MotorStorm: Pacific Rift

MotorStorm: Pacific Rift is a racing video game in development by Evolution Studios and to be published by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) for the PlayStation 3. It is the sequel to MotorStorm and will use a modified engine. It was announced by Sony after their acquisition of Evolution Studios and is scheduled for release on 28 October 2008 in North America.

Development

The first target render teaser trailer of the game was released on 12 March 2008 and showed pre-rendered cut scene featuring destructible environments and realistic character modelling along with the song "Tarantula" by Pendulum who appeared in the first game also with "Slam". The monster truck ploughs through a biker and the running down a yellow buggy, whilst the black monster truck (a van, perhaps) crashing through an old building, causing it to collapse and then trapping a rally car. An ATV uses the wreckage as a ramp over and a biker ducks through a collapsed platform, while the other one crashes into it.

Demo

A demonstration version of the game was made available in Europe and North America on 11 September 2008. In Europe the demo was made available to randomly selected users. Access to the North American demo required users to purchase episode 4 of Qore. It was available to all users on the PlayStation Store on 16 October 2008.

The demo consists of a single-player race and a 2-player split-screen race on Rain God Spires. A total of 8 vehicles are available in the demo: a bike, a monster truck, two buggys, two racing trucks (one of which can be selected in both modes) and two rally cars

Gameplay

The game will move away from the desert environments of the original title and relocate itself in "a lush island environment, full of interactive vegetation"; also included will be monster trucks and four-player split-screen capability. Monster trucks will be able to ride over cars (except big rigs), break most vegetation, and destroy structures. Custom music tracks using a player's own music stored on their PS3 hard drive will be available, and camera angles will be improved for crashes; vehicle damage will also be improved. Confirmed race terrains are volcanic mountain sides, beaches, jungle, caves, and a run-down sugar factory.

Tracks

The 16 tracks (compared to eight tracks originally available in the first game) will contain "thick mud, tangled undergrowth, swift flowing rivers, choking volcanic clouds and searing lava pools".
Another new feature in Motorstorm: Pacific Rift is the presence of water in the form of rivers and pools. Water also cools down the car's engine, which presents a whole line of new tactics; vehicles will slow down as they go through deep water, with buoyancy featuring for vehicles that venture into water too deep for that vehicle type. Vegetation will fight back against the smaller vehicles and only the bigger vehicles will be able to go through it.

Vehicles

MotorStorm: Pacific Rift features all 7 vehicle classes from the original game (Bikes, ATVs, Buggies, Rally Cars, Racing trucks, Mud Pluggers and Big Rigs) as well as a new class, Monster Trucks. Monster trucks are relatively fast and capable of crushing opponents and vegetation, however because they are so big and high up, their centre of gravity isn't that low, making them very easy to overturn. They will not be able to run over Big Rigs because Big Rigs are the second toughest vehicle in its class (thanks to its very high strength, and its difficulties of being crushed to the side) and they are the only ones who can battle against the Monster Trucks.

All vehicles featured in the original MotorStorm will appear in the new game as well as a whole new array of vehicles. This includes vehicles downloaded as part of game packs such as Revenge Weekend and Devil's Weekend.

Multiplayer

The game will support 16-player online play and 4-player split-screen, offline play. Sony is also said to be "pushing" to make the game's web services integrated with the game in the same manner as SingStar.

Soundtrack

The game features 45 licenced music tracks, nine of which are exclusive to the game. This is in contrast to the original game which had 21 music tracks. Notable artists featured on the Motorstorm: Pacific Rift soundtrack include Nirvana, Queens Of The Stone Age, David Bowie, Death From Above 1979 and Fatboy Slim as well as up and coming unsigned bands like March and The Planets.