MotorStorm: Apocalypse

This is a loud, often spectacular dash through countless set-pieces and ragdoll pedestrians. However, 'trying not to crash' isn't as fun as racing or combat, but that's what you'll be doing for 95% of the time. It's just not as fun as it should be.

I can't help but feel underwhelmed.

Quotation forthcoming.

The over-the-top racing game, MotorStorm: Apocalypse, convinces with its spectacular concept. The game definitely shines as a multiplayer game, whether it's splitscreen or online. It's too bad though, that it doesn't play as well as its predecessor and the artificial intelligence of your opponents and arbitrary crashes will get your blood pressure to rise significantly from time to time.

Easily the best of the series so far, but the actual driving is still nowhere near as much fun as the tracks and the stunning 3D visuals.

Motorstorm has its moments where it is impactful and fun... and because of this, it is still worth checking out. However, long time fans of the series so step with caution, this isn't your old Motorstorm.

It's a cleverly ruinous game frequently ruined by its own cleverness.

The levels are a spectacle, and give Apocalypse the adrenaline shot it needs to stay afloat, but it fails to rise above other, more innovative titles by relying too heavily on its boost mechanic and doing little else.

MotorStorm Apocalypse really nails the whole apocalypse thing, no question. It's the actual racing that's taken the back seat. There are moments when the planets align and the experience becomes pure arcade racing magic -- but they're only moments. The rest of the time you're just an angsty, glorified crash test dummy.

All these criticisms may make it sound like Apocalypse is a substandard game, but it isn't. It's just that the stuff that's different from previous MotorStorm games is mostly bungled or simply boring, but the stuff that's the same is still enjoyable. Apocalypse is just a vanilla, if basically solid, racing game that tries to throw a few curveballs at you, but ends up hitting the backstop instead of the strike zone.

Perhaps the most telling criticism of all is that Apocalypse manages to render the sight of an entire city's ongoing death as interminably dull. [Issue#107, p.95]

It's not the best racing game around – it's not particularly unique or innovative, the "plot", as it is, in story mode isn't engaging or well told, the soundtrack is undistinguished, but its flaws are forgiven thanks to its great looks and fantastic playability.

Racing through the end of the world is a great idea, but Motorstorm: Apocalypse is held back by an unsatisfying driving experience, extremely low difficulty curve and a lack of variety. It ends up as a rather average arcade racer that runs out of gas too quickly.

This game is based on a great idea but it suffers from poor execution. Gameplay counts and this one misses the mark big time in that respect, which is the reason for why I scored this game as I did. A real shame considering the pedigree of Sony exclusives. This one could have been so good.

The final kiss of death for Apocalypse is that the elaborate tracks are often so busy coming to pieces that it's impossible to spot crash-inducing debris and obstacles in your path.