The Perfect game for an action game fan OR someone looking for a fantastic online racer.
Motorstorm's been a criminally underrated series, both critically and commercially. I suppose it has something to do with the first game being a bit flawed. Maybe people just didn't give the sequels a chance after being somewhat burned by the first game. But those who have stuck with the series for the sequels have seen Evolution Studios improve the series with each entry while making radical changes to the game's formula and locales. Taking risks with sequels is something most developers nowadays just dont bother with, so it's refreshing to see Evolution Studios change up the formula so much with each iteration.
While Pacific Rift traded the desert setting for a more lush forest setting, Apocalypse makes an even bigger departure and focuses on urban street racing. The masterstroke here is that it doesn't feel like a street racing game. Thanks to the dozens of alternate routes on each track, full scale environment destruction, and some ingenious multi-level track design, it still feels like an off-road racer. I mean if you are racing on top of skyscrapers, you are not really racing on streets, are you?
I can talk about the intricate track design for hours. There are around 38 different stages in the story mode, and almost none of the tracks get repeated. The sheer number of tracks and their variations is unmatched IMO. Some are just reverse versions of the tracks, while others offer entirely different routes. The destruction is spectacular, it truly does feel like you are in the middle of an awesome action movie at times. Truly awe inspiring. Worth playing the game for the destruction alone.
Motorstorm's vehicle handling has always been unique, and here it's refined to the perfection (well, almost). Vehicles react to your every input, even the slightest twitch can save you from crashing at the last moment. It's all physics based so you need to be adjusting you vehicle constantly. The only flaw here is that the vehicle physics can sometimes screw you over pretty bad. You will crash by running over a single wooden log lying on the track, or get tangled with the bumper of other cars.
The rubberband A.I is fun to race against, and it actually kinda works in story campaign making it relatively easy to beat all the races, but on the Hardcore mode it becomes a little b****. Not fun having the A.I forget about racing and just focus on taking you out. Still, the Hardcore mode is about finding the fastest route for that particular track instead of just beating the A.I, which takes the rubberband A.I out of the equation. Pretty neat solution to this age old problem with arcade racers.
The Online though is where the game truly shines. The racing finally becomes challenging, and it becomes a madhouse with 16 players fighting it out in the middle of all the buildings and tracks crumbling. The leveling system is borderline addictive. You earn chips for almost everything, so you're constantly hitting goals. Some get a lot more difficult as you level up so it isnt constant reinforcement like COD.... it's actually challenging. Even if you don't finish in the top 3, there are around 20 ribbons given out at the end of each race you can earn. Things like doing the most stunts, being aggressive and wrecking people, making the longest jump, hitting the top speed etc. You can also bet on the guy you think you can beat, so it almost becomes a race against just you two in a race with 14 other racers. It just gives each race a more dynamic feel where average racers can still have fun with the game without feeling the need to finish in the top three.
You can also customize almost every part of your vehicle by achieving specific requirements for each vehicle, I've spent countless hours just personalizing my vehicle. Overall, this is probably the best online implementation I've seen this gen. I would rank it up there with Uncharted 3, Reach and MW. With 50 customizable vehicles, 20 odd perks, and 30 some tracks each with their own ribbons and medals you can earn in each race.. there's just so much to do.
This is probably my favorite game of the year so far. I recommend it to anyone looking for a good 'action' game OR a fantastic online racer.
9.2/10 - SUPERB