REVIEW: Motor Storm: Arctic Edge

Developer: Bigbig Studios| Publisher: SCEE | Format: PSP

Reviewer: Craig Jay Gallagher It’s no surprise to find one of Sony’s most endearing and popular racing sims make it’s way onto the PSP. After the success of the first two on the PS3 the next logical step was a move onto the PSP. Arctic Edge manges to retain much of what made the console versions such a joy though graphically it does suffer due which was to be expected.

This time the events move to the Alaskan slopes where you have 12 tacks of perilous ice covered danger and obstacles to overcome. As before winning isn’t simply a case of racing around a fixed track, each circuit in Arctic Storm has multiple paths to choose from. What route you take depends on your vehicle, ATVs are best suited to racing around the slopes and through tunnels while lighter vehicles are more adept at taking the high road.

One aspect of the game which many felt the game would suffer was in the handling. After all the PSP is a far cry from the Dualshock. Thankfully Arctic Storm handles pretty nicely, the analogue nub works very well and getting to grips with the game is as easy as pie.

As with all racing sims progressing through the game and winning races unlocks new events, vehicles and parts. These upgrades can range from cosmetics with which to pimp out your vehicle to performance enhancing ones. The game features an impressive array of tournaments to play through with the challenging nature of the game growing with each new one.

Unfortunately at times the AI is a little odd. AI Drivers have a habit of doing unusual things such as driving straight into walls or best of all driving right into you. This can easily be rectified by playing with other flesh and blood players. The game supports up to 8 players so you can easily get a few friends together or play online. The online races are very well implemented and run smoothly, there’s no long loading times and no lag.

As expected Arctic Storm is nowhere near as attractive looking as it’s console brethren. This was expected due to the restricted capabilities of the PSP. The game looks quite well with the tracks all appearing detailed and luscious. The attention to detail paid to the vehicles is fantastic. They all look and sound realistic and crashing into an obstacle and flipping a few times is a joy to behold. The soundtrack is the usual mix of generic alt rock so favoured by these titles. They do their job nicely but over time they do blend into the background.

Arctic Storm is a thoroughly enjoyable racing sim which makes the best of the PSP. It’s easy to pick up and play and the re-playability of it will have your returning time after time. Essential for fans of the PS3 versions and well worth a gander from those yet to experience the franchise as well as those just looking for a good racing sim.