MotorStorm: Apocalypse can be quite inconsistent in this respect, sometimes tossing you back in the middle of the pack when you crash, and other times putting you at the back at the rear. can be so unforgiving that one error in a race can immediately knock you back from first place to last. Nonetheless, it can be frustrating when the smallest error in judgement knocks you off course due to the loose handling of a vehicle or the unpredictability of the environmental changes. And even if you don’t, the thrill of the chase and the speed in which you move across the tracks never fails to excite. If you do manage to stay on your vehicle for any sustained period of time, avoiding real-time environmental deformation on the grandest of scales, it’s an electrifying ride. isn’t so aggressive – MotorStorm: Apocalypse really hits its sweet spot. Somewhere in the middle, perhaps in Pro Mode and the beginning of Veteran – when the A.I. However, by the time you’re onto Veteran mode, the courses are fraught with eye-popping set-pieces that ensure you’ll be re-setting your vehicle frequently and banging your fist forcibly with every frustrating crash. Rookie mode is so easy you can die a dozen times and still get over the finish line first. It doesn’t get off to a particularly thrilling start either. The main reason it feels quite restrictive is that you can’t progress from each race until you’ve landed a top two or three position. The main Festival mode sports a rigidly linear set-up, typically involving a set number of races over the space of two days across each of the three difficulty settings. This combination of nature’s power and armed loonies makes for a series of thrilling races. This does add another dimension to the gameplay, because not only do you have to watch out for bridges collapsing, tankers tumbling across the streets, and even an unhinged Ferris wheel spiralling out of control, but you also have to keep an eye out for cross-fire from these two warring factions. You learn early on that two factions are battling against each other while the world collapses around them – taking to the air in armed choppers and with guns onto the city streets to defend themselves. Nonetheless, it’s quite clever how the storyline crosses over into the gameplay. The stylish cartoon-like scenes prior to each race make for a good excuse to split the campaign into three difficulty levels – namely, Rookie, Pro and Veteran – but largely it adds nothing to the game other than to give your hands and eyes a well-earned rest before you start off on another intense race. It’s an enticing premise that doesn’t really need elaborating on, but Evolution Studios has made the odd decision to add a storyline that runs parallel to the single player Festival mode, telling the tale of three thrill-seeking racers. These incredibly chaotic scenes are the perfect environment for the extreme racers, who queue up to take part in the MotorStorm Festival. While earthquakes tear up the streets sending buildings toppling to the shattered earth, a tsunami crudely batters the coast-line and tears up everything in its path. An apocalypse is nigh and nothing is going to stop nature from carving its path and ripping the fictional city to shreds. As the name suggests, MotorStorm: Apocalypse is set at a time when the world is on its knees. Gone are the natural environments from MotorStorm: Pacific Rift and in their place is an equally alluring and stunningly designed urban location that deteriorates and breaks up as you hurtle around its crumbling roads. Indeed, it’s this unforeseeable madness, coupled with some bonkers level design, which makes MotorStorm: Apocalypse so different to any arcade racing game you’ll ever play.Įvolution Studios has tweaked and built upon the framework of previous MotorStorm games to deliver an arcade racer full of thrills and spills, but one that feels quite different from its predecessor. The third exclusive PlayStation 3 entry in Sony’s off-road racing series may well be the most frustrating and chaotic game in the series thus far, but speeding around the tracks at such a frightening pace – not to mention having to react so swiftly and intuitively to how the unfolding apocalypse creates such unpredictable mayhem all around you – is quite a feast for the senses. However, it’s testament to its exhilarating gameplay that no matter how frustrated you get with crashing your vehicle – and you will, a lot – you’ll still be compelled to keep coming back for more. screen with rage, then beware: MotorStorm: Apocalypse has the power to turn that compulsion into reality. If you’ve ever played a videogame that has given you the urge to throw your controller through your T.V.
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