Motorstorm: Apocalypse

What do you do when the world comes crashing down and civilisation as we know it is falling apart? Do you have to ask? Race around the ruins. What else? That's the basic premise in Motorstorm: Apocalypse, where you will boost your way past the competition whilst navigating collapsing buildings, burning houses, highways crumbled by earthquakes and coastlines hit by tsunamis.

It's a nice concept, even if it's not entirely original. We've encountered levels with destructive tendencies in Split/Second, and the post-apocalyptic theme is almost as common as zombies in video games. But there is no shame in that, and on paper it's a brilliant setup for an arcade racer.

But despite the great concept the game fails to impress. Fatally the controls are problematic and overshadow the rest of the game. It feels as if many of the vehicles have their centre of gravity positioned too high, and if you swing your tail end out to drift you quickly lose speed. Motorstorm: Apocalypse is an arcade racer where you really can't drift - far from an optimal situation.

It's a shame, as the selection of vehicles is rather good. There are dune buggies, super minis, muscle cars, trucks, rally cars, ATV's and more. Some vehicles are better than others, but as your choice of wheels is pre-determined for each race it helps little - baffling when you're up against a mixture of rides, and you're swamped with a mixture of jealousy and anger as opponents race by you on monster trucks and motorcycles. It's a bitter pill to swallow.

In the story mode there are three campaigns with varying difficulty that you unlock one by one. And therefore it can take some time before the game becomes challenging. I had progressed halfway into the second campaign before I had to redo a stage in order to progress for the first time.

There is an overarching story that binds the three campaigns together, told with animated cutscenes in between each race. They feel completely superfluous, and given there's a loading time before each one, it's unlikely they'll endear themselves.

The course design is rather inventive, and you will be racing on roof tops, through suburbia, in and out of burning floors of skyscrapers, down underground levels and plenty of other apocalyptic settings. The levels are incredibly detailed and vibrant with colour, and they often change during the course of a race. Houses and chimneys come falling crashing down, while earthquakes and explosions rip through and alter the terrain on which you drive.

The levels are also filled with scrap metal and wreckage, and in some places there are even some pedestrians who either run around confused or shoot at you with assault rifles (though there's little consequence). There are plenty of ramps and ledges to jump off, and there are often options for alternative routes. All vehicles are equipped with boost, and you have to keep an eye on the temperature of the engine to avoid going out in flames. Nicely, rain and puddles will cool it down so you can boost quickly again, while fire naturally has the opposite effect.

There is a great atmosphere to the game, with the amount of visual details at times becoming almost distracting. However, problematic vehicular controls once again raise their head. Little bumps and pieces of metals will rock your car as if it was plastic, a paradox given how heavy the vehicles feels when navigating corners.

There are lots of things that can tip your car over or make you lose control, and once on your side or on your back you quickly fall to the back of the pack. It's annoying, and so are your competitors. If they ram their front bumper into your rear bumper, what results is less a battle of wills and wits and more a poor man's Strictly Come Dancing as the vehicles shudder to part, and there is no way to get out of it. Get hit while in the air by another driver and you'll drift off course without any chance of getting back to your race line. It's frustrating.

Motorstorm: Apocalypse is excellent in some areas, but also sports flaws in some of most fundamental mechanics of the game. A racing title where the controls leaves a lot to be desired just doesn't cut it in a packed field of competitors. Aside from hidden collectables and unlocking the next level, there's little incentive to return to stages once completed.

You don't unlock new cars or upgrades, and it's not the kind of game where you will be redo each level over and over again to shave a few seconds of your time - it's just too chaotic and dependant on random circumstances. Therefore the experience quickly grows monotonous and pointless.

Motorstorm: Apocalypse is a distinctly average arcade racer that quickly runs out of gas. Compared to a game such as Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit it doesn't have enough content or variation to compete, and it struggles to keep you hooked for more than a few hours.