Most racing games task you with trying your best to come in first place, but in MotorStorm, an upcoming off-road racing game from Evolution Studios, just staying on the road is a challenge. This isn't your typical racing game. You can tell once you look at the game in action. ATVs, buggies, rally cars, motorbikes, racing trucks and even big rigs are all thrown together on the same course. A race in MotorStorm can easily look like an off-road version of The Cannonball Run.

It's obvious that each vehicle has its own particular strengths and weaknesses, but the differences go beyond that. Portions of the track are designed as shortcuts for certain types of cars. For example, motorbikes can take a special narrow trail that other vehicles are just too wide to drive on. Other areas may only be accessible to a large truck due to an obstacle that must be rammed and destroyed. The big differences between each class also lends to foul play. Guys on motorcycles can punch other bikers, but are easy prey to larger vehicles. Finding out all the secrets in the eight tracks included in the game will take some time.

Catching air is a regular affair in MotorStorm. Tracks are full of ramps and insane jumps. The physics in the build we played were very bouncy and floaty, excessively so for some vehicles. Keep in mind that this is an unfinished build that we played and there is still a lot of tweaking to be done. The wild bouncing led to a lot of wrecks because the track also had plenty of drop-offs and sheer cliffs. Each time you wreck, the view is shifted to a slow-motion wreck camera. Crashing is a spectacular affair. Parts go flying off your car and plumes of smoke and fire are common.


Each vehicle also has boosts. How much boost you can use is determined by a gauge which tells you how much heat you're generating. You'll want to let your boost cool down a bit after each use, otherwise you'll overheat and your engine will blow, costing you precious seconds.

No details on multiplayer mode have been revealed other than that the team hopes to have 16 players play online at the same time. This is another PS3 game that runs at 720p instead of 1080p. Also, like many of the games we've seen at the Tokyo Game Show, no release date has been announced.