Support NeoGAF

[Shearie]

So I got my copy of this from Gamefly today and as a huge fan of arcade racers, I think I just found my dream game. Goddamn!!!!! I loved the other 2 Motorstorms but this is some next level shit right here.

Buying my Gamefly copy.

Sadly, 3d gaming still makes me nauseous and from what little I played of this in 3d, while pretty good, I still rate Super Stardust HD as the king.

 

[Jtrizzy]

Yeah, I'm itching to get home to play more. Outside of this and Mortal Kombat, I don't have any other 3D games. What else are you playing that has good 3D?

SOCOM has my favorite implementation of shooters so far. To me it has a cleaner look and smoother feel compared to KZ3. Looking forward to getting this though...I'm renting first before I buy the demo level wasn't as mind blowing as I expected.

 

[Filldough]

Dear god those cutscenes are terrible. First game where I'll be skipping all cutscenes lol

Truer words were never spoken. I don't even remember the last time I skipped cut scenes so readily. Don't know why they decided they needed a story... the racing on the other hand has been amazing so far. About to finish up Pro level. Some of the deformation that goes on is just nuts to me. Wish I had a 3D TV... Maybe later this year, I am thinking I'll have to make the plunge for Uncharted3.

 

[backbreaker65]

So Glad I'm off of Mash and onto Tyler, I was beginning to think this game was too easy. The revenge factor is still in the game, I love that when you wreck someone with the Ram button(I wish their was a "get off me Man" audio clip would play in these instances) The graphics are on par with MSR eventhough their is a lot more going on and the amount of debris and stuff flying around.

I like the fact that the destruction is random, not different structures but on different laps a structure may fall in the 1st lap on your first race and if you lose, and restart, the same structure may fall on the 3rd lap giving you that random unknowing feeling.

3D is the superstar, for those complaining about the cut scenes they are horrid in 2D and they are pretty good in 3D the visuals is what I'm talking about. The voice acting and script suck. I wish this game would allow for the Photos you take to be in 3D as well, because when you take that pic in 3D it is an awesome experience.

 

[Outtrigger888]

Ive put around 6 hours into this game so far, the game is enjoyable but it doesnt feel like motorstorm to me. Pacific Rift was fun even when you crashed but in this game its downright annoying. The game is much faster than the previous motorstorms but theres way more shit to run into taking the fun out of it. I gotta give evolution props though the game is visually amazing the amount of shit going on is pretty impressive and the 3D is great. The AI is the cheapest shit ive experienced in a racing game, ill be running the perfect race but still manage to take 5th, but have the shittiest race next time and take 1st. I just miss the mud and track deformation of the previous games, and the off road racing, sorry jumping skyscraper to skyscraper isnt off road racing in my book, while entertaining its not the same. I hope online will be better when I can actually play it. If your a motorstorm fan I suggest renting this before making a purchase.

Does anyone know why sometime when I go into hood cam view the hood doesnt show up, sometimes it does and sometimes it doesnt. And why do the cutscenes zoom in "continue" is always cut off so I know its zoomed in.

 

[AEREC]

As a huge fan of the Motorstorm series, I gotta say I am incredibly disappointed with Apocalypse.

It goes without saying that the story and presentation is terrible and really drags down the whole experience for me, but my main annoyance is just how much crap there is on the track and on the screen.

I feel like I run into so much more random shit and have a much harder time seeing the upcoming route than I did with previous Motorstorms...and ya some of the effects look cool but they are frustrating as hell when they drop something in front of you and and you dont even have a split second to react.

On top of all this, who knows when we will be able to play online...Im afraid I will be done with this game before I have the chance to play online which is ashame because it looks like they put a lot of work into it only to send it out to die by releasing it when the PSN is down.

I really hope the next Motorstorm returns to an off road environment. I know they have done the Southwest US desert locale but a Saharan Desert locale would be cool...or even just Motorstorm Africa.

 

[test_account]

About people crashing too much, this will change once you learn the stages better and when you get more familiar with the vehicles. I was like this to begin with as well, keeping crashing many many times. But after playing much online, i rarely crash anymore

I think so.

Ah ok.

and ya some of the effects look cool but they are frustrating as hell when they drop something in front of you and and you dont even have a split second to react.

Which levels are this on? I havnt played the game in about 2 weeks now, but i cant recall that something suddently gets dropped infront of me where it is near impossible to avoid crashing.

 

[DidntKnowJack]

This game is pure shit. Even without the presentation issues, and not being able to pick your vehicle in the story mode. They did something to the hit detection or something, because (for instance) I'll barely scrape a wall while going into a turn, and BAM - it suddenly goes into a crash animation. There's also an issue where a car will nudge your vehicles ass and you find yourself completely turned around. This has happened so many fucking times, and it's become incredibly frustrating. I've never "reset" so many times in a Motorstorm game before.

I may sound like I'm being hard on this game, but it's because I've always loved the series so much. I've played every one of them. Disappointed doesn't even come close to how I feel about this game. I waited and waited for this piece of shit?

 

[test_account]

I waited and waited for this piece of shit?

By the look of your experience with the game, it seems like it

Hehe, but seriously, for me MS:A is pretty much all about the online multiplayer. I enjoyed the single player, but it is not something that i will replay a lot. Multiplayer however, i've done like 300 races and i'm still not tired of the game. It will also be one of the first games that i will play again once PSN get back up =) I'd recommend you to try the multiplayer once PSN gets back up.

EDIT: I can see that people are a bit dissapointed with the single player aspect of the game though. Motorostorm Apocalyse is after all not that open (like choosing your own vehicle for each race etc.) as the previous Motorstorm games are.

 

[AEREC]

About people crashing too much, this will change once you learn the stages better and when you get more familiar with the vehicles. I was like this to begin with as well, keeping crashing many many times. But after playing much online, i rarely crash anymore



Ah ok.



Which levels are this on? I havnt played the game in about 2 weeks now, but i cant recall that something suddently gets dropped infront of me where it is near impossible to avoid crashing.

I think upper Bohemia or something, theres a part where a gas station explodes and a tanker falls int he middle of the track, and another part where boulders roll onto the road. Anyways Im sure these are avoidable somehow but in the five times I just tried the race they got me everytime.

Im pretty sure this only happens in singleplayer and not multiplayer.

 

[test_account]

I think upper Bohemia or something, theres a part where a gas station explodes and a tanker falls int he middle of the track, and another part where boulders roll onto the road. Anyways Im sure these are avoidable somehow but in the five times I just tried the race they got me everytime.

Im pretty sure this only happens in singleplayer and not multiplayer.

Ok, i know which part you mean about the gas station. It might be a bit difficult to avoid the tanker indeed, but i think that is mostly just in the first runs. The crash animation is afterall the same all the time, so once you know about it, it gets easier

About the boulders, i guess that is on the Mainlining level? I'm not 100% sure, but i do actually think that these boulders dont affect your driving (they just bounce off your vehicle). It might be a bit difficulty to see whats ahead of you when the boulders fall though. I sometimes let go of the throttle in this part, i find it easier then.

 

[UFRA]

Finished the game today.

The story was cheesy and obviously didn't take itself seriously, but I admit I chuckled at a couple of the silly motion comics. True, I wish the game was loading during that time since the story was irrelevant to the racing for the most part, but whatever.

When I first got this game I felt like it was a step down graphically from MSR. I even remembered the original MS as having really crisp graphics.

Today I decided to fill my craving for the old games and I popped in both MS and MSR and played a quick race on almost every track in both games. Wow was I surprised at how those games actually felt dated.

Apocalypse not only looks better IMO but it feels faster. Maybe it's the urban environment whizzing past, or the game speed really is just faster, it seems way more hectic. After thinking about it more, it really is impressive for a racing game to have so much ambient activity going on. It's really quite a cool experience.

So after playing the previous MS's again briefly I've learned to appreciate this game even more, and see the steps they've taken to improve the series. It's not perfect- Again I wish the engine sounds were louder...I also think the soundtrack is OK but overall forgettable in the end. The first 2 MS games had a great soundtrack that complimented the gameplay very well. This one seems a bit lacking.

I think the vehicle handling feels better in Apocalypse - more responsive maybe would be the term? I love the vehicle customization and I AM DYING TO PLAY ONLINE FFS....

Overall I'm quite happy with the game and can't wait to put many many hours into it online now.

/random thoughts

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Put that shit on facebook son.

Spoiler

I kid, wish the the damn PSN was up for you to spam me with how great the game is lol

 

[UFRA]

Put that shit on facebook son.

Spoiler

I kid, wish the the damn PSN was up for you to spam me with how great the game is lol

Indeed.

Spoiler

Buy buy buy buy buy!

 

[beast786]

Any deals is US?

 

[chubigans]

This is easily one of the best arcade racers since Rush 2048. Eons above Pacific Rift and the snow game for the PSP.

I really can't get over how much damn fun this game is. Absolutely fantastic...shame that they don't make games like this anymore.

 

[pistolpete2940]

So far im loving the game, not sure if I like it better than the original though. I'm kind of scared that once I go through all the tracks a couple of times, the novelty of all the destruction will wear off. :/

 

[BeeDog]

This is easily one of the best arcade racers since Rush 2048. Eons above Pacific Rift and the snow game for the PSP.

I really can't get over how much damn fun this game is. Absolutely fantastic...shame that they don't make games like this anymore.

It really is. Obviously I'm a big fan of the game, but I can't state how much I love it despite some of its faults. Truly too bad that the importance of arcade racers has dropped considerably this console gen.

Either way, this game will be at/near the top of my GOTY list for this year, no doubts.

 

[btkadams]

played for 40 mins today.

my evaluation so far (obviously premature):
• visuals are absolutely incredible
• feels way faster than previous motorstorms and i'm not sure if thats good/bad. it definitely feels different.
• story is pretty lame but i'm not finding it dragging down on the experience; it's just there.
• level design is pretty interesting and a lot more varied than i thought it would be (being in a city and all)


maybe i'm just forgetting the previous motorstorm games, but does anyone use the handbrake? how should i be going about the sharp turns in this game?

 

[Mesijs]

This game is pure shit. Even without the presentation issues, and not being able to pick your vehicle in the story mode. They did something to the hit detection or something, because (for instance) I'll barely scrape a wall while going into a turn, and BAM - it suddenly goes into a crash animation. There's also an issue where a car will nudge your vehicles ass and you find yourself completely turned around. This has happened so many fucking times, and it's become incredibly frustrating. I've never "reset" so many times in a Motorstorm game before.

I may sound like I'm being hard on this game, but it's because I've always loved the series so much. I've played every one of them. Disappointed doesn't even come close to how I feel about this game. I waited and waited for this piece of shit?

You are very right. I am surprised that not many reviews have noticed these obvious flaws in controls. Very irritating.

 

[Outtrigger888]

Put a couple more hours into single player and im enjoying it more, ive learned not to boost my ass off like I did in Pacific Rift and its helped a lot with the constant crashing. Im waiting for PSN to come back to play the hell out of this online, im sure thats where the real fun is to be had.

Is the online differnt from pacific rift? As in ranking system and such?

 

[Shurs]

I recorded some 720p videos:

Skyline during the day.

Exodus w/cutscene.

Rising Damp w/cutscene.

Skyline revisited.

 

[AEREC]

This game is pure shit. Even without the presentation issues, and not being able to pick your vehicle in the story mode. They did something to the hit detection or something, because (for instance) I'll barely scrape a wall while going into a turn, and BAM - it suddenly goes into a crash animation. There's also an issue where a car will nudge your vehicles ass and you find yourself completely turned around. This has happened so many fucking times, and it's become incredibly frustrating. I've never "reset" so many times in a Motorstorm game before.

I may sound like I'm being hard on this game, but it's because I've always loved the series so much. I've played every one of them. Disappointed doesn't even come close to how I feel about this game. I waited and waited for this piece of shit?

I agree, I dont think Ive ever been so let down by a series that I love, this game is just infuriating. I really dont know why Im waiting until I can try out the multiplayer to determine if this game is a complete failure, but it's very tempting to get rid of it now.

 

[Gen X]

Got this game 2 days ago and although I am in the same boat as everyone else regarding the story, voice acting etc, I'm really enjoying the actual structure of the campaign as opposed to MSR (Couldn't get into MS as I got it after PR).

A shame the online isn't working at the moment, but I spose that gives me an excuse to hammer through the campaign. Already 100% the first two, just one the 4th track with Mad Dog now.

 

[Shearie]

Sadly, PSN being down has even affected some of the SP for me since I don't even want to attempt any of the Hardcore Festival challenges since I can't post my times to the online leaderboards, although maybe the game will just add all previously saved times once it's connected to the network again. Regardless, I'm still in absolute love with this game even just casually replaying the festival or getting all golds for the events. This game is pretty much an arcade racing classic in my mind.

 

[test_account]

You are very right. I am surprised that not many reviews have noticed these obvious flaws in controls. Very irritating.

Which flaws in the controls do you mean?

 

[DangerousDave]

Which flaws in the controls do you mean?

The control scheme is different than the one of CoD games, i suppose

Control of the game is great, overall. Turning seems more difficult than in previous games, in some vehicles, but it's fair, because without the terrain variety of other motorstorms, is the only way to give some kind of handicap to the cars and heavy vehicles, compared with motorcicles and light ones.

 

[BPK]

Picked this up and just not feeling it. For me, the Motorstorm series has always been about the challenging handling. I'm afraid I agree with this assessment on gamefaqs:

"Really? To me the handling is totally watered down. You hardly have to touch the brakes at all and when you do they bring you almost to a dead stop when you only want to slow down a little, everything oversteers now compared to the other games, they've nerfed the hell out of ram turning, and you have to wait too long to boost again at critical."

I don't mind the move to a city environment, but I miss the track diversity of Pacific Rift (Water, Fire, Earth, and Air). Those tracks were immaculately designed, whereas the tracks here feel cluttered (obviously a design choice since this is an apocalyptic world). As for the destruction, I'm already starting to get bored with the stock animations. You can only watch the same building crumble so many times before it starts to wear thin.

I'm definitely holding on to my copy until PSN comes back up, but I don't see myself playing this for very long. The game has its strengths - the 3d is impressive, for example - but for this long-time fan of the series it feels alien to him.

 

[Oni Jazar]

I'm of the opposite opinion and frankly I'm a bit amazed at the lukewarm response to this entry in the series. This game is a little mindblowing with all the shit that goes on from race to race. Did Split Second bring this kind of destruction? Some of the MS:A levels are unbelievable. You're air-lifted straight onto a falling building from a chopper!! WTF it doesn't get more awesome then that.

The handling feels similar to me from the other Motorstorm games and while yes the tracks can feel cluttered and chaotic it doesn't take long for you to get a handle the safe-zones to drive through. However the tracks have some randomness to them so it's not like the same building will fall every time you turn this exact corner on lap 1.

Just played through the beginner's story arc and the final mission on that was just... holy shit. It wasn't even a competition with other racers but the deformation of the environments was really impressive.

I own Motorstorm 1 & 2 and didn't finish either of them because it didn't give a satisfying sense of progression. Just race to the next race to the next race. These cutscenes in 3 are laughably bad but at least they give me a something (albeit minuscule) to work towards.

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

Wow, this is out? Worst advertising ever. I love the Motorstorms. How do companies expect games to sell when they don't even try to advertise?

 

[caligula13]

question: every time i start the game it crashes my ps3 at the "Sony Entertainment presents"-screen.

i don't know why because it worked perfectly at the beginning and when i wanted to play the game yesterday it didn't work.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

Wow, this is out? Worst advertising ever. I love the Motorstorms. How do companies expect games to sell when they don't even try to advertise?

Kind of difficult to advertise when the game was delayed for its themes, I thought they said they wouldnt "advertise" in that manner. Anyway, they probably will over the summer and such.

 

[Greg]

Only about 12 races in, but I'm not really feeling this. I'm sure most of this has already been touched on, but:

-The destruction is nice to look at, and it runs greats considering the amount of activity, but the tracks are cluttered and the setting itself isn't that appealing to me compared to previous tracks in the series.

-I appreciate the lack of emphasis (so far) on the actual paths you take based on your vehicle. I'm sure some others really enjoyed the previous games where paths were catered to specific vehicles, but in this game there is less of a performance decrease for being on the 'wrong path' (even though I'm sure it plays a huge factor when racing online).

-It's hard to tell how well I'm racing beyond the fact that I'm finishing 1st. I know it's always been an issue with the series, but it's annoying to race a perfect race and have an opponent right behind you despite finishing 1st - and then in another race you crash 5 times during a race and have a 'miracle' comeback on the last lap.

-The collisions are way too sensitive. I know it won't be a huge issue once I learn the tracks, but just in general collisions with opponents and the random edges of objects are frustrating and unpredictable. Another problem is that the sensitivity issues don't apply both ways. An opponent can nudge you from behind and spin you out with ease, but you can't do that to the CPU.

-I know I should be playing with a different camera, but the camera collision issues when a large vehicle is right behind you is annoying. There are also some camera issues when making sharper turns.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

Woot found a trophy guide, now Im all set to start the game. The multiplayer one seems so time consuming. Now to boot this baby up.

 

[Wario64]

$45 at Best Buy right now

 

[M.W.]

So, I'm finally trying to get some online races in, but the find game tab is dark and i can't select it. It will sometimes highlight, then go back to dark. Anyone else having this weird problem?

 

[Hellshadow]

Yep, I also can't connect to the multiplayer server.

 

[M.W.]

Ok, now it says there is a problem communicating with the server. Hmm

 

[Hellshadow]

Their servers must have crashed.

edit: back up again

 

[Dedication Through Light]

Well after my first two races I can already tell Ill be redoing races as much as I did in NFS Hot Pursuit, why are buses placed right on the corner to the finish line!

Soundtrack is hot and intense! Cant wait to go online!

 

[Greg]

Just finished up the story mode. I definitely like the way the races were structured compared to previous MS games as it had less repetition of the same tracks, but the collision issues were annoying throughout the entire game.

 

[Mega Man's Electric Sheep]

A better name for this game would be Motorstorm: Taking it From Behind. Cuz that's all the cpu has been doing to me all day is nudging me from behind and flipping my car instantly backwards. I don't remember being annoyed by this in the previous games, it's infuriating.

 

[Greg]

A better name for this game would be Motorstorm: Taking it From Behind. Cuz that's all the cpu has been doing to me all day is nudging me from behind and flipping my car instantly backwards. I don't remember being annoyed by this in the previous games, it's infuriating.

Yeah, it's annoying. And if you tap them in a similar fashion you spin yourself around or it doesn't do anything.

I barely felt like I was racing... feels more like surviving until the last 2 laps when it lets you start comfortably passing. And then there's that moment shortly before the finish line where everything ramps up again.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

Online is pretty hot. I wish they explained betting better. Seems so odd to go up against people who are rank 46...while the rest of us are 2-10, might not go back into single player mode.

 

[BeeDog]

Online is pretty hot. I wish they explained betting better. Seems so odd to go up against people who are rank 46...while the rest of us are 2-10, might not go back into single player mode.

Betting is as simple as wagering on who you think you can beat. If there's someone in the lobby you think you can beat, you simply place a bet on him; the number to the left of his name (e.g. 900) are the credits you'll get if you win over him. If you then win, your multiplier is increased by 0.25 (so with your first win, you get a x1.25 multiplier, so the bonus is 900 x 1.25 = 1125 extra credits).

Now it's up to you if you want to bet again immediately (pressing [] after a finished race) to have a shot at increasing this multiplier. So if you win your next bet, your multiplier will then be x1.50, but if you lose it gets reset back to 1.00. This way, if you're good, you can create a big-ass chain that nets you tons of credits, but you can never actually lose anything. It's simple, harmless yet addicting.

Also, don't worry about what rank some are at. I often beat 50+'ers while I'm still barely 20 something.

 

[swoon]

Just finished up the story mode. I definitely like the way the races were structured compared to previous MS games as it had less repetition of the same tracks, but the collision issues were annoying throughout the entire game.

yea i agree with all of this. i can't believe i finished a motorstorm game, i haven't been able to complete the other two.

 

[test_account]

Cool to be able to play online again Man, the 2nd race i tried after the PSN outage i kept crashing a lot. Me being tired didnt help either though hehe. But after some sleep and more practice i got back into the game again

The control scheme is different than the one of CoD games, i suppose

Control of the game is great, overall. Turning seems more difficult than in previous games, in some vehicles, but it's fair, because without the terrain variety of other motorstorms, is the only way to give some kind of handicap to the cars and heavy vehicles, compared with motorcicles and light ones.

Yeah, i have noticed no problems with the controls at least. Maybe it can be a bit difficult to control some of the vehicles to begin with, but that is more a learning curve in my opinion compared to being flawed controls.

 

[btkadams]

the online is surprisingly deep. i really enjoyed it today. i also am finding myself crashing less and handling the supercar well. i think i'm going to focus on one vehicle until i get a good grasp and then move to the others.

 

[Trevelyan]

the online is surprisingly deep. i really enjoyed it today. i also am finding myself crashing less and handling the supercar well. i think i'm going to focus on one vehicle until i get a good grasp and then move to the others.

It really is. I played for a good bit, and am really enjoying it. I saw you playing a bit as well. I placed first for the first time ever in a motorstorm game online, so I'm happy about that, haha. But yeah, there's a lot to unlock, and I really love the betting system.

 

[btkadams]

It really is. I played for a good bit, and am really enjoying it. I saw you playing a bit as well. I placed first for the first time ever in a motorstorm game online, so I'm happy about that, haha. But yeah, there's a lot to unlock, and I really love the betting system.

yes i saw you too! we will have to party up at some point. i also had my first motorstorm wins ever today haha.