Hours before the launch of PS3, Phil Harrison, President of SCEWW (Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios), was asked “Besides Resistance, what is the game that justifies a PS3 purchase?” His response: Motorstorm, a “truly next-gen experience”.

It has been almost two years since Motorstorm was announced at E3, and the hype and anticipation have been building up for this true next-gen experience. Just by watching a Motorstorm trailer you can easily see the sharp visuals and chaotic racing. However, what you don't know is that what you’re seeing exactly what you are getting.

Motorstorm is all about intensity. There are no rules. You can do anything you need to survive and cross that finish line. All of the tracks take place on extreme off-road locations with tons of hazards and multiple paths, with dirt and mountains as far as you can see. After playing all of the tracks, the one available on the downloadable demo, Rain God Mesa, was the best choice for a demo. It encapsulates a lot of the great things you can find in Motorstorm into one track. On Rain God Mesa, the entire track is located on the edge of high cliffs with no walls. Achieving the maximum speed, bumping into your competitors, soaring off the ramps, and taking sharp turns are all essential to victory. However, they are also recipes for disaster. When racing on Rain God, hitting a jump on the wrong angle, getting rammed into a sharp rock wall, taking a turn too fast and too sharp can all easily result in the complete destruction of your vehicle. Motorstorm separates itself from many other games by literally putting you on the edge of your seat.

A complaint I have for Motorstorm is its lack of content, but the content that Motorstorm does have isn’t as shallow as it may seem. There are only eight tracks and seven vehicles, but the way that the vehicles vary combined with the complex structure of the tracks really add some depth. The seven vehicles can be arranged very easily. Decreasing in speed and agility, but increasing in size, the vehicles would be arranged like this: MX Bikes, ATVs, Buggies, Rally Cars, Racing Trucks, Mudpluggers, and Big Rigs. After seeing this you may be wondering why anyone would ever choose a vehicle besides a bike or ATV, but through physics and brilliant track designs, Motorstorm tackles a pretty close balance between all seven vehicles.