When a racing game with only eight tracks can muster a 92% score, despite being a launch title for the PS3, there's clearly a skilful developer at the helm. MotorStorm, with its gargantuan sales figures and warm critical reception, was the only clear reason to own a PS3 for an entire year, and still stands up as one of the console's strongest titles. In spite of its developer's pedigree, however, the game only became whole as the months went by – such was the nature of developing a launch title. With MotorStorm: Pacific Rift, though, Evolution Studios has had a greater amount of breathing space, both creatively and in terms of development time. By utilising the Island, an environment inspired by Hawaii's many different facets, Evolution aims to reinvent the MotorStorm franchise; for a series that was hardly stale to begin with, this is a refreshingly mindful approach. In the way it surprises, provokes and entertains, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift looks to be a racing classic in every regard.
