MotorStorm: Apocalypse

MotorStorm: Apocalypse
European cover art
Developer(s)	Evolution Studios
Publisher(s)	Sony Computer Entertainment
Designer(s)	Paul Rustchynsky, Si Barlow
Series	MotorStorm
Engine	MotorStorm Engine (modified), Havok
Platform(s)	PlayStation 3
Release date(s)	EU 16 March 2011[1] AUS 17 March 2011[2] NA 3 May 2011[3] UK 1 April 2011
Genre(s)	Racing
Mode(s)	Single-player, 4-player split-screen, 16-player online multiplayer[4]
Media/distribution	Blu-ray Disc

MotorStorm: Apocalypse (MotorStorm 3 in Asia) is a 2011 racing 3D video game by Evolution Studios and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It is the fourth game in the series and the third for the PlayStation 3. It was announced shortly before the beginning of the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010 on the PlayStation Blog by Evolution Studios on 10 June 2010.^[4]

MotorStorm: Apocalypse was released in Europe on 16 March 2011^[1] but the UK release on 18 March was delayed by Sony Computer Entertainment UK following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan.^[5] The Australian launch went ahead as planned on 17 March, but Sony announced further shipments of the game to that country would be halted in the wake of the disaster.^[2] The planned North American release date of 12 April 2011^[6] was delayed by Sony^[7] who later confirmed new releases dates of 31 March 2011 in the UK^[8] and 3 May 2011 in North America.^[3]

The game's release in Japan was canceled in June 2011. No reasons were given at the time.

Story

Apocalypse is more story-driven than previous instalments. The events of Apocalypse's MotorStorm Festival are told from the perspective of three participants, labelled Mash "The Rookie", Tyler "The Pro", and Big Dog "The Veteran" by Evolution Studios, with each participant also representing a difficulty level of gameplay.^[9] These three participants will each see different parts of the catastrophe unfold over the course of the two day festival.

Setting

The game takes place in an apocalyptic urban area called The City, based on the West Coast of the United States (in particular California's Bay Area).^[4][10] The game consists of more than 40 tracks that can be altered from active catastrophic earthquakes and helicopters crashing through buildings.

Gameplay

New vehicles in the game include supercars, superbikes, hot hatches, muscle cars and choppers.^[11][4] Apocalypse is the first game in the MotorStorm series to focus on an urban setting as opposed to natural environments. The city that the Festival takes place in is enduring the throes of a massive natural disaster, causing the man-made structures in the city to visibly deteriorate. As players race through the tracks, the tracks can change in real-time; bridges can buckle and twist, buildings collapse and rifts open up beneath the vehicles as they drive. Players can also customize their vehicles with vinyls, vehicle parts, and modify the vehicle's handling, boosting and offensive abilities through perks. They are able to create and design their own game rules for online tournaments. A new gameplay element is the addition of "air cooling" one's boost. Similar to driving through cool water in Pacific Rift would speed up the rate of boost cooling, releasing the accelerator over a large jump will also cause the boost temperature gauge to drop quicker.

A new challenge in Apocalypse is the introduction of people who try to interfere in the event. The City houses two factions, known as the Crazies and Dusklite, who vie for survival. These groups try to impede the progress of the racers. They loot broken buildings, break into fights on the streets, steal cars and try to slam racers off the road, and attack racers with firearms. A private military company attempts to enforce order and their involvement creates additional hazards for racers to overcome such as an attack helicopter firing missiles onto the track.

Vehicles

Five new vehicle classes; the supercar, superbike, muscle car, chopper and the hot hatch, are new additions, with the original MotorStorm vehicles, ranging from the MX Motocross bike to the Monster Truck, being included.

On 16 May the first DLC includes the "Revelation" pack, containing four vehicles that can be either bought entirely or individually.

On 30 May the second DLC includes the "Remix" pack, consisting three vehicles from the original MotorStorm game such as, the Mojave Slugger, the Patriot Surger and the Voodoo Iguana.

On 6 June the third DLC includes the "Prestige" Pack, consisting a rally car and two supercars that can be bought entirely or individually.

Release

On 13 January 2011 the PlayStation Blog confirmed that the game would be released in Europe on 16 March 2011^[1] and in North America on 12 April 2011.^[6] The game was initially scheduled to be released in New Zealand on 16 March 2011 but following a magnitude 6.3 earthquake in the country in February, the game release was delayed indefinitely.^[12] Similarly, the game's release in Japan was also delayed indefinitely after an earthquake and tsunami struck the country on 10 March, 2011 - the game's originally scheduled release date.^[13] It was later confirmed its cancellation by Sony Computer Entertainment Japan three months later, with no reason given at the time.^[14] Sony Computer Entertainment Europe also delayed the game's release in the UK, stating in relation the disaster in Japan, "We are very conscious of the parallels between these events and the underlying theme in MotorStorm and are doing everything we can to be as sensitive as possible to the situation."^[5]

In Australia, the game was launched as scheduled on 17 March , but Sony confirmed the company would halt any further shipments and pull all advertising campaigns for the game.^[2]

The game was scheduled to be released in North American on 12 April 2011 but was changed to 3 May 2011.^[7][3]

Pre-order bonuses

In the North America three DLC packs available as pre-order incentives, each available from a specific retailler.^[15] Each pack includes a PlayStation Network avatar, an XMB theme and unique vehicle designs and stickers which the player can use to customise other vehicles.^[15]

Updates

The first update has been given to the game. The main feature of the update is that if one is to drive through a low tunnel in a large vehicle such as a monster truck the camera automatically switches to first person. it will stay like this until one leaves the tunnel.

On May 30, 2011, the MotorStorm: Apocalypse Tyler dynamic theme is available through purchase or as a free download for PlayStation Plus subscribers.

Reception

MotorStorm: Apocalypse review
Review scores
Publication	Score
1UP.com	B [16]
G4	4/5 [17]
GamePro	[18]
GameSpot	8.5 [19]
GamesRadar	7 [20]
IGN	8.0 [21]

MotorStorm: Apocalypse received good to mixed reviews. While the game has received an 8.0 score by IGN for its well-designed visuals and arcade-styled handling to vehicles,^[21] the game received a 7 by GamesRadar for its short and bland storyline, as well as a less appealing offine gameplay.^[20] GamePro criticized the game for its "underwhelming graphics" and for the game being similar to the game, Split/Second.^[18] However, GameSpot rated the game an 8.5 for its variety of multiplayer options, well-designed tracks and destructible environments.^[19] 1UP also gave it a "B" rating.^[16] GameZone gave the game a 6.5/10, stating "For anyone looking for a fresh new racing game on the PS3, things could get a lot worse than Motorstorm: Apocalypse, but they could also be a little better."^[22]

See also

• Impact of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on the video game industry

External links

• Official website

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "MotorStorm Apocalypse: Cover Art…And A LAUNCH DATE!". SCEE. http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2011/01/13/motorstorm-apocalypse-cover-art-and-a-launch-date/. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Citizen, Jessica (2011-03-16). "MotorStorm Apocalypse: AU release slowed". GamePron. http://www.gamepron.com/news/2011/03/16/motorstorm-apocalypse-au-release-slowed/. Retrieved 2011-03-16. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} "MotorStorm Apocalypse Racing onto Store Shelves May 3". SCEA. http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/04/15/motorstorm-apocalypse-racing-onto-store-shelves-may-3/. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d} Matt Southern (June 10, 2010). "Introducing MotorStorm Apocalypse". PlayStation.Blog. Sony Computer Entertainment. http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/06/10/introducing-motorstorm-apocalypse/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=motorstorm_061010. Retrieved June 9, 2010. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "Sony confirms UK Motorstorm delay | Games Industry | MCV". Mcvuk.com. http://www.mcvuk.com/news/43506/Sony-confirms-UK-Motorstorm-delay. Retrieved 2011-03-16. 
6. ^ ^{a b} "MotorStorm Apocalypse: The End is Nigh! – PlayStation Blog". Blog.us.playstation.com. http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/01/13/motorstorm-apocalypse-the-end-is-nigh-on-april-12th/. Retrieved 2011-03-16. 
7. ^ ^{a b} "MotorStorm Apocalypse Release Update – PlayStation Blog". Blog.us.playstation.com. 2011-03-18. http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/03/18/motorstorm-apocalypse-release-update/. Retrieved 2011-05-21. 
8. ^ Ben Parfitt. "Motorstorm gets new UK date". MCV. http://www.mcvuk.com/news/43604/Motorstorm-gets-new-UK-date. 
9. ^ Martin Robinson (June 10, 2010). "E3 2010: MotorStorm: Apocalypse First Look". IGN UK. http://ps3.ign.com/articles/109/1095814p1.html. Retrieved September 5, 2010. 
10. ^ Mike Fahey (June 10, 2010). "MotorStorm Apocalypse Is Urban Survival Racing". Kotaku. http://kotaku.com/5560284/motorstorm-apocalypse-is-urban-survival-racing. Retrieved June 9, 2010. 
11. ^ Adam Hartley (June 10, 2010). "Interview: Motorstorm Apocalypse’s Matt Southern". vg247. http://www.vg247.com/2010/06/10/motorstorm-apocalypse-officially-announced-has-screens/. Retrieved June 9, 2010. 
12. ^ "MotorStorm Game Yanked In New Zealand After Earthquake [Update]". Uk.kotaku.com. 2011-02-25. http://uk.kotaku.com/5770087/motorstorm-game-yanked-in-new-zealand-after-earthquake. Retrieved 2011-03-16. 
13. ^ "MotorStorm: Apocalypse delayed in Japan". Qj.net. http://www.qj.net/ps3/news/motorstorm-apocalypse-delayed-in-japan.html. Retrieved 2011-03-16. 
14. ^ "Motorstorm 3's Japanese Release Cancelled". andriansang. http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2011/06/09/motorstorm_3_cancelled/. Retrieved 2011-06-10. 
15. ^ ^{a b} "MotorStorm Apocalypse Pre-order Content Revealed – PlayStation Blog". Blog.us.playstation.com. http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/12/17/motorstorm-apocalypse-pre-order-content-revealed/. Retrieved 2011-03-16. 
16. ^ ^{a b} "MotorStorm Apocalypse Review for PS3 from". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/reviews/motorstorm-apocalypse-review. Retrieved 2011-05-21. 
17. ^ By Jason D'Aprile - Posted Apr 28, 2011 (2011-04-28). "Motorstorm Apocalypse Review for PS3". G4tv. http://www.g4tv.com/games/ps3/63919/Motorstorm-Apocalypse/review/. Retrieved 2011-05-21. 
18. ^ ^{a b} "MotorStorm Apocalypse PS3 Video Game, MotorStorm Apocalypse Game for PS3". Gamepro.com. 2011-05-17. http://www.gamepro.com/games/ps3/165213/motorstorm-apocalypse/. Retrieved 2011-05-21. 
19. ^ ^{a b} "MotorStorm: Apocalypse Review, MotorStorm: Apocalypse PS3 Review". GameSpot.com. 2011-05-03. http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/driving/motorstormapocalypse/review.html?tag=tabs%3Breviews. Retrieved 2011-05-21. 
20. ^ ^{a b} "MotorStorm: Apocalypse review, Motorstorm: Apocalypse Review, PS3 Reviews". Games Radar.com. http://www.gamesradar.com/ps3/motorstorm-apocalypse/review/motorstorm-apocalypse-review/a-2011032814230159047/g-20100607105724424084/p-3. Retrieved 2011-05-21. 
21. ^ ^{a b} Martin Robinson (2011-04-21). "MotorStorm Apocalypse Review - PlayStation 3 Review at IGN". Ps3.ign.com. http://ps3.ign.com/articles/116/1162915p1.html. Retrieved 2011-05-21. 
22. ^ http://ps3.gamezone.com/reviews/item/motorstorm_apocalypse/