jumps and is a mountain location. It provides plenty of opportunities to screw over other racers, at some risk to you though. Earth zone is thick with mud and plants that get in your way both visually and it impacts how vehicles can pass through. Water zone is on the beaches and coastal area. Water which both cools but also slows you down needs to be managed here and it has a greater impact depending on the vehicle. Of course these tracks still have multiple paths that play to the strengths and weaknesses of each vehicle like the original but it is taken further here. It is impressive that everything here was not just visual but mechanically interesting and fits so well with the type of racing game MotorStorm is and that’s not all.

They added in monster trucks, increasing the vehicle options even further, and adding to what happens out on track. The monster trucks can run straight over smaller vehicles and handle different types of terrain well, just don’t expect to be able to turn sharply or be very nimble. They added ramming by using L1 and R1 and it is tied to your boost adding another layer of strategy and how to manage that meter. Exploding from overuse of that meter also now rockets you forward faster and harder too. The bikes can now bunny hop and you can duck too which comes into play for dodging hazards and getting onto those tighter lines more suited to them and away from the dangerous larger vehicles. Evolution Studios deserve so much credit for all this. Everything considered for making things more mechanically interesting, adding more layers to things when out on track, making things more dynamic and for developing their idea of multiple paths with different vehicle types competing together in a pretty balanced way.

MotorStorm: Pacific Rift steps things up in other ways to. The track number has doubled and they are a lot more varied. The vehicle number has had a solid bump up with a greater level of visual options too and for riders as well. The soundtrack is in the same spirit as the first game and is way bigger. There are new event types. Eliminator has the racer in last continually knocked out until one remains which leads to some close calls and an extra level of pressure. Speed is a solo test against the clock that has you driving though check points, really testing your handling ability and pushing you to learn the tracks. Some races have a wreck limit or time target which adds an extra layer of tension and may cause a slight shift in your approach. Free play is available allowing you to make your own races, time trial mode is here now with developer times to tackle and four player split screen is added. Online multiplayer returns too, so overall you’ll comfortably get double the play time over the first game.

All of this has been achieved while maintaining the style and energy of MotorStorm, for the most part; it has lost some cohesion, rawness and atmosphere. It is still set in a festival and has that same vibe. The case and manual are again good and fitting but the manual is a little less so then before. It looks bloody great, with good attention to detail and a focus on spectacle and nice views. They found room for improvement in crashes and vehicle destruction. The destruction out on track has been expanded and worked into gameplay more by making it open new paths or set up jumps. The game runs well and they ditched the loading problem of the first game by limiting vehicle model viewing to the garage. If you are familiar with Evolution Studios level of improvements achieved during the PS2 WRC games it might not come as much of a surprise because you know these guys are good. But what else can you say here apart from, I wish all developers could achieve this with their sequels.

Okay that’s a lot of praise now comes the part where really I wish I could wrap things up and tell you that this is a dream sequel. But I can’t as much as I wish that was the case. MotorStorm: Pacific Rift has lost something. The tracks here are not as well designed. They are more flat a lot of the time leading to you being bumped around by the terrain less. They are wider giving you more room to manoeuvre and they have fewer bottlenecks and cross traffic. There is more going on here too. The physics regarding how vehicles react has been toned down; it is most obvious when landing from a jump. Grip or handling seems tightened. Vehicles are slightly more sensitive to triggering a wreck. The way the AI functions causes vehicles to be more spread out once you get a bit into the race too. This all leads to less chaos, less contact, less intensity and less aggression. Maybe it is a weird thing to say but I was disappointed in how many races I got through without a wreck. While you really need to get your lines down for lap times, you don’t need to learn how these tracks feel in the same way as the first game. There is less to learn and master in some ways and less carnage too. Which does affect enjoyment and I found myself just cruising sometimes. These changes make MotorStorm: Pacific Rift more of a straight forward, arcade, off road racer. The original MotorStorm feels more like, well, a Motor storm and I think at the very core the original just feels better. I have now developed a greater appreciation for that first game and I think there is something very special trapped there; the pure concept and combination of track design, handling, vehicles and physics.

So why are things this way? Part of it comes down to fitting in the monster truck type, bigger jumps and the shift to bigger tracks with a greater focus on spectacle and variety. But I think player and critic feedback might be playing a part too. This seemed to happen with Evolution’s last WRC game as well (in a different way though), even with how good I think that game is. Crashing can be frequent in the first MotorStorm and some time and effort is required to get a feel for the game. Toning that down for more mass appeal doesn’t seem like a stretch. Here is a line from IGN’s MotorStorm: Pacific Rift review ‘The controls are good overall, though still not quite as refined as they could be. Most vehicles feel like they're sliding on loose dirt at all times, even if you're on rock or some sort of man-made bridge.’ It’s like, what do you want? They already toned things down for the sequel and made control less interesting. Do you want things even simpler, do you want to just operate the acceleration, breaking and boost? It’s frustrating and I can’t help but think how amazing it would have been if they kept what made the first MotorStorm so good while also adding the improvements and level of content in MotorStorm: Pacific Rift.

The other big issue I have with MotorStorm: Pacific Rift is difficulty. Once you get to the level 7 and 8 races things get tough but not so fair. The rubber banding here makes things feel artificial. I put hours into the game, beat many of the developer’s track times, completed the race on a fairly optimal line, beat the target time by 15+ seconds and did not wreck at all or get caught up in any mess and the game just goes nah, fuck you. It’s inconsistent; I can finish a race in let’s say 4 minutes three times in a row and lose. Then on the fourth attempt I do a 4 minute and 6 seconds run and win. I know this is a crazy off road racer so there’s luck involved but the first game didn’t feel this bad and it has more frequent contact between vehicles. It makes losses feel less deserved and makes wins feel less earned. Also there is a level of aggression by the AI that is malicious and shows no regard for their own safety. That could have been fun if it wasn’t in combination with the rubber banding here but because of that it just twists the knife. Difficulty could have been cranked up by introducing tougher, more technical tracks and by increasing speed.

There’s some other small stuff to criticise. It could have used more event types and maybe another mode. Vehicle customisation could always be better. But even with that and everything I have said MotorStorm: Pacific Rift is still a really impressive and fun off road racer. It’s still a must have PS3 title that I enjoy quite a bit. I’m even going to rate it a tiny bit higher than the first MotorStorm because of the sheer magnitude of improvements, additions and variety but in the long run I may revisit that first game more often.

8.3/10