Motorstorm 2 Preview
April 15,2008 - Last year’s Motorstorm title for the Playstation 3 was a bigger success than most gamers wanted to believe. While the game lacked depth and offline multiplayer, it still remains as the PS3’s top-selling title, a benchmark that prompted Sony to purchase developer Evolution Studios. Now under Sony’s grip, Evolution Studios hopes to make Motorstorm 2 everything fans wanted from the first and much more. With a new backdrop, exciting new vehicles, and a truly engaging racing experience, Motorstorm 2 could turn out to be the epitome of off-road racing titles for years to come.
Motorstorm 2 takes place entirely on a remote, tropical island. An overheard view of the island shows a typical cylindrical shape with dense foliage on one side and a booming volcano on the other. While this lone location might cause fear with fans who think the game will lack originality like the first title, think again. Evolution Studios has stated that each individual race will be unique and original on its own, and no two races will ever feel the same. There are images in which we see racers clamoring near the massive volcano, perhaps gunning their engines to the roar of the erupting lava.
To add to the new locations, the mud and water effects have been ramped up for this game, making racing much more destructive and impossible to manage. For example, nature elements, such as mud and rain, add to the effect of a living, interactive world, and that realism makes the racing that much more engaging. Motorstorm 2 is engaged to offer more than just water and mud, such as new maelstrom type water currents, lava pools (in a racing game?!), and volcanic clouds. Not much has been revealed as to if these clouds will actually spew out acidic rain, but the notion that these hazardous deterrents lay overhead is enough to keep you on edge during races.
Other potential dangers can just as easily hinder you from progress as well. Dense foliage, like sprawling palm trees and bushes, will hinder your vision as you race, oftentimes causing you to crash or be turned around by lack of sight. The green plant life can also cause more than just temporary blindness, as their branches can stop up a vehicle’s gears, causing you to wreck or lose your bearings for a short while. It is a nice change from the standard mud and water obstacles from the previous title and a staple that should help Motorstorm 2 rise above the rest in terms of originality.
But wait, there’s more! If trying to dodge foliage and avoiding elemental hazards isn’t hard enough, imagine trying to dodge a fallen house in the middle of your racing path. This new idea leads Evolution Studios into an entirely different direction in terms of depth, another element the first title completely lacked. Now, during any moment in the race, players can attempt to knock down an object in an attempt to devastate the racers behind them. One scene we viewed saw one racer in a very sporty car hit the supports of an old beach house and then stared as it crumbled into a huge heap moments later. The next racer, who carelessly sped around the corner, met the heap with a giant crash and was thrown completely head over heels in the process. It’s these new challenges that will constantly keep things fresh and exciting during every race, and you never have to worry about being bored with repetitive tracks and cycles.
Motorstorm 2 also plans on featuring many more modes and segments to give fans more bang for their buck. While Evolution Studios hasn’t confirmed anything yet, there are talks of a new structured online component, complete with updated leaderboards and possibly more than 16-player races. Offline multiplayer has been rumored to have been added this time (something that should have been available before), as well as four-player split-screen races. Rumors of shortcuts that can be opened up mid-race also gives the series a much needed change with the complexities of racing, and also pulls off an arcade-type feel to a heavily simulated racer.
Monster Trucks have also been added to the mix, bringing the total of different forms of racing to three; race cars which are the most well-rounded but are easy to trip up during obstacles, motorcycles which can skid easily around turns but are the most vulnerable to heavy damage, and monster trucks, which can plow through any obstacle but are substantially slower. The new monster trucks will add much more mayhem on the tracks, and with many more obstacles thrown in your path, you will have more to worry about than just Truckzilla running over you.
With so much riding on Motorstorm 2, Evolution Studios has promised to deliver the best racing experience yet, while giving fans much of what they loved of the original game. The new tropical paradise gives many options available for races, as well as how the environment can be used during the segments. With Sony giving more freedom to Evolution Studios and the racing series looking to evolve past simple, bland lapped races, Motorstorm 2 is shaping up to be a heavy-hitting quality series, and one that could give Sony two of the biggest racing series in the business.
Written By: Joshua Schwartzman | Tags: Motorstorm 2, Playstation 3, SCEE, Evolution Studios
Motorstorm 2 takes place entirely on a remote, tropical island. An overheard view of the island shows a typical cylindrical shape with dense foliage on one side and a booming volcano on the other. While this lone location might cause fear with fans who think the game will lack originality like the first title, think again. Evolution Studios has stated that each individual race will be unique and original on its own, and no two races will ever feel the same. There are images in which we see racers clamoring near the massive volcano, perhaps gunning their engines to the roar of the erupting lava.
To add to the new locations, the mud and water effects have been ramped up for this game, making racing much more destructive and impossible to manage. For example, nature elements, such as mud and rain, add to the effect of a living, interactive world, and that realism makes the racing that much more engaging. Motorstorm 2 is engaged to offer more than just water and mud, such as new maelstrom type water currents, lava pools (in a racing game?!), and volcanic clouds. Not much has been revealed as to if these clouds will actually spew out acidic rain, but the notion that these hazardous deterrents lay overhead is enough to keep you on edge during races.
Other potential dangers can just as easily hinder you from progress as well. Dense foliage, like sprawling palm trees and bushes, will hinder your vision as you race, oftentimes causing you to crash or be turned around by lack of sight. The green plant life can also cause more than just temporary blindness, as their branches can stop up a vehicle’s gears, causing you to wreck or lose your bearings for a short while. It is a nice change from the standard mud and water obstacles from the previous title and a staple that should help Motorstorm 2 rise above the rest in terms of originality.
But wait, there’s more! If trying to dodge foliage and avoiding elemental hazards isn’t hard enough, imagine trying to dodge a fallen house in the middle of your racing path. This new idea leads Evolution Studios into an entirely different direction in terms of depth, another element the first title completely lacked. Now, during any moment in the race, players can attempt to knock down an object in an attempt to devastate the racers behind them. One scene we viewed saw one racer in a very sporty car hit the supports of an old beach house and then stared as it crumbled into a huge heap moments later. The next racer, who carelessly sped around the corner, met the heap with a giant crash and was thrown completely head over heels in the process. It’s these new challenges that will constantly keep things fresh and exciting during every race, and you never have to worry about being bored with repetitive tracks and cycles.
Motorstorm 2 also plans on featuring many more modes and segments to give fans more bang for their buck. While Evolution Studios hasn’t confirmed anything yet, there are talks of a new structured online component, complete with updated leaderboards and possibly more than 16-player races. Offline multiplayer has been rumored to have been added this time (something that should have been available before), as well as four-player split-screen races. Rumors of shortcuts that can be opened up mid-race also gives the series a much needed change with the complexities of racing, and also pulls off an arcade-type feel to a heavily simulated racer.
Monster Trucks have also been added to the mix, bringing the total of different forms of racing to three; race cars which are the most well-rounded but are easy to trip up during obstacles, motorcycles which can skid easily around turns but are the most vulnerable to heavy damage, and monster trucks, which can plow through any obstacle but are substantially slower. The new monster trucks will add much more mayhem on the tracks, and with many more obstacles thrown in your path, you will have more to worry about than just Truckzilla running over you.
With so much riding on Motorstorm 2, Evolution Studios has promised to deliver the best racing experience yet, while giving fans much of what they loved of the original game. The new tropical paradise gives many options available for races, as well as how the environment can be used during the segments. With Sony giving more freedom to Evolution Studios and the racing series looking to evolve past simple, bland lapped races, Motorstorm 2 is shaping up to be a heavy-hitting quality series, and one that could give Sony two of the biggest racing series in the business.
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