Evolution: Pacific Rift offers "better AI, more tracks, the works"

  • Posted June 9th, 2008 at 11:33 EDT by
  • 6,981 views
  • 28 Comments

MotorStorm is back and this time pitting bikes, buggies, big rigs, and monster trucks against each other on a chaotic island filled with lush vegetation and a plethora of deadly hazards.

With the game's release set for sometime later this year, PSU.com thought we'd check in with the team at Evolution Studios for a quick update on the title courtesy of Creative Director, Paul Hollywood.

First and foremost, Hollywood described how the team acquired a better understanding of the PS3 during its development of the original MotorStorm, thus allowing them to use the machine to far greater potential, creating the more “intensive environments” seen in the sequel. 

 


“We’ve started from scratch with a lot of this game. We learned a lot about the PS3 while making the first game." he said. "This time we can use that knowledge to get more out of the hardware, and work more efficiently. So that allows us to produce the more intensive environments that you’ll see on the Island. It really is a whole world away from Monument Valley, where MotorStorm was set.”

“But obviously we don’t want to just have the same game in a new place; that would be unfair to people who buy the new game," Hollywood continued. "So we’ve gone back over pretty much all of the systems and cranked them up a notch or two. So we have a greater variety of vehicles, more tracks, better AI systems, a new game structure, better online capabilities – the works really.”

Philosophically, he said the idea behind MotorStorm was fundamentally to “entertain” the player, describing the game as being made deliberately more “Hollywood” than other racers on the market. 

 


“When we created MotorStorm, we made a conscious decision to make it primarily to entertain. This might sound strange, but most racing games are there to provide a representation to the player of what that race might be like in real life. MotorStorm was different because it was made deliberately more Hollywood," explained the appropriately-named Hollywood. “This meant that we allowed ourselves the freedom to concentrate the action around the player, to try to constantly give them something to look at other than just the track ahead. We’ve brought this thinking straight into the new game too. So, basically, the MotorStorm games are all about trying to give the player a good time, rather than allowing the player to have a good time by themselves.”

 


Finally, when asked on what MotorStorm Pacific Rift will offer gamers that they haven’t already seen in other racers, Hollywood pointed to what he considers as the every “essence” of the franchise – brutal, chaotic racing.

“There’s always stuff going on, whether it’s a bike rider insulting a buggy, a rally car flipping over in front of you, or even a big rig ramming some other poor sap into a wall,” he said.

“We tried to make off-road racing cool again, and I guess from the number of new off-road racing games, we must have succeeded. But our games are not just about racing, they’re about racing in this messed up, physically demanding world in which everyone’s fighting and struggling for themselves. And it makes a great show for the player.”

We'll have more for you on MotorStorm Pacific Rift tomorrow.

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What are your thoughts?

  1. Solrac | Solrac7688

    • 11:40am BST - June 9th, 2008

    This game is gonna rock

  2. blaz2g

    • 11:41am BST - June 9th, 2008

    This game will be a lot better than the 1st one, hopefully

  3. RuiyJR | Tseska_922

    • 11:55am BST - June 9th, 2008

    Awesome! can't wait , i want more painting designs on cars : )

  4. duomtl | duomtl

    • 11:56am BST - June 9th, 2008

    there better be a cocpit view like in the very first trailer, where the wiper blades go when you got mud on your windshield... that would be so intense

  5. InfernoReaper | GrimDarkling

    • 12:00pm BST - June 9th, 2008

    The only two things wrong with the first were having no split-screen multiplayer and the load times in the vehicle section sucked.  If they fixed those, it'll be perfect.

  6. Mike_Harradence

    • 12:03pm BST - June 9th, 2008

    Justin will be posting more details on Motorstorm Pacific Rift tomorrow too for you guys....so stay tuned

  7. Fiddlesworth

    • 12:04pm BST - June 9th, 2008

    I don't think gamers appreciate how much more detail there is in the tracks with all the vegetation compared to MotorStorm which looks fairly bland now.

  8. samven582 | samven582

    • 12:09pm BST - June 9th, 2008

    how about better graphics? like the ones I saw at e3 2005?

  9. Alakratt | Alakratt

    • 12:12pm BST - June 9th, 2008

    This game is gonna be AWESOME!!! I loved the first one!!

  10. Arion

    • 12:15pm BST - June 9th, 2008

    What about better graphics? Everything else was mentioned except graphics. I want confirmation of this, cause its not called Motorstorm 2, so it could imply its just a different take on the original motorstorm

  11. NitroMikeo

    • 12:18pm BST - June 9th, 2008

    Any one get confused by the use of the word "hollywood"?

     

    lol

  12. DemonOfRazgriz07 | DemonOfRazgriz07

    • 12:58pm BST - June 9th, 2008

    i wasnt to impressed with the first one, but I will def give this one a try.

  13. amk1111 | niceguy550

    • 2:34pm BST - June 9th, 2008

    this is gonna be great. I hope they make it easier this time

  14. tanner1 | OB1K

    • 3:01pm BST - June 9th, 2008

    As long as its running @ 60 fps then it should play smooth & 1080p would b nice 2

  15. CHRISBOSH | tatti

    • 5:04pm BST - June 9th, 2008

    PSN ID: tatti

    Graphics look the same.

    But gameplay looks better.

  16. gingo | gingo

    • 5:25pm BST - June 9th, 2008

    psn id: gingo..... never picked up the first one but with this one having split screen i think this will be a defo buy

  17. Emo-Mercenary | Clarky-132

    • 5:46pm BST - June 9th, 2008

    Definite buy for me. Loved the first one, and with split-screen and monster trucks, whoi could resist?

  18. Dr_tee18 | Drtee18

    • 6:01pm BST - June 9th, 2008

    this game is the prime deal giving hadcore gamers the feeling of racing to be fun and exciting, giving them the feeling like when they played them awsome classic games. this game is totally gonna boost sony sales. taking them up and not down like the titanic. can't wait for november.

  19. AuthenticM

    • 6:21pm BST - June 9th, 2008

    I'm sure this game will be awesome.

  20. VONRIPPLE | VONRIPPLE

    • 9:49pm BST - June 9th, 2008

    this game looks SICK.expect it to be even better than the first one and that game was great.

  21. ThaoNguyen

    • 9:54pm BST - June 9th, 2008

    @nitromikeo

    I could barely read the article. I thought my eyes were screwing with my brain.

  22. IONIXX | IONIXX

    • 10:53pm BST - June 9th, 2008

    OMFG game TOTTALY kills all other off-road racers, it's gonna be amazing!

  23. edward_moffet | edd

    • 11:13pm BST - June 9th, 2008

    awesome cannot wait for this game i loved the first one and this one looks better in everyway

  24. AclayPS3

    • 11:59pm BST - June 9th, 2008

    I bought the first Motorstorm and I definantly enjoyed it, and from what I'm reading, Motorstorm 2 will definantly bring a lot more to the table and I'm getting Motorstorm 2 on day one.

    Motorstorm can be so addicting and the gameplay reminds me of Burnout so much.

    Motorstorm felt like a rushed game title almost because there wasn't many tracks,the Single Player portion of the game was pretty short, and because there was do Offline Multiplayer. The graphics were very nice in Motorstorm, it's just that it didn't have the amount of content it should have.

  25. BlueDragoon0 | Lionheart0

    • 2:45am BST - June 10th, 2008

    I enjoyed the first Motorstorm, now with the second their going all out!

  26. richkaos | richkaos

    • 4:41am BST - June 10th, 2008

    Infernoreaper has hit the nail on the head, the first game was superb but lacked slpitscreen and its load times were a bit dodgy, but this new title is a must buy for me, it will be superb!!!! CANT WAIT!!!

  27. Fiddlesworth

    • 11:41am BST - June 11th, 2008

     I thought we were getting more on this.. yesterday now.

  28. Eric2929 | Eric2929

    • 8:00pm BST - June 11th, 2008

    Ah - was just about to post that I wasn't sure what was up, but I was just informed that we'll have some more new info tonight. Stay tuned.

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