MotorStorm
DL RATING 8.5/10
PRICE: $79
GENRE: Racing
PLATFORM: PS3

Bright blue skies. White fluffy clouds. A red siltstone-filled desert. Welcome to Monument Valley.

Here, road warriors of various disciplines have gathered to compete in multi-terrain race courses for a chance to live the American dream.

The rules are simple. Get into one of seven vehicle types, and get dirty. Rally cars and racing trucks fight for the hard and fast lanes. MX bikes, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and buggies, stick to higher ground.

Ride the ramps. Memorise blind corners. Or lose precious lap seconds as you crash, explode, and magically reappear in the middle of the road.

You are immediately reminded of Burnout, and indeed, there are similarities.

The same brand of buttery smooth, ultra-responsive steering controls. That chocolate-like taste of turbo thrusting and throttling. And the way they bind the two most important scientific discoveries of our time - Newton's laws of motion and Murphy's law of s*** happening - to deliver a smashing good time.

But there are also differences. For starters, the sense of speed is not as strong. In exchange, there is a greater emphasis on driving lines, power sliding and counter-steering. All told, the complexity here makes Burnout look like a kiddie ride in the park, albeit a rocket-propelled one.

The inaugural MotorStorm could very well have been the definitive next-generation racing experience. Alas, a limited number of tracks (only eight), lack of time trial modes, and an online mode that is unaccessible to SingNet subscribers culminate into a mountain of missed opportunities.