Motorstorm in your pocket. Sounds cool, right? Well, it almost is.
I'm a huge fan of the console versions of MotorStorm and was intrigued earlier this year when Sony announced a PSP release for the series. Could BigBig Studios bring the gorgeously chaotic MotorStorm experience to the small screen? Yes and no.
Yes because Arctic Edge gets the feel and attitude of MotorStorm right. No because the physics system and difficulty are inconsistent.
Pants-crappingly huge jumps and drop offs now have softer landings thanks to layers of fluffy snow and fighting for position with a big rig while riding a motorcycle still ends up with someone getting crushed - You.
It might not be the prettiest PSP game but Arctic Edge isn't ugly by any means; dirt and snow spray on the screen like its console brother and the game looks cold, exactly as it should. The framerate doesn't drop a bit either, which is amazing considering a field of ten racers, background objects like airplanes, and randomly occurring environmental hazards like avalanches and rockslides.
Track design is pitch perfect for the series as well, with multiple routes tailored to the different vehicle classes and striking vistas, regardless of the fact that you're playing on a portable.
There are even new features that feel perfectly at home in the confines of a MotorStorm game. New race types like Time Ticker complement mild vehicle appearance customization and new rides like the Snowmachine (someone at BigBig like's SNL's Sarah Palin a bit too much), Snowcat (think bulldozer with a snowplow attached and you're half-way there) and Snowplugger.
In initial play, the physics system's inadequacies aren't readily apparent, but once I advanced to the third and fourth tiers of races, getting into first place took some skill. Watching my lead fall out from under me like one of the game's collapsing ice bridges because I hit the edge of a path separator (and did barrel roll after barrel roll) instead of driving over it or exploding was infuriating.
While Arctic Edge brings some welcome additions to the MotorStorm franchise, the wildly varying interpretations of the laws of physics siphon the fun out of the gas tank. What could have been another example of how to bring a home console experience to a portable system ends up feeling like an after thought.
Also available for the PlayStation 2.
