So you’ve just bought a PlayStation Vita, eh? Well, there’s a large selection of launch titles to play on your shiny new system. But what’s that - you’re too broke to afford any of the arguably-expensive retail games? Then it might just be time to turn to the PlayStation Store, where fun and thrills can be had without breaking the bank. If this is the route you choose, then you should check out Motorstorm RC - an addictive, arcade-style racer brought to us by Evolution Studios.
If the name Motorstorm sounds familiar, that’s because we’ve seen a few titles in the series appear on the PS3, but this time, things are a little different: Instead of off-roading your way around full-sized tracks, you’ll be picking up your radio control and speeding around miniature courses using RC cars. To be honest, the fact that they’re RC is slightly irrelevant, as the tracks are all built to scale. Of course, instead of the traditional behind-the-vehicle view, you’ll be directing the action from above, in a sort of isometric perspective.
There are four venues within the game, each with different scenery to enjoy as you dash around the tracks: One is desert-themed, one is tropical, another is filled with snow and ice, and the final one is post apocalyptic (because we all know that the only things that can survive a nuclear war are cockroaches, Twinkies, and RC cars). Within these venues you’ll take on four types of challenge, which are as follows:
Race - Pretty self-explanatory, really. Face off against a selection of other cars, aiming for a first, second, or third place position in a set number of laps. These challenges are traditional and fun, and I look forward to seeing them available on the selection screen.
Hot Lap - Another familiar race type, this is your standard time trial. However, in a little twist, you’ll see arrows flying around the track alongside you, indicating how fast you’ll need to drive to beat the target times. To be honest, this is probably my least favourite of the challenge types, as the targets quickly get tough to beat, and frustration is just one spin-out-on-the-final-turn away.
Pursuit - An interesting idea, with the only goal being to overtake all the other racers as quickly as possible. Do so within the target times, and earn yourself a win. These are fun challenges with a similar feel to the Races, as each attempt at victory is a little different from the last due to the varying actions of the cars around you.
Drift - The most unique of the challenge types, these ones test your skill at drifting. The only way to score points is to slide around corners, attempting to keep your car moving sideways for as long as possible - more points are acquires for long drifts, fast drifts, and drifting at extreme angles. There are target point amounts, and you must achieve them within set times in order to leave a winner. These challenges don’t appear for a while, and are definitely the toughest to beat. You’ll have fun while trying, though.
Each challenge can earn you 1-3 medals, and the more you gain, the more content will unlock: You’ll get new challenges, new cars, and new paint jobs as the medals pile up. If you’re one of those gamers who can’t move on until you’ve gotten full marks on each course, you’ll probably be playing for a while. However, it can get a little frustrating when you have to attempt the same challenge over and over again in order to get that final medal. Needless to say, people who are prone to throwing their controllers down in anger should definitely stay away from this title, as they could quickly find themselves the proud owners of a £230 pile of broken plastic!
Aside from the medal-earning challenge mode, you can also view and edit your collection of cars, set some fast times on any of your unlocked tracks, or simply mess around in the playground. One mode that’s unfortunately missing, though, is online multiplayer. I imagine its absence is due to the fact that this is a budget game and Evolution Studios didn’t want to spend money on its development, but I also worry that they may have left it out because the 3G version of the Vita wouldn’t be able to handle it over a mobile connection. I hope this is just paranoia, and not a new precedent we’ll have to get used to. What you will get though, is leaderboards, so you can still beat your friends’ best times, even if you can’t actually enjoy the game at the same time. This is a great incentive to keep playing, long after you’ve finished first in every challenge.
So overall, I had a lot of fun with Motorstorm RC. It’s not particularly deep, and you probably won’t be using it to showcase the amazing graphical abilities of your new handheld system (they’re not bad, just not as impressive as a full retail title), but if you’re in the mood for some cheap, addictive racing action, you could do a lot worse. If you were a fan of old-school titles such as Micro Machines or R.C. Pro-Am, you’ll feel right at home picking up Motorstorm RC. The cars may be small, but the fun is quite large!
(By the way, folks in the US can currently pick this game up free of charge, thanks to some Toyota product placement. Grab it now, before the offer ends! As if that wasn’t enough, every download of the Vita version, whether paid or not, will unlock the PS3 version too!)
