Ryu Ga Gotoku

Published on: 3rd June, 2009

Ryu Ga Gotoku  | read this item

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Tuesday 16 January 2007
Had enough of predictable racing games? Of listlessly nudging hatchbacks around grey ovals? Of attaching stickers to the sides of Japanese sports cars? Us too, which is why we have the hots for MotorStorm. In every race you’re running a chaotic gauntlet of erratic physics, hostile AI and dangerous muddy slop. And it demands intense concentration because no two races are ever the same; by the third lap the course will have been carved and smeared into a brown sludge, mutilated objects and pulverised car shells blocking every turn. It’s a game that uses its complex physics engine as a core element, rather than a gimmick that’ll add an extra bullet point to the press release.

There are six vehicle classes to choose from: bikes, buggies, mud pluggers, big rigs, rally cars and ATVs. And because they’re all so different we’re going to go through them one by one. So, bikes – they’re our favourite. At the expense of being easily knocked off you can weave through small spaces and packs of other cars. Furthermore, if an ATV or fellow bike rider is nearby, you can press square to punch them and knock them flying into the muck.

Next, buggies. They have all the haste of a bike but benefit from being much more robust. You can really jerk them around and, if you’re skilled, can barrel across rocky areas without flipping out and crashing. Their biggest drawback is that it doesn’t take much for them to explode.

Mud pluggers? We’d never heard of them but they sort of look like car-shaped buggies. They’re our least favourite. They feel slow and twitchy and prone to rolling over. But, as the name suggests, when it comes to deep mud they’re a godsend; allowing you to slice through oceans of the stuff like a hot knife through butter.

Big rigs are a mixed bag. As much as we dislike their woeful lack of speed, ploughing through the starting block and sending bikes spiralling to their doom is a twisted thrill. As for the rally cars, Evolution Studios is the developer behind the excellent WRC games, so they feel fantastic to drive. Like the mud pluggers they flip easily but they have an even spread of weight and feel huskier than the other vehicles. Finally, the redneck’s favourite, the ATV. They’re basically four-wheeled bikes and we hate them. They’re too bouncy and waifish.

And part of the game’s strategy is choosing the right vehicle. The dusty canyon corkscrews of Sidewinder Ridge benefit from being at the handlebars of a bike, while sticky slop-fest The Mudpool suits big rigs and buggies down to the filthy, grimy ground. Another element of strategy comes in the form of boosting. By pressing X you can steadily increase your speed, flames spewing from your exhaust pipe. But you have a temperature gauge so if you boost for too long you’ll literally explode.

The tracks on offer are all – as the screenshots suggest – desert-based. It’s a rhapsody in orange and red, with only the time of day helping to shift the colour palette. Moonlit night races are particularly atmospheric, and the scorching auburn sun of the early evening really shows off PS3′s sophisticated light rendering.
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