MotorStorm: Apocalypse Preview

No fuel crisis in the Apocalypse.

The Apocalypse. The fall of man. Civilization literally crumbes and falls to the ground. No more McDonald's, no more "Glee". The once bright and glittering towers of steel and glass, whose height and majesty were matched only by Man’s hubris, are now decrepit and broken. What is there to do for humans that are left? Shall they try to pick up the pieces of their formerly magnificent existence? To trudge on, day by day, the only thing keeping them going being that fool human concept of hope? No! Of course not! In a post-apocalyptic world, there is but one logical thing to do… race!

That is the concept of MotorStorm: Apocalypse, the latest installment of the MotorStorm series, or what I gathered of it anyway. Much of it is tied into the whole post-apocalyptic world setting, like the story, but I really cannot remember the last time I played a racing game to unfold an intricate plotline. The tracks, on the other hand, have been affected by whatever event caused this worldwide destruction, with races that have you speed through destroyed buildings and long abandoned freeways and sewers. Piles of rebar and concrete pepper the landscape to make you crash (and throw the controller across the room).

Play is simple. You take a vehicle and race it around a track. Yep, that's it. Fairly simple and straightforward. The track is marred with destruction, as I said, and different pathways are offered at different points to mix it up a little. Other drivers compete (hence, a racing game), but not in a sportsmanlike fashion. They will try to smash you into walls and the like, so it is important to keep your wits about you and your fighting gloves on.

Important note: There is a turbo button and an acceleration button. The turbo button does accelerate you, but will cause your car to blow up if it overheats. I made it through two whole races just using the turbo boost to move around before I was graciously told of the accelerator on the R2 button, so, you know, it's possible. Of course, that ruined by thoughts as to why pressing the gas makes you explode.

One new aspect that is odd but entertaining is the addition of people on the track. Yes, people. Now, I am not sure why they walk in the middle of the road during a horribly violent car race (certainly something to do with that whole plot thing), but speeding through crowds of spectators gave it a Death Race 2000 feel (the 1975 flick with David Carradine and Stallone, not the crappy remake), and gave me the feel of a side mission as I tried ever so hard to catch ‘em all, so to speak.

The main appeal of the MotorStorm titles have been the plethora of vehicles on the roster. Apocalypse has many vehicles too. There are cars and bikes. What? You want more? You want specifics? Okay… there are new classes: super cars, muscle cars, super bikes (speed bikes), and choppers. Classes from the old games are there too, like rally cars and monster trucks. Each different vehicle will be fully customizable in every way because, obviously, in a post-apocalyptic world there will be plenty of parts and fuel available for such things.

MotorStorm: Apocalypse will be a Playstation 3 exclusive, and will be compatible with the Playstation 3D glasses. Look for it when it is released on April 12th.