New Stuff
MotorStorm Pacific Rift is a PS3 exclusive title that won’t be offered on other game systems. The original MotorStorm was one of my all-time favorite PS3 titles and one I still play heavily today. The big improvement that MotorStorm Pacific Rift offers over the original is more tracks. The game has 16 different tracks whereas the original only offered eight. MotorStorm Pacific Rift also offers split screen racing with up to four players to go along with its fantastic online racing. The final big addition is a new vehicle class -- the monster truck.

Gameplay
Boost was key to victory and defeat in the original MotorStorm. Boost could hurtle you into the lead, but if you used it at the wrong time or used it too much you would crash or explode. MotorStorm Pacific Rift offers boost though it tosses in a couple new boosting wrinkles. First, many of the tracks have lava crisscrossing them. That means that you can be boosting along with the boost gage low, drive near lava and suddenly you are close to explosion. At the same time many tracks are sprinkled with creeks and other water that you can drive through allowing you to cool your vehicle down to boost longer. Beware though, you can still over boost even in water and explode.

Graphics for MotorStorm Pacific Rift are fantastic. The environments are exceptionally well rendered and photo realistic. Tracks offer up the same variety the original offered with varied terrain and obstacles. Some tracks offer high speeds and others offer tight turns and many places where you can crash.

The different vehicle types are the same as the original including rally cars, ATVs, motorcycles, mud pluggers. The monster truck is the sole new vehicle addition. As you win races in the top three to unlock new events, you can also unlock new vehicle packs, which add new body styles and paint jobs to your garage along with new driver looks. You can't soup-up your rides in MotorStorm Pacific Rift, which would have been cool.

In the original game, the AI in the single player mode was not that cunning. Sure, a big rig might force you into a rock or crevasse wall leading to your demise, but AI vehicles really didn’t go out of their way to crash you. In MotorStorm Pacific Rift, the same isn’t true. AI vehicles may not stick to their previous or best routes, opting instead to send you tumbling down the side of a cliff.

Vehicles are easy enough to control, though I still found my vehicle blowing up for no apparent reason at times due to some tiny change to the track that was unseen. The tracks also change as the race goes on. Muddy areas get muddier as time passes. You might go around a corner marked with tires the first time and find all is well, the second time around though said tires may be in the middle of your line leading to problems.

Overall MotorStorm Pacific Rift is a fantastic racing game that takes the same formula that made the original so popular, enhances it, and gives you even more. This is one of the PS3 titles you must own this holiday season.