MotorStorm: Pacific Rift review

Familar, but frantic and exciting sequel lacks killer new ideas

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

Each zone houses 24 ranked events (either a standard race, a solo checkpoint Speed event or a last car standing Eliminator race), which take place on one of four tracks (making a total of 16). Points for coming in the top three in each event go towards unlocking the next rank in the same set-up as before. What really separate this from the original are the tracks and the hazards.

Prefer heavier vehicles like the big rig or monster truck? Then in the Fire zone you’ll need to make sure you have enough boost to make a series of jumps across rivers of lava, while in the Water zone you should be looking out for shortcuts through the deeper bits that’d sink the smaller vehicles. Basically, every vehicle on every track in each of the four Zones presents advantages and disadvantages that you’ll need to learn and master.

The tracks are the stars of the show, whether it’s the thrill of jumping from one precipice to the next, taking in the beauty of a rainbow as you skim through the base of a waterfall, or cursing the developer for making that bit of rock you just smashed into jut out slightly further than the rest of them. Thanks to the rubber-band AI, which makes your opposition less competitive when you fall behind, you’ll never be too far away from getting back in the race.

Only the new monster truck disappoints – hit anything bigger than a bike and this rig seems to lose all power, often resulting in you flipping over instead. Ultimately, it’s just a bit too slow and slightly cumbersome. Still, we’re sure it’ll be many people’s favourite vehicle. The excellent Split-screen mode for up to four players is a real blast, although you’ll need a big bright TV to play it on. The Time Attack mode is great too and you can load ghost car data to see where you’re going wrong as well as post top race times on an online leaderboard.

A few more tracks, vehicle types and Race modes would have been good (we’re sure they’ll appear in future DLC), plus the ability to fully customise your vehicle instead of relying on a few skins. Still, what’s there out of the box is exhilarating, exciting and brilliant fun.

Oct 28, 2008

More info

GenreRacing
DescriptionYour motorbike can outrun the entire field, but it’ll get chewed up and spat out by a couple of monster trucks - lush landscapes with new hazards but it’s not a completely new experience.
Platform"PS3"
US censor rating"Teen"
UK censor rating"Rating Pending"
Alternative names"MotorStorm 2"
Release date1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK)
More
CATEGORIES
Latest in Racing
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Nintendo knows you're waiting for Mario Kart 9, but it still wants you to run a million laps in Mario Kart 8 first
Wheel World
The spirit of Burnout Paradise lives on in this fabulous bicycle racing game from the makers of my favorite indie fighting game – a true Steam Next Fest gem
Sonic Racing CrossWorlds
Sonic Racing CrossWorlds announcement trailer proves Sega is coming for Mario Kart 9's throne with transforming cars and a closed beta this month
Need For Speed Unbound
The Need For Speed series is pumping the brakes as "Criterion are joining their colleagues working on Battlefield" instead of tuning more cars
Forza Horizon 5 the real deal reasonably priced car seasonal championship volvo 850 R racing
Forza Horizon 5 is the latest Xbox game to make the leap to PS5, and it's launching this spring with all of the same content and DLC
Tokyo Xtreme Racer
Cult classic racing series returns 18 years after its once-final entry on Xbox 360 to 95% overwhelmingly positive Steam reviews
Latest in Reviews
Lenovo Legion Go S with FlyKnight gameplay on screen featuring player character holding bow and arrow with enemy ant in backdrop.
Lenovo Legion Go S Windows 11 review: “my heart aches for this mixed up handheld”
Talisman 5th Edition game components
Talisman 5th Edition review: "The characterful imperfections of the original game remain clear to see "
WWE 2K25
WWE 2K25 review: "A colossal package even if you never go anywhere near Virtual Currency"
Altered: Trial by Frost booster box and packs on a playmat
Altered: Trial by Frost review - "Satisfying enough to offer highly varied gameplay"
Three SteelSeries QcK Performance mouse pads on a wooden desk
I didn't expect to prefer a coarser mouse pad, but SteelSeries' new QcK Performance range has changed my mind
Boro and Alta sit on a bench together in Wanderstop
Wanderstop review: "Exalting the transformative power of tea"