Motorstorm: Arctic Edge

November 6, 2009 by Alex Seedhouse
Filed under Reviews, Sony PSP

For fans of the exciting ‘arcade’ style racing experience found within the popular Motorstorm series on Playstation 3, news that a PSP version was set for release was pretty much a certainty. Now it is upon us, in the form of Motorstorm: Arctic Edge, providing players with much of the same that they have previously experienced within its Playstation 3 predecessors, standing tall as another valuable entry for the IP rather than being a simple spin off.

Although seemingly a more condensed version of the game, which is understandable due to storage size limitations, here we once again find ourselves at another one of Motorstorm’s infamous racing festivals – this time high up in icy, Alaskan landscapes. This is the first time that such an environment has been used within the series, and provides a fantastic setting for the races. Players can expect to find the same selection of vehicles encountered previously; ATVs, Bikes, Buggy’s, Trucks etc, with the Snow Machine, Snowplugger and Snowcat being new additions to the title.

You will spend the majority of the game within the Festival mode, in which you will eventually find a total of around 100 events. Here you will enter a variety of racing events across various Alaskan environments, and your main aim will be to get within the top three places to gain points that are a necessity to increase your overall rank and unlock further events. Not only will your rank increase, but you’ll also unlock new vehicles to use within races and badges to show off your prowess. The title provides plenty of replayability and challenge to last you an incredibly long amount of play time – as with any other racer, it’s always worth pushing to get first place in each race to unlock as much as possible. Some tracks also offer additional parameters alongside obtaining a top three placing, such as completing the track in a set time, and these grant you stars that unlock Bonus Events.

The tracks themselves offer the same scope as seen within the Playstation 3 titles, with players able to seek out short cuts and try out various routes during each lap. The cold environments also mean that your boost meter can cool down much more quickly, probably catering for the fact that most players will travel on the go, and in doing so means that races can be finished relatively soon.

The AI difficulty isn’t quite as punishing as the previous games, but this again probably reflects the fact that players will probably play in short bursts as opposed to lengthy sessions – allowing them to get as much out of the game as fast as possible. As you’d expect, the later levels difficulty ramps up but some may find that the first half of the Festival Mode isn’t quite so challenging.

The other portion of the game is categorised withing Wreckreation. Here you’ll find Time Attack, Free-play, and Multiplayer options. Within the two former modes, you are able to select one of the games 12 tracks and the direction in which you are racing around the track in – Forward/ Reverse. Within Free-play, you are also able to select between Standard and Time Ticker race types, adjust AI difficulty, grid type (which vehicles you’ll race against) and the number of laps ranging from 1-5.

Time Ticker is similar to the Elimination modes found within the previous titles with its reliance on keeping ahead of the pack, yet instead of removing players the emphasis is now placed on earning as many points as possible. These are dependant on your position, so those further ahead will obviously gain more points faster than those lagging behind. However, what is most notable is that you don’t need to retain first place for the entirety of the race meaning that even if you drop back a few places you still have a chance to win. This makes for some fun, and incredibly competitive, races and is a fantastic addition.

It is great therefore that such a game mode is included within the Multiplayer portion of the title alongside normal races. This is available for both Ad Hoc and Infrastructure connections, and six players can race against each other which for me is a spot on amount.

Motorstorm: Arctic Edge paves the way amidst some fantastic new first and third party titles aimed at rejuvenating Sony’s handheld. With great visuals from a Developer well versed in pushing the PSP hardware to its limits, alongside fantastically authentic audio and a pumping soundtrack, this easily becomes a title well worth picking up.

Lost Gamer Verdict: 9/10