MotorStorm: Massive Hands-On Preview

So the game plays like a dream, to be quite honest. But another big part of the enjoyment is the immersive, tangible world you race in, and that's thanks not just to the physical laws of the track, but the outstanding visual quality too.

There's no question: all the neat touches they had in the questionable E3 2005 target trailer are pretty much present and respectable in some form or another in the real, final game. It's unbelievable and an absolute told-you-so victory for PS3, with some of the lushest, best-lit visuals we have seen to date. And it's the only such told-you-so on the PS3 right now.

In this version, framerate is not locked and when the game wants to be, for example during vehicle selection (set atop a massive rock) with camera pointed upwards at the sky and rotating around the car, it's 60fps. In-game, you're not going to get 60fps, but for the first time, when we talk about motion blur we're not talking about compensation.

No matter how close passing objects or scenery are, motion blur is flawless in its execution - much, much better than we witnessed in something like Project Gotham 3, where the motion-blur compensation for framerate looked shaky. Whether that was a software or hardware performance issue, with MotorStorm - and we never thought we'd say it this - high quality, film-like motion blur at 30fps almost seems better than bleeding edge 60fps without it. We're going to hell for saying that - but this effect just looks lovely.

The slowdown issue is very mild compared to the TGS demo, dictated by the level of physics and on-screen intensity at any one time; if there's just one other vehicle in view and you drop the ball for the rest of the pack to come flooding onto the screen from behind, it shows. Thus, viewpoint change is currently almost a gameplay mechanic in itself, since the game handles on-screen overload with slowdown, and going to bumper-cam frees up some power and speeds things up again. But given the progress of what we've played since the September build, this is not going to be an issue when the game is on shelves.

The HDR lighting in MotorStorm is also sexy; tilt the camera towards the blue sky with the driver still in view, and he appears dark; point it down towards the radiant orange ground to feel its warmth and the driver is bright and vibrant. OK, so many new-generation games are pulling off HDR admirably, but there's something about it in MotorStorm that looks pornographically attractive.

Perhaps it's the harmony of it all and how convincing all the effects are in together. Bump-mapped surfaces and water look really nice, flags wave and metal reflects, terrain deforms, mud splashes everywhere (including 'on your TV screen'), and the dusty particle effects all look fantastic. Additionally, a real feeling of scale suggests that proper thought has also been put into how best to use a HD screen.

During replays or the pause screen you can move the camera around freely, and really have a detailed look to appreciate things. You can even take the camera underneath the vehicle and see the splashes of mud and grass up close, and despite a bit of clipping - to be expected when this much cam freedom is allowed up-close - putting this sort of detail at the mercy of user investigation shows how confident Evolution is with the engine it has running on the hardware.

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Video Coverage (Latest Videos & Video FAQ)
PLEASE DO NOT DIRECT LINK TO ANY MEDIA FILE ON KIKIZO
Description	Dur.	Size	Details
Newly Added
MotorStorm Latest Trailer, HD Quality	1:20	45MB	DF, HD, 16:9 1280x720p30 8Mbps
MotorStorm Latest Trailer, SD	1:20	9MB	DF, SD, 16:9 640x360p30 2Mbps
Previous Videos
MotorStorm GC2006 Trailer, HD Quality	1:08	50MB	DF, HD, 16:9 1280x720p30 7.0Mbps
MotorStorm HD In-Game Engine Trailer (HD quality)	1:08	57MB	DF, SD, 16:9 1280x720p30 8Mbps
MotorStorm E3 2005 Trailer SD	1.31m	34MB	DF, SD, 60 640x480 3.5Mbps
MotorStorm E3 2005 Trailer SD	1.31m	20MB	DF, SD, 30 640x480 2Mbps
MotorStorm E3 2005 Trailer ED, CAM with DFA alternative, this cam version is worth a download due to extra detail captured better than in feeds. Also doesn't have the ludicrous Vsync issue that plagued Sony's 2005 live feed. Not that it matters anymore.	1.24m	29MB	CAM, ED, 60 720x576 3Mbps