The filthiest game around.
Gameplay-There are 7 different vehicle classes spanning from ATV's to Big Rigs. They all have their ups and downs in handling and speed of course, but the main thing that makes them unique is what terrain they can do well on. There are 4 different types of terrain, which include mud, hard rock, loose dirt, and dried mud. The terrain adds strategy to the game and makes you take several paths. In every level, there are multiple branching routes with different terrain, elevation, and so on. It's a lot of fun to see different vehicles branching off and jumping over eachother. Speaking of levels, there are only 8 of them. This isn't that many. But you need to consider the different paths in every one, the lighting conditions, and the sheer size of these courses. Every single one is fun for me, and you will undoubtedly have favorites (mine are Coyote Rage and Dust Devil.) Surprisingly, the tracks are really varied even though they are all in the desert. You can easily distingush between them. The cars are a ton of fun to drive and give you a good sense of speed and power. The balance is very good between them. The shorter routes are usually muddy and that's what the big vehicles will go on, while the longer routes are for the rally cars. The campaign spans of 21 tickets, which each include a variety of races. They choose the vehicle for you and the couse. The only exception is on The Grizzly. This is the only mode in single-player, but it keeps you hooked and you need to play it to unlock cars. The online is just about flawless. There is very little lag and up to 12 players can duke it out. It is a ton of fun. Plus, there is mike support so you can trash talk people. There is also a rank system that keeps you playing. Lasty, this game is just fun. The crashes and chaos make this a really fun game. The only flaw I can find is that it can be frustrating sometimes, but every game is.
Graphics-This game is gorgeous. When you are racing around in this game, it truly looks photo-realistic. The motion blur is awesome and the size and depth perception is awesome. The cars are highly detailed, and when you crash, hundreds of parts go everywhere. Textures are also great, but if you pause the game, sometimes you can see some bad ones. This game is flawless looking when you are actually playing, but if you pause the game or if it goes into slow motion, you can see some problems. The bushes are 2D and they just turn with the camera. The biggest graphical problem is the shadows. They are extremely low pixel so they are always "moving". Besides those two problems though, the game is beautiful. The best part is the mud. It is real-time so after a couple laps, the mudpits will be torn up. The way the light reflects off of the mud is incredible. Also, it sticks to cars, so your car will be really muddy.
Sound-Every class of vehicle has a different sound to it. They all sound great but the rally cars sound the coolest in my opinion. They are really beefy. The sound of your car going through mud is equally impressive and driving over differnt terrain has different sounds. The music is good too, although not everyone will like it. It has about 20 songs, most of them rock. I personally think it is awesome. Few games have sountracks that I like. Out of coincidence, I really liked Test Drive: Offroads sountrack, which is very similar to this game. Value-This is the games biggest weakness. The tracks are very well designed and long, but you can't dodge the fact that there are only 8. Hopefully we will be seeing some downloadable ones soon. Also, there aren't enough modes. There is no splitscreen or quickrace. Only campaign and online. I personally wouldn't use splitscreen much, but quickrace would have been nice. The game is incredibly fun and well made, but there just aren't enough modes. I bought this game and I'm satisfied with my purchase but some people might get tired of the racing. If this game had more modes and tracks, it would be just about perfect. Hopefully Motorstorm 2 will have both of those things.