For all the chunkiness of the physics, it still has a tendency to go pinball-table mental, though: at one point we spent around five minutes spiralling in slow motion through the air after a bone-crunching pile-up. And going crazy with the boost, especially just before a ramp, can send you hurtling into the horizon - but we expect the wilder stuff will be toned down before release and to be honest we can see some of the more unexpected accidents being hilarious in multiplayer sessions.
All in all, it's enough of a turnaround to make MotorStorm one of the better PS3 games we've played at the show so far, up there in the fine company of Devil May Cry 4 and Lair.
Above: Losing control of your dirt bike is likely to end in bone-snapping pain
A 29-year-old PC racing game going cyberpunk anime with Troy Baker, Initial D drifting, and cutscenes from the Metroid: Other M studio sure wasn't on my Game Awards bingo card
A speedrunner just beat Need for Speed: Most Wanted's world record by 90 minutes - by using Half-Life's Gordon Freeman instead of a car
