It is absolutely no surprise that the MotorStorm series has become such a success for the PS3; it’s fast and fun and extremely easy to pick up. It was only a matter of time before the decision to branch the series onto other Sony consoles would happen and BigBig Studios have finally given portable racing fans something to grip their PSPs. MotorStorm: Arctic Edge is the latest game in the series and it takes everything that has made its console brother so popular and thrown it into a nice, compact package.
Gameplay
For the few people who are inexperienced with the MotorStorm franchise, it is an arcade style racer that pits various vehicles and throws them into some of the most outlandish but thrilling race environments around. You will race in a bevy of different cars from Snowmobiles, ATVs and other styles of cars in a dozen different tracks. In the same vein as Pacific Rift on the PlayStation 3, Arctic Edge focuses on one particular environment for its races. This time around it’s all about riding in the snow and extremely cold conditions. Races will consist of your fair share of northern locales, flush with mountains, thick snow and tons and tons of ice and water.
Continuing its similarities with Pacific Rift and the use of elements, weather is a key aspect into how you race. While in Pacific Rift it was Lava and extreme temperatures that affected your cars, this time it’s the heavy snow and the extremely cold temperatures that factor into how you race. With the colder weather, when driving through certain areas on each course, you’ll be able to use your turbo and it will only heat up at a fraction of how it would in a normal situation. At the same time, if your vehicle is nearing its boiling point, these sections can quickly cool you down.
The weather does not simply cool down your engine, in fact, you can use the weather to your advantage in certain sections. There are areas where you can cause avalanches and even some sections have destructible zones that if you trigger at the right time will put you at a serious advantage.
Every race is fast and fierce with a good variety of different challenges. The various courses that you race on have multiple different paths to take. As with the PS3 versions, certain paths are designed with a particular vehicle in mind. When you take the correct path, this can put you at huge advantage.
While the racing is fun every step of the way, the game does suffer from some minor quips that refrain it from being an absolute classic. For starters, those experienced with the MotorStorm series will find the game to be incredibly easy in the early stages. Those who have played previous games will quickly pick up the controls, which are near identical to the PS3 version, and win the first dozen or so matches on their first attempts. This certainly feels like the early portions are catered more towards allowing new players the chance to get a feel of the game before facing stiff competition.
The other issue the races suffer is in the physics of the cars. Cars do not respond in the way you think they should. Yes, this is supposed to be a fast racer with tons of spills, but you will often be amazed at what your vehicle just did. Heavy cars will float longer and father in the air, small cars will too easily lose control or spin out and other weird occurrences will happen.
The most prevalent one being is what causes your vehicle to crash and what doesn’t. There will be times when your vehicle will simply clip a barrier which will trigger the crash animation; then you will hit the side of a mountain and simply continue driving. It certainly will cause frustration when you have 9 other opponents breathing down your neck.
Graphics and Sound
The number of competitors per race has dropped to only 10 due to the limits of the PSP. This might be a bit of a let down for some, but in fact, the game still manages to run really smoothly without there being any slow down or issues. The detail in the vehicles can’t compare to its big brothers, but for a PSP title, each of one is incredibly well done. As you progress through the main campaign, you will unlock additional cars and the ability to customize your rides with new paint schemes and different add-ons.
Each of the courses also offers a lot of detail. As stated earlier, various terrains and the destructible sections all run nice and smooth. There isn’t a lot of detail in landscape, but when you’re focusing on the path in front of you, it doesn’t impact your race. Finally, the draw distance is really nice, so you will never be in a position where you won’t know where you’ll need to turn or what lies in front of you.
Previous MotorStorm games have relied upon a strong collection song with high Beats Per Minute to help add to the intensity of each race. Once again, the soundtrack is absolutely fantastic with some really heart-pounding sounds that work well with the environments. If the soundtrack isn’t your cup of tea, they have you covered with the ability to use your existing MP3s and creating your own playlist.
Value
Even with the stacked single player options including the standard campaign and time trials, you double your enjoyment with nice multiplayer options. Not only is there the ability to play Ad-hoc with your friends, a full-fledged Online Multiplayer mode is available to take part in. You can race with people from around the world and your performance is kept track of including your standard ranking system, now common practice in most online games.
Online runs nicely when you can find people to play. There were times where it was difficult to find others to race with or racing with the same group of people for a few races. Thankfully, once the game loads, there are no noticeable lag issues and games do start up quickly.
Conclusion
For those who have been yearning for more quality arcade-style racing games for their PlayStation Portable, MotorStorm: Arctic Edge is the answer you have been waiting for. With non-stop action and fantastic visuals coupled with a deep single-player mode and proper online multiplayer, there is everything you will need for a very long time. Don’t be afraid, pick this one up and start heating up the ice.
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