Introducing MotorStorm Apocalypse

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More than two years ago we decided where the MotorStorm festival should head next, and I’ve been itching to talk about it ever since. Now, as part of the global announcement, and with E3 just around the corner, it’s so exciting to finally be able to share some information about the MotorStorm Apocalypse.

MotorStorm Apocalypse

Here are some of the headlines…

You May Have Heard…We’re Heading to the City!

But this is no ordinary city. In the same way that the first MotorStorm was set in Monument Valley, and MotorStorm Pacific Rift was set on ‘The Island’, inspired by Hawaii and other Pacific islands, we’ve set this MotorStorm in ‘The City’, inspired by the West Coast of America, and, in particular, the Bay Area of California.

MotorStorm’s brand of racing is not about ‘going urban’ though. We all know that the lunatic ‘Stormers would take every expectation about street racing and turn it upside-down. So this is what they’ve done. Welcome to Brutal Urban Off-Road Racing!

MotorStorm Apocalypse

Post Apocalyptic? NO!

The city has been abandoned and somewhat damaged after a tremor. When the ‘Stormers find this out, they head straight in. Pretty soon, two things become clear: it isn’t completely empty and Mother Nature isn’t done yet!

Throughout the game the city will be ripped to pieces, in real-time, as you race. Routes will be affected, as will our emergent gameplay.

Buggies using collapsing walls as half-pipes. Big Rigs on the rooftops of skyscrapers as they collapse. Superbikes gunning into the basements of enormous rifts. Supercars flicking on their headlights to barrel through the subways and sewers. Multi-vehicle pile ups on giant bridges as they buckle and twist. Driving through someone’s office and smashing up their desks. It’s all there.

Two groups have also stayed behind, and neither takes too kindly to MotorStorm’s arrival. I’ll talk more about them another time, but for now I’ll say that when they realise there isn’t going to be much of a city left, they start to destroy it too.

This isn’t post-apocalyptic. It’s apocalyptic. You are there when it happens. It’s survival racing.

MotorStorm Apocalypse

Variety, Chronology and Depth are King

We’ve listened to everything people said about our previous games and, as a result, one of our priorities is to make a more satifsying overall game experience. In our single-player mode, every race is unique. When a building comes down it stays down. When you race a track again, the buildings will still be down and the MotorStorm crew will have carved yet more routes into the ruined landscape. The only time you’ll see the same thing twice is when you choose to. Underscoring this chronology is the fact that you’ll get to see the game from three different viewpoints.

Nothing annoys me more than the notion that an accessible action racer must also be shallow or plain dumb. So once you have experienced the single-player journey, the true depth of our title will come to the fore. Our overhauled ‘Wreckreation’ mode has been heavily influenced by the best online titles: from shooters and action adventures, RPGs and platformers. It features:

  • Sixteen player online multiplayer.
  • Four player split-screen.
  • Combinations of the two. Play with three friends in the living room against 12 more online.
  • Massive vehicle customisation. Change vinyls, vehicle parts, vehicle shapes and more. Upload them to the community site and share them with others. They automatically work on all vehicle types, and include your PSN ID.
  • Vehicle perks. Modify your handling, boosting and offensive abilities as you unlock new perks.
  • A wealth of rankings to progess through online with associated rewards and recognition.
  • Stacks of online rewards to earn and persistent progress giving the most determined and successful racers the status and recognition they deserve.
  • Persistent matchmaking. Keep your party together throughout your gaming session.
  • A Game Mode Creator. From a completely blank canvas you can design your own game rules and victory conditions, play them online, and incorporate them into tournaments.

Lots More

We’ve got a lot more to reveal too; things like replacing loading screens with cut-scenes that finally reveal what it’s like to be a part of the MotorStorm subculture, to changes to handling and boosting, to the five completely new vehicle classes making their way to this festival.

The end of the world…is just the beginning.

Let me know your thoughts.

MotorStorm Apocalypse MotorStorm Apocalypse

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257 Comments

19 Author Replies

  • Awesome, can’t wait for more info at E3!

  • LOL @ 148…….wow……”ultra realistic like Burnout Paradise”?!?!?! HAHAHAHAHA If you think those physics are realistic, I PRAY you never get a license. Burnout feature just as “arcadey” physics as Motorstorm, it’s just on streets instead of off-road.

    ………..”ultra realistic like Burnout Paradise”……….LOL, I can’t get over that. 8D

  • Ummm… What secrets are left for E3?

  • Please tell me your going to max out the PS3 this time! Motostorm 1/2 were great games no lie, but when you compaired them to newer titles like WipEout HD Fury, Burnout Paradise, even the likes of Blur, and Split Second it just seems dated. Looks great so far! Are guys going to dive into the Cell CPU for AA work, and other features like God of War 3, and Killzone 2 have done?

  • I can’t wait for this. The original Motorstorm helped sell me on the PS3 and it ( along with Pacific Rift ) have been some of my all time favorites on PS3.

    Really happy to see / hear this is coming.

  • Oh, and a video will be nice too ;)

  • I love MotorStorm. I had so much fun playing MotorStorm on PS3. It looked great, played great, great tracks locations, fun online. Single player was solid and I think I gold every single festival. Just the night was too dark.

    MotorStorm 2 was a huge disappointment for me. I bought the game at full price at release without even bothering with reviews as I took the new series for granted for it to be solid every time. The game turned out very irritating and hard for me. The AI cars were just too hard to deal with. As my rank reached somewhere 6,7,8.

    -They crashed into me for no reason. This almost every time resulted in me crashing, spinning, losing speed and position. Mad annoying when I was winning the race.
    -All the AI racers seem gunning for just me.
    -They cars handling seems have become harder and rough.

    Thanks

  • These all resulted in me being unable to progress further in the game. So my trophy level just froze. This almost seemed something like a serious bug that stops the game from progressing in my opinion. I love the racing genre. I play GT, NFS, Burnout, MNClub, DiRT. So it’s not that I just suck too much at it. MNClub LA was glitchy when it released but they eventually fixed all problems I had with the game.

    So please address the following with MotorStorm 3…
    —-1 thing and 1 thing only: AI cars don’t crash into you for no reason.

    Like in DiRT 2, the AI is very good. They don’t crash into you in you don’t crash into them. They mind their own business.

    Another thing…

    1. Can you please add trophy support for MotorStorm???? If not just tell us you won’t be doing it so I can stop thinking about that possibility.
    2. I know Motorstorm sold like 3 million. How much did MotorStorm 2 sell? Real curious.
    3. Can you update MotorStorm 2 trophy with Core/Add-on option?

    Thanks

  • First I want to say thanks to the blog to be ipad ready, now on topic. I really like what are you doing to the franchise. Every motorstorm feels different each year and not with minor updates. This is one of my favorites games just for that the only thing what I didn’t liked that other racing games of this type had was customization and you are already adding it so now, for me, this game is complete. Waiting for a gameplay video in E3.

  • Looks amazing!! thanks guys

  • Very Excited for E3

  • I was wondering what the next motorstorm would be. I thought about it, I mean… You guys have done the arctic, the desert, and the island themes. I really couldn’t think of where else you would go. I just ruled out city, because I figured it wouldn’t be offroad enough. Boy, was I wrong. If this game gets reviews that are at least a 7 (I have no doubt that it will), I’ll be buying for sure. Because this truly sounds like the ultimate offroad racing game.

  • Amazing news! I had been wishing the rumors were true! and now it’s official!

    But wait… why sony why? So many surprise before E3? New strategy to get a lot of news before E3? What surprise you have for us during the E3?

  • sony strikes again. ONLY ON PLAYSTATION!

  • Is the AI fixed, improved, or revamped in any way? In the first two Motorstorm’s it would rubberband like crazy.

  • any surprises left for E3 .

  • Tooooo awesome!!

  • what can we expect that will differ from the gameplay and scenery seen in Split/Second?

  • i keep getting surprised every day playstion’s is really making good games i cant wait for this!!!!!!! and little big planet 2 !!!!!!!!! and gran turismo 5!!!!!!!! and ps move!!!!!!!!!…ect

  • WOW O_O Motorstorm in the city well i have the Motorstorm games. I was blown away with the 1st game but when they were making the 2nd with monster trucks that was a WTF moment . Then with the 3rd it was ok but now theres a 4th. I can’t wait for it thanks E3 and Sony ^_^.

  • Two question for you here:

    Is this game utilizing the PS3 hardware better than the previous games? (Tedious question, I know, but I’m still curious how well you’ll be able to push it)

    How will the environmental effects work in the multiplayer?

  • Hello to all at Evolution. I just wanna say thank you so much for making the motorstorm series. You guys blew me away with Pacific Rift, I bought both map packs as well. Just wondering, am I gonna beable to use those map packs? Also, are you gonna include all the old maps from the older games? I sure hope so. Peace!!!!!

  • Well it’s going to be great just because it is Motorstorm but I was really hoping for the next game to have varied environments. Also the urban apocalyptic setting really doesn’t appeal to me as much as racing through beautiful nature.

    Oh well I’m still probably going to buy it though, the added depth and new features sound [DELETED] awesome and 5 new vehicle classes?! Holy [DELETED]!!!

  • LOOKS GREAT!!! 4 player split-screen online = epic!!!!! This is for sure buy for me!!! Love motorstorm series but havent played much on pacific rift in while but gonna get into it again

  • WOW! This game looks sick! please support custom soundtracks online :)

  • Wow, impressive! Five new classes sounds great. All those new customization/tweaking options is great to hear as well. Any chance this will be playable at E3? :)

  • EXCELLENT!!! APOCALYPSE will light some fires. I like the response mentioning the WREAKREATION concept. Just hope thats an actual feature not just words on a page.

    P.S. I am a game doctor and I am currently diagnosing SONY with PREMATURE E3CULATION??? Will run some additional testing on the 15th. Hope I am wrong.

  • Looks awesome.. But wait.. with all these pre-E3 announcement, what are you guys saving for E3?

  • im telling you guys now we are going here a resistance 3d announced at e3 i mean what else can they announce.

  • you really love that yellow buggy huh lol

    cant wait i love motorstorm

  • …what a news……… thank you guys.. for me personally one of the best IP of this gen..!! ;o)

  • I didnt buy the second game because of the exclusion of tilt controls. It’s what made the original for me.

    Will you be including SIXAXIS or Move controls?

  • Matt, I´m big fan (from Brazil… sorry for the grammar) of Evolution Studios and all of your efforts to make an inspiring and awesome game… Pacific Rift was SOOO AWESOME that I made 3 poor friends start working to buy PS3 just because of Motorstorm PR (don´t worry, the money is helping themselves as well).

    Can I give 3 little ideas? (hope you say “Yes”)

    -The Big Rigs and Monster Trucks cameras aways made them look… um… small… like a toy. And slow… maybe fixing a far camera to stay closer from the vehicle may help. (makes it look stronger YEAH BABY)

    -The Camera mode is amazing! Love to take more pics but there is no one else in the game to see it… maybe post online pics would be great. As such the replays (if there is plans for this)

    -Motorstorm festival is such a interesting world to watch on options menu… would be nice if we could do more than that (interacting) somehow… see where the mechanics works and stuff… choose the player own spot.

    thanks for reading! AND ONCE AGAIN: YOU, MATT, AND YOUR TEAM ARE AWESOME!

  • The first two game were great and this one sounds like it could be the best of the series, have fun making it!

  • check out the sony style website there is aps3 for 199$
    go now
    is this true

  • THIS GAME IS AWESOME AND WITH THE NEW FEATURES AND NEW SETTING IT JUST GOT PROMOTED TO- OFF THE HOOK! THIS IS GOING TO BE A MUST HAVE FOR ME..I WASNT REALLY FEELING PACIFIC RIFT..IM NOT A TROPICAL KINDA GUY..:/ AS U CAN SEE IM AN URBAN KINDA GUY..HENCE THE FIRST 3 LETTERS OF MY NAME :P ANYWHO..DAY ONE PURCHASE FOR ME..THANKS SONY FOR KEEPING THE EXCLUSIVITY ALIVE ON THE PS3!! KEEP UP THE “OFF THE HOOK” WORK!

  • Im really liking the whole 4 player split screen online mode, that makes a HUGE difference and its the deciding factor for my day one purchase

  • From how it looks It will seem similar to Split/Second with a better variety of vehicles and more race changing outcomes.

  • So will there be wheel support? I love this franchise and would love to see some wheel support…if I ask nicely pretty please? =)

  • Matt, please, make multiplayer mode fast. Like in MW – enter, connect, choose rules, search, play. ’cause in many other games it takes a God damn day to connect and enter the game you want.

    And one more thing – it makes our nerves calm when we see the process of searching games and connection. And it’s disappointing when you push search and nothing happens on screen (glad you love MW multiplayer).

  • * Massive vehicle customisation. Change vinyls, vehicle parts, vehicle shapes and more. Upload them to the community site and share them with others. They automatically work on all vehicle types, and include your PSN ID.

    WoW .. ! , I Can’t wait this game.

  • I have two questions that I would like to ask. Firstly, since you’ll now be in a city environment, will each vehicle still handle differently, and will it be possible to drive through a building as its coming down?

    because that would be pretty darn cool. ^_^

  • Well done Evolution studios! Well done!

  • Good gosh! This is such a day 1 buy!!! Ima tell everyone to tell everyone about this game. Also I’ll be doing what I do best with playstation exclusives as I work on a track inspired by this game =)

    -Tenko

  • Day 1 buy, but only if the cheating AI is fixed.

  • Will it have the same physics feel from the first motorstorm???

  • Not trying to sound like a fanboym just stating the obvious, sony is going to crap all over everyone at E3

  • You know I hope the next one is on the east coast then… Our hurricanes would make a great atmosphere :)

  • This actually looks really cool. I wasn’t really a fan of the previous Motorstorms, but I think this one may be right up my alley.

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