Racing! The thrill of going fast and burning rubber! The adrenaline, the pulse pounding excitement… The boredom…
Racing games are more often than not in one of two categories; it’s either mascot kart racing, or super realistic bullshit for boring people. Admit it, racing games aren’t fun. I certainly never had any fun with them… That was until I picked up a last gen gem known as Motorstorm Apocalypse.
To hell with racing around a shitty, boring track in flashy super cars, sticker-bombed to hell and back with brand names and sponsors. I’ll take racing a monster truck through a ruined city, mid-earthquake any day!
…And Motorstorm Apocalypse delivers. The premise is literally just that; a bunch of hard core adrenalinr junkies rock up at what I assume Is San Francisco – The city is evacuated, empty and abandoned, besides a few roaming delinquents… So what do these junkies do? Turn the city into their own private thrill ride of course. The city is already crumbling after a violent forewarning of the big earthquake to come, and they’ve only got a few days before the whole city comes tumbling down.
The story mode is split into three campaigns; the rookie, the pro and the veteran, each set getting progressively more insane and challenging. Ending in three huge, balls to the wall mad dashes for the finish line-type rallies. The tracks fall into their own sets, as do the vehicles – Each has a strength and a weakness and for the most part, it’s just a standard – if quirky – racer… But it’s the tracks themselves that make it stand out.
So you’re racing around in the spillways and subway tunnels, like some crazy urban Gran Turismo. When all of a sudden an empty passenger train flies out of nowhere and derails right in your damn path. Cars flying overhead, wrapping around poles, debris, glass, and fire everywhere!! That’s what Motorstorm Apocalypse is about. You’re in a city that’s empty and probably going to be reduced to rubble in a few days’ time, so who cares if shit gets busted up?! At least half the tracks in game have some sort of surprise for you, whether it be Buena Vista’s gas mains exploding right under you, or Boardwalk’s hurricane throwing boats at you… Or just like all the Skyline maps in general. You never know what the game’s going to throw at your next. Quite literally!
Sure, it’s not a game you play for the story; it’s more of the multiplayer sort of racer, and the AI only gives you so much challenge… And the multiplayer feels rewarding too as you unlock various cosmetics and new vehicles by winning races, wrecking opponents or drifting for such and such amount. Plus the added challenge of racing other real people is always nice for competition. There’s a whole slew of awesome vehicles to unlock and use, from supercars and superbikes, to classic muscle, choppers and fucking monster trucks and big rigs. My personal favourite is the third tier racing truck; this sexy classic roadster flatbed that I did up in Hot Wheels-styled flames, a gorgeous costal blue fade to a rich fiery red. Scratched up to look like it’d been through a World Rally circuit or something. I kicked ass with that damn truck!
That being said, it’s still just a racing game; there’s only so much to say about it sadly enough. Developed by Evolution Studio and released in 2011, Motorstorm Apocalypse is a game that I sorely miss. You just don’t see racing games like it anymore, least not these days – No, people just want mindless, super realistic garbage.
In summary, Motorstorm Apocalypse is a great game, which sadly will likely not see the light of new generations.
For nostalgia’s sake, I give Motorstorm a: