Motorstorm Arctic Edge Review

The PSP has just released a new iteration called the PSPGo!, and with it, came a storm of new games for the system in an attempt to curb piracy and show the newfound revival of the PSP platform. One of these games was Motorstorm Arctic Edge, a new Motorstorm game from the developers that brought you the PS3 games. Let’s see how it stacks up to the competition

Arctic Edge plays identically to its PS3 predecessors, and that’s a good thing. Unlike the other major car release, Gran Turismo, the controls here work with you, not against you. The gas and brake occupy the shoulder buttons and the nitrous boost is mapped to the “X” button, and that’s all that there is to it. Use the accelerator and nitrous to boost and often times, you’ll even forego the brake for different boost strategies on the corners.

The gameplay being untouched, as I was saying before, is a tremendous feat for the PSP system – the physics appear to be the same as the ones in the PS3 version and the destruction mechanic (while toned down) still puts on a remarkable show on the platform. Crash your car and get ready to see destruction that you thought only a PS3 could render adequately.

Arctic Edge is a racing game, and an arcade racing game at that. If you came for even the smallest facsimile of a story, you’ll be incredibly disappointed. The racing is visceral and not much gets in the way of you and the tracks. Open up the game, and you’re often two or three clicks away from getting directly into a race and starting against an AI opponent.

The arcade racing mode is perfect as it is though, the tracks are fresh and surprisingly involved when it comes to the races against your AI opponents. The earlier races are incredibly easy, but the difficulty climbs along with the rewards. Cars are customizable, paintjobs can be modified as well, and that’s for every car in the game.

The racing itself is awesome – the tracks offer enough variability and the AI enough of a challenge to keep you coming back for more weeks after you bought the game. The tier system never feels forced, and as long as you play the tracks in order, you’ll find that the tiers unlock naturally and eventually you’ll make your way up the ladder, which contains many, many events.

If you’re a racing fan with a PSP and don’t own this game, you’re doing yourself a disservice. With $40, you’re going to have weeks of racing enjoyment and an excellent game to boot – so what are you waiting for? Use the new PSP games feature on the PSN service and download this excellent game. It’s also available in stores if you prefer a box copy.