MotorStorm is back.  I’ll be honest, after sinking hours racing against brutal and often suicidal AI in vehicles that would explode at the slightest nudge, I’m not sure I was ready to return to the track. I’m glad I did.  MotorStorm Pacific Rift ticks all of the boxes, cracking almost every criticism you might have held against its predecessor.  Brutal and beautiful, this isn’t just pure off-road racing, this is MotorStorm racing.

Drifting away from the mud painted landscapes of Monument Valley, Pacific Rift flies you to a tropical Island festooned with a number of new obstacles: Water, Lava, and Vegetation. MotorStorm’s gift to racing was the different vehicle classes racing against one another on the same multi-directional track.  Accomplished battle tactics were essential, and the right choice of route required exploration. Pacific Rift’s latest hurdles render racing even more challenging and also beget the veritable excitement of a new MotorStorm challenge.

Depending on your chosen vehicle class, your racing experience is going to differ.  Fancy a ride on a motorcycle?  Expect your bike to struggle through deep water and large plants, but also discover you’re now able to duck (double tap down) low obstacles, or bunny hop (double tap up) fallen trees.  How about a Monster Truck?  Obstacles, whether vegetative or mechanical, are your play things, but it’ll be impossible to take those shortcuts your motorbiked counterparts traverse so easily.

And then there’s a new trial facing your vehicle’s engine: demonic lava spewing from the Island’s volcano that’ll set your engine on fire.  Only cooling streams and man-made showers will chill the metal, dousing any threat of explosion and return your boosting ability. Since first place predominantly relies on boost management, this feature works remarkably well.

Pacific Rift might place stormers on one island, but four different zones await you: Fire, Water, Earth and Air.  Each made up of four tracks, the prequel’s tendency for déjà vu has been immediately appeased. Spewing volcanoes make way for sandy beaches, wild rain forests for vertigo heights.  With sixteen tracks fighting for your attention, Evolution turn up the heat further by showing their talent in track design. Some tracks sport laps of over two minutes and have such varied alternate routes that I’d be bold enough to state that Pacific Rift contains some of the most inspired and entertaining tracks I’ve ever had the pleasure to race on.

Colossus Canyon fires you from the roof of a waterfall, via a bamboo forest, and then past the sun’s rays shining through a scattering of small waterfalls that feed the rocky river, you’ll drive down to meet the finish line.

The first MotorStorm was criticised for its reveal in a CG target render, and although the game necessarily fell short, it still proved a graphical beast in its own right.  Does Pacific Rift further impress?  Initially, whilst racing mountain highs, you might be fooled into thinking not much has changed — baron brown landscapes have been replaced by baron grey ones.  But then you’ll appreciate the draw distance, the foliage, the water, and the geometry.

Although some tracks may appear graphically inconsistent (and dare I say ugly), once Evolution turn up the pretty with their lighting engine, any of the tracks can look spectacular. I have a tendency to wax lyrical about lighting, but when Pacific Rift illustrates the difference HDR lighting really makes, where a sunset’s cool orange light meets stretched soft shadows, it’s time you all started giving a damn.  Foliage and vehicles cast non-flickery shadows, which when merged with dappled sunlight, realistic motion blur, and sparkling particle effects, Pacific Rift on occasion flirts with its CG reveal.

The driving physics retain that classic arcade feel, but this time they’ve been masterfully tuned so as to shun the prequel’s floaty, bouncy nature. Though there’s a slight vagueness in the middle-weight vehicle types, each class feels distinct and their advantages are now better defined. Bumps and scrapes were almost impossible to survive in MotorStorm, but here you can violently nudge other drivers without initialising a crash animation.  To be sure, it’s a pleasure watching your vehicle slowly undress from a polished piece of engineering to a mere mechanical shell.  MotorStorm racing has never felt so good.

By way of the capability to race in any zone, the single-player Festival already has more vitality than the original.  As a result of winning races, you’ll progress up the ranks by winning races, and before rank four, you’ll have encountered all the tracks and vehicle classes.  Still, every milestone adds new vehicles and drivers to the garage.  And note, since you can select vehicles pre-game, no shocking loading sequences await you.

As is MotorStorm’s custom, interest is retained by forcing you to use different vehicle classes amidst sets of new opponents –- an ATV pitted against bikers is very different to an ATV against big rigs. The artificial intelligence also ramps up, becoming more brutal and rubber-banding to ensure you’re always in their sights.  Thankfully this has been subtly toned down, where your opponents prioritise winning over taking you out.

Pacific Rift graduates from MotorStorm’s bare-bones traditions by introducing Eliminator and Speed Races, which are unlocked by completing races within a predefined time or crash limit.  Eliminator brings a new desperation and Speed Races see you weaving through timed gates.  The latter is a joy because it introduces new routes, but can be frustrating due to the gates not materialising early enough.

Whilst this new campaign variation elevates Pacific Rift to new heights, it still has trouble keeping fresh.  New rank targets will often only be achievable by returning to previous races because you’re never given enough new tracks to proceed.  This is at first satisfying, but as you progress, the repetition can drag. Moreover, since Evolution had so many tracks to play with, it might have been advantageous to release them more slowly.

Twelve-player online bursts with quick matchmaking, easy to search options, and almost non-existent lag.  The track design really shines in this arena, especially with the new monster truck emphasising MotorStorm’s unique battling.  Four player split-screen transports the brutal competition into the living room, and though the graphics are compromised, the frame rate remains solid.  A screenshot function, trophies that reward you with lucrative extras, and in-game music complete the package.

If you’re looking for a competitive racer that’ll keep you and your friends entertained, this is it.  Since every racer is your enemy and the Island’s elements your adversary, Pacific Rift has an intensity not found elsewhere. Although the single-player campaign has difficulty staying fresh, the MotorStorm magic is alive and well in this graphically spectacular and exquisitely designed sequel. Lunatics unite!

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