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Review: MotorStorm: Pacific Rift – Unsafe driving

Opinion and Analysis



Choosing a line that is appropriate for the vehicle you are driving is important.  While the bikes and buggies stick to the little ramps, taking to the air and generally sticking to the high ground, if your are driving a mudplugger, Big Rig or Monster Truck, those mud pools provide no hindrance to the momentum of your chariot

Then there is the boost mechanic and heat management.  Using boost in a straight line give added speed, whilst liberal use of the boost when cornering can aid in getting through the tight turns in one piece. 

Jumping over lava (preferred to landing in the stuff) will add heat to your vehicle, making the boost function less efficient and more likely to over-heat.  Seeking the refuge of water (make that, SHALLOW water) will cool the jets enough to get a boosting edge over the competition. 

Pacific Rift is a hell of a lot of fun.  The single player experience consists of straight out races, some of which have bonus time or crash challenges.  Successfully meeting a challenge in a race and finishing in the top three unlocks an Eliminator race.

In the Eliminator, a countdown clock begins.  When it reaches zero, the unlucky driver at the rear is automatically taken out in a ball of fiery carnage.  The survivors race on.

There is a free-play set up your own race option as well as split-screen, matched casual and ranked multiplayer for up to 16 on-line crazed rev-heads.  Not much action here at the moment, but of course, at the time of writing the game is still a week from release.

One issue remains from the original game, and that is the rather finicky off-course reset, which sometimes kicks in just as you are pulling back miraculously from going off the edge.  

The dust, mud, water, smoke, lava, jungle, exhaust fumes, crazy air and road rage results in an addictive combination of white knuckled racing that is hard to top.  Special note goes to the entertainingly unpredictable and fallible (non-Gran Turismo style, thank goodness) AI, who will bump and bash each other for the lead without intervention from any human opponent.ms2_2008-06-30_004.jpg

9 Rollbars out of 10

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