(All screenshots were taken by me using the in-game screenshot feature. Full gallery here)

In one sentence: The best arcade racing game. 🙂

Compared with Split/Second: Split/Second was a recent arcade racer with the same exploding city theme. That was a great game, but MotorStorm Apocalypse is better; it simply has more creative tracks and racing.

What makes the MotorStorm series great: Intensely creative tracks are the cornerstone of the series. Diverse racing surfaces (rock, sand, dirt, grass, asphalt, water) that feel and behave like you’d expect. The vehicle classes (motorcycles, ATVs, buggies, big rigs, etc) each give the player a distinctly different race experience and aren’t just stat tweaks. This game keeps all of that and adds more…

What does Apocalypse Change?

• Tracks: When Apocalypse announced urban racing, I was worried that it was going to be all bland asphalt road racing and lose the charm of the diverse racing surfaces, jumps, branching paths, and creative geometries. Not even close. The tracks are as wildly creative as ever, if not more so. One good example is the track that takes place almost entirely on the damaged roof tops of buildings.
• Expanded single-player campaign: The races are more like fully designed missions rather than combinations of track/objective/vehicle class. The story is much more fleshed out, but it’s largely just entertaining window dressing.
• Multiplayer: Perks, leveling, way more unlockables and achievables; betting system. It’s the same competitive racing at its heart, but there is way more polish.
• Stereoscopic 3D: Stereoscopic 3D was made for this game. The effect is amazing and is a perfect fit for a game that is mechanically about maneuvering the environment.
• Music: The series is known for exceptionally good licensed music picks (maybe that’s just because I grew up in a similar time frame as the devs?). This game uses original music, including movie soundtrack style music and some techno.

Summary

In my opinion, nothing has topped the MotorStorm series in providing amazing, creative racing fun. This improves the formula and pushes the racing genre farther than it’s been taken before.