Game: Motorstorm: Arctic Edge (Full Game Promo Disk)
Console: Sony Playstation 2
Developer: Bigbig Studios
Release Date: 9th October 2009
Just as the number of games being released seemed to be dying down in 2009, an improbable addition to the Motorstorm series (which already had 2 installments on Playstation 3 at the time) was released. The series features races between many different types of vehicle through offroad environments, winning various races to rank up and unlock further "festival events", vehicles and customisable parts for vehicles. This particular installment features races on snowy mountains and environments, in contrast to deserts and beaches of previous installments.
Festival mode is the game's main career mode, showing a spiralling ladder of events, which must be climbed to complete the game. There's 101 races to choose from in the whole of career mode, although with only 12 tracks in the game, you'll be playing a lot of each. Most races are straightforward multi-car circuit challenges, but there are a small number of other race types, unlockable through good performance in normal races. These are usually checkpoint or position based challenge races and work well for the most part.
Unusually for Playstation 2 racers the control system defaults to using the shoulder buttons to accelerate and brake, instead of the usual X and O buttons (although there is the option to use these). I assume this is due to the Motorstorm series having originated on PS3, the controller of which features triggers for the lower shoulder buttons. Personally I like this control scheme, not only does it make the game feel more unique but having grown up playing Dreamcast, its almost homely. Another feature of the racing is the unlimited boost, the only catch being that using too much of it will cause you to explode which means that tactical use of the boost is key to winning .
With 10 racers on the track under normal event circumstances, the action can become a little frenzied, especially since vehicles range from motorcycles to large trucks. There are lots of different paths that can be taken on all circuits, the fastest depending on your vehicle type and stats. In the event of a player crashing, the game shows a slow motion clip of the crash before resetting the player to the track. Gameplay is fast and extreme, to match the play environment.
The graphics are fairly detailed and very good compared to other Playstation 2 titles, with a lot of nice features including lens flare effects and snowfall. Stylistically the bright colours bring the extreme themes of the game to the forefront. The vehicles also have customisable parts and paint jobs although it feels like there's a lack of real personalisation that can be done. The fact that there's 9 different classes of useable vehicle probably did have an impact on this, however.
It may become apparent whilst playing through career mode that the game's AI is incredibly easy to beat in earlier races, requiring many major slip-ups on the player's part to even come near to losing a race. Once first place is secured it seems, it's almost a sure bet that the player will win. In later stages of the career mode however, the exact opposite of this problem occurs; races are almost impossible to win, and the AI seems to be almost cheating to maintain its lead.
Besides the career mode, there's also multiplayer, time trial and free race modes, all of which offer a different spin on the racing experience. With 192 developer times to beat, the time trial mode feels almost too much of an effort to beat all of. The only reason you might even think of attempting it is for the in game achievement that doing so unlocks. The game's soundtrack features an assortment of electronic and rock songs which provide a suitably energetic accompaniment to racing.
Overall the racing experience in this game is exciting and having so many different types of vehicle on track at the same time with the possibility for huge crashes makes for an adrenaline filled ride. The difficulty and repetition in career mode, however really seem to damage the game's playability. Once you've raced on the same track 7 or 8 times, it's hardly worth trying a more difficult race. Added to the poor amount of vehicle customisation options you're left with a racer that provides a good experience in patchy doses.
Rating: 73/100
Grade: C
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