When a franchise is solely born to show off the graphical capabilities of a system, you have to wonder how it could possibly work on a smaller device. Playstation 3 eye candy simply doesn’t work on a comparably unfit system without producing a diminished return.
So rather than refining the graphics across the elemental fire-hose that the franchise is known for, they’ve stuck to one distinct area. However Arctic Edge is more than simply snow and ice, you’ll occasionally traverse over the more befriended mud and rocky terrains. Granted Arctic Edge doesn’t have the variation that Pacific Rift had but this limitation has paid dividends and resulted in a tightly focused and well-polished release.
The lack of variation has resulted in tightly focused and well-polished release
To say I was surprised would suggest a lack of confidence but considering Bigbig Studios haven’t worked on an arguably major franchise before, never mind a Motorstorm release, it’s surprising that Sony’s mark of quality is all over the product. While it might not be the graphical tour dé force that the bigger brothers are, Arctic Edge is a sublimely well-polished game. A flicker of the sun sparkles onto your vehicle with some convincing looking light while snow, almost dynamically, jumps up onto the screen.
You’ll even occasionally forget there is a game behind all this gloss until you’re slammed back down to earth when you don one of the less responsive vehicles, that seemingly have a turning circle the size of an Olympic running track. New Terrain specific vehicles like the Snowmobile and Plow are a smart touch but will be met with an even colder reception than the snow you drive on.
That isn’t to say the track design is bad though, as Arctic Edge’s locale is a ramp-laden affair that is sure to excite those looking to hunt down every last shortcut. I can however see in a few years this type of track design becoming stale and hopefully Motorstorm will turn into the excitement packed romp that it yearns to be with Trackmania-esque loops and Split/Second inspired environmental incidents.
Motorstorm’s level design stops it from being the action packed romp it yearns to be
Until it becomes that action orientated offering, Motorstorm will simply be another solid off-road racer. However on this platform and when played in short bursts, Motorstorm is easily worth anyone’s attention. Excellent graphics, capable handling and forgivable additions result in one of the more polished releases on the Playstation Portable for a long time. While on a major platform Motorstorm feels almost sluggish, the PSP brings the pros to the surface and off-road racing enthusiasts should don the snow-gear and give Arctic Edge a spin.
Leave a Reply