Initially fun, but flawed in many ways.
The game looks great, and it shows the visual power of the PS3 from the get-go. However, the race tracks, even though they look good, are very much alike and so are the various vehicles in the game. Overall, though, it does a good job.
The vehicles are varied in use and handle well. The driving mechanics are smooth and polished, and every vehicles have its pros and cons. The AI is also smart and won't be pushed off track so easily. Motorstorm utilizes a smart boost system, which can only be used for a limited time before overheating and exploding. The motor has to then cool down before it can be used again. Smart boosting is truly the key to victory. Another cool factor is the crashes. If you take to much damage or drive off the track, the game slows down and shows the crash in much detail. This is especially fun on motorcycles.
One thing that is missing in the first version of the game (a later patch was released) is multiplayer in any way, which is disadvantageous for any racing game. This is one of the core factors in a racing game and without it, it doesn't rise to the challenge with other racing games. The variety of levels and different vehicles of every type is disappointing as well.
The music in the game consists almost completely of metal and rock songs which might impress many, but ultimately lacks flexibility for other gamers who don't like those music genres.
This game could have been much better, but is a decent title and jumpstarts the PS3 pretty well. Bottom line, an OK racing game and nice addition to the PS3's library.