Overview: Delivering a driving experience like never before packed with dirt, chaos and destruction, MotorStorm will guarantee players an intense adrenalin rush by utilising high definition footage captured from helicopter flights whilst flying over Monument Valley, high dynamic range lighting, motion blur and depth techniques to reproduce an as natural, visually breathtaking set of landmarks as possible. Facts & Features: Vehicles - Featuring seven different classes of off-road machinery. 1. Bikes - With a good degree of acceleration and constant speed, they are lightweight, manoeuvrable and thin.
However bikes can be particularly vulnerable to damage and are easy to off-balance. 2. ATVs - (All Terrain Vehicles) - Although more stable and slightly heavier with more bulk, they are similar to a bike but not quite as nimble. 3. Buggies - Custom built as a one or two seat space-frame to rugged specifications, they offer a good compromise of speed with the ability to cross very rough terrain.
4. Rally Cars - Made from lightweight materials and are very fast they are an attractive option, so long as they stay out of trouble. Consideration must be given to terrain types as anything rough or too boggy and these will suffer. 5.
Racing Trucks - Think along the lines of modified pickup trucks with lots of power and good ground clearance means that they have the ability to cross rough terrain. The flipside is that that they are compromised when compared to lighter vehicles due to their weight, which affects their acceleration and manoeuvrability. 6. Mudpluggers - As meaty as the name itself, they possess big wheels, big heavy-duty suspension and big attitude. Coping with the worst terrain thrown at them a basically a frame, they only suffer in speed. 7.
Big Rigs - Like a rolling brick wall only 5 metres deep! Although low on speed and agility they are unstoppable - well almost! Powerful and very, very large. The Tracks: Eight circuits (The Grizzly, Sidewinder Gulch, Rockhopper, Rain God Mesa, The Tenderizer, DustDevil, The Mudpool and Coyote Rage) that have multiple routes. Although the racing circuits are man-made, there are a variety of different routes that provide different levels of emotional effect, much like the knife-edge experience when racing the 'Rockhopper'. This track particularly leaves you on the edge of a vertigo-inducing, precarious roller coaster along the side of a mountain. Vehicle selection here like so many tracks important, along with the route around the course. Game Detail: Development into the tracks brings an amazing level of detail.
From the crowd populated around the outside of the tracks, high up on platforms watching your every move, to high definition cameras used to faithfully re-create Monument Valley. Utilising the latest shader technology allows for the varied track surfaces that include the obvious mud, rocks, roads which all react as they should, to where the sun is and how the vehicle has made contact with them, making them look as photorealistic as possible. This same technology extends to the vehicles from proper mud effects and even metallic paint, which all react accordingly to knocks, bangs scratches, mud, dirt and where the surface is, in relation to the sun. Ian Bickerstaff the visualisation guru for Evolution says this was "a truly pioneering trip. We captured Monument Valley as it has never been seen before". A contact I have called Mike-Brennan is a leading expert on HDTV.
He enthused about this amazing new helicopter camera system which could produce rock-steady images better than any other approach, Mike also pointed me in the direction of top cinema-aviation company Helinet, and I was luck enough to have none other than David Paris sorting the flying for me. He was the aerial co-ordinator on Pirates of the Caribbean, Serenity, Blackhawk Down and dozens of other top movies." A lesson in Physics: Not only are the tracks and vehicles impressive when crashing but also the physics of the driver. Already termed as 'ragdoll physics' Evolution take MotorStorm drivers further by giving each driver the ragdoll effect before they are thrown from the vehicle.
This means that major work has been completed to make the characters look and act like living beings driven first by animation and secondly by physics. So when a big collision occurs the physics take over bringing the user an array of visually impressive moments like when the riders get knocked off their bikes and ATVs, as the ragdoll is set up with all the joints of the human anatomy. Other Facts: - High-definition display resolution at 720p.
- Unique 'hero parts' system that throws debris directly at the player and the screen. - Animated riders and drivers, with unique gestures. - Advanced particle system including sparks, mud, dust, debris and more. - Full positional 5.1 audio supported through HDMI. - Real-time audio manipulation including DSP effects filters for going through tunnels, reverb, etc.
- Gig-name festival-style music acts like 'Pendulum' with their fantastic 'Slam' track and a unique -MotorStorm-themed play list. - Fully destructible objects that shatter and break depending on the materials used. - Physics-based rigid body dynamics for all moveable objects.
- Vehicle-to-Vehicle combat system that encourages the player to ram the opposition and tae them out. - Online play with game lobbies and racing with up to 12 players online. - Utilise the unique Playstation®3 SIXAXIS Wireless Controller to control your vehicles. Closing Comments: MotorStorm as one of the system's launch titles has certainly been worth the wait. The feeling in the single-player game is just as exhilarating as the online multiplayer mode.
For an additional challenge I dear you to switch to in-car view which ramps up the feeling of speed but is also very tricky to play ? Very enjoyable and a good looking game. However loading times are sometimes questionable even to just load a vehicle or track, but once on the start line, planning your next move and then piling through thick mud, this irritation is long gone.
Brad Roberts is the founder of Body1 Health, Fitness and Lifestyle Consumer Products. For more information about Body1 go to http://www.body1.co.uk or for MotorStorm (PS3) go to http://www.body1.co.uk/Product.aspx?CategoryId=400&ProductId=721
