Motorstorm will be one of the first titles this generation to have a sequel on the same platform, so Motorstorm: Pacific Rift is a good indicator of how well developers are getting to grips with the PS3. Visually, it seems as if they are becoming quite familiar with the dev kits as the game is very aesthetically pleasing. Where the original Motorstorm looked great, the newer game looks even better. The dirt effects, especially when flinging out from underneath the vehicle's tires look very realistic. For the most part it ran very smoothly, but the frame rate did drop momentarily a couple of times. The only part of the demo that wasn't so easy on the eye were the new lava effect, which for unknown reasons looks very rough. It definitely stood out against the otherwise shiny effects. It's likely that this part of the game is yet to be refined so I'll pass judgment on the overall graphics come release day.

The gameplay remains unchanged from the original formula and the player can choose from multiple routes to shave off precious seconds or simply to get some big air. There are water cooling structures you can drive through and there are lots of vehicles to choose from. The rally car had poor handling, but was by far the fastest choice. Contrasting this, the tanker was super slow but easy to steer and a powerful drive. It was so slow in fact, that boosting was required just to prevent the truck from falling into the lava on some of the longer jumps. The boost gauge is still located in the bottom left hand corner and the mechanics of boosting are pretty much the same as the original. As you may have gathered, the course featured a volcanic region, with a rocky forest and other greenery nicely juxtaposing the hot magma.