I'm addicted to Motorstorm, the latest greatest off road racing game on the PS3 or anywhere else. This game allows me to live out my fantasy of ruining a national park/monument just for the fun of whatever extremely non-environmentally friendly sport you can think of. What I especially like about this one is that it takes place in Monument Valley, right around the corner, and pretty much the same neighborhood as where I worked in Lake Powell. What really stands out to anyone who's actually lived in such a place is how well they nailed the lighting. They did a great job with the intense glare of the noon day sun on the sand, the contrast of the shadows, and the color of the rock at different times of day.
One of the more impressive effects, and one i didn't even notice for a while, was the exceptional rendering of dust in regards to how it obscures objects while letting light pass through. It's rendered in real time. In fact, all the lighting, even on the rocky cliffs above the tracks appears to be rendered in real time.
This angle, with the extreme light, dust and flying debris evokes an intensity of desert racing action that would make George Lucas jealous. Land speeders aren't as cool because you can't feel the ground under your wheels.
Another area where this game sets a precedent is with it's real time terrain deformation in the form of tire ruts in muddy areas. The wet mud looks great with the sun reflecting off of it into your eyes as you rip around a shaded corner. It has a pleasing effect on the grip of the tires, and the more cars that drive through it the worse the mud gets.
But graphics wouldn't be worth much if the game play wasn't so addictive. The over-the-hood view provides some of the most intense racing action i've ever experienced. I keep hearing people compare it to Wipeout, which is understandable as far as the way you can turn in the air and the very fast action but I think a more accurate comparison is the old Jet Moto and Destruction Derby games that provided endless hours of over the top action during those first PS1 years.
Unfortunately the game doesn't have a good way to look at all the crazy action. The only way to look at stuff without having to settle for catching glimpses of it as it zooms by is to pause the screen in the middle of your race. Then, however, there is a menu in the way if the controller is not actively moving the camera which is anchored looking directly at your vehicle. So you have to either zoom the camera all the way in or out with the control input and hold it in place at one of those two extremes to actually see anything in frozen motion. Maybe the sequel will have a picture mode, or at least better replays.
