Motorstorm 2, my first frustration...

[warcrow]

OMFG So I finally got a chance to play this game yesterday on my day off (Vets day). As a fan of the first one I was really excited to plop down and put some time into this awesome racer.

I started off by playing the first ticket in the Earth league and my very first impression after of the graphics was--this is it? To me it somehow looked worse than the first one. Not by much mind you, but there seemed to be a step backwards here. Perhaps more time with the game and seeing additional tracks will change my opinion though. It has to get better than this. Hell, maybe the fact that I crashed 4 times on the first lap hindered my ability to perceive the lush visual fidelity well enough.

But by the time I hit lap two I felt adjusted and like I had learned a route. I decide to take the woodboard bridge instead of the slowing water lane. My buggy's left tire slips off the bridge--*BOOOOM*! I explode. I continue on and my buggy is bouncing all over the place--the handling on this thing sucks. Maybe I would have a better time with the ATV, I think. I continue on with the Buggy to give it it's fair chance. Speak of the devil--in front of me comes one of those ATV! I slide past him on the left to pass and the bastard cuts me off. I'm the heavier of the two so no worries, right? NAY! My dumbass plastic buggy actually pops up over him as he cuts into me and the front of my buggy actually sits there on his head for a good 5 Mississippi. I'm bobbling around as I try to free myself and my buggy sort of shifts around and then the corner comes. I pull myself free as the ATV zips to the right and all my momentum pushes me straight into a gigantic rock. I've not completed two laps and I'm reaching the point of frustration where I need to walk away--but I've got one more crash in me, maybe two.

I catch up to the pack by boosting and hit 10th place. I then pull to the left and push forward working my way to 7th place--and then 5th. The finish line is coming up and Im actually kicing some as....*BOOOOOM*! A speeding vehicle smashed into me from behind throwing me into a tree. I didnt explode though despite the massive hit, I just sort of spin into a nook between a tree and a large rock. I dont get a restart/reset option and my car is sort of floating there.

I was done and went off to my PC to play something less frustrating--Fallout 3.


A few hours later I return feeling ready to go--but this time I decide to use the ATV. I start racing and it's worse. It controls like a bar of soap on an oil slick. I'm sliding all around the place, but I say "screw it--maybe this is more my vehicle than buggy I just need to get use to it". The ATVs are built for the lower routes, the mud slicks, and it's just hell and not fun. I'm sliding left and right, braking, gassing, and slamming into the walls while everyone is passing me by. By lap 2 I've now crashed 3 times. A tad better than my record with the buggy. By the end of lap 2 I've been slammed into rock walls, trees, other cars, bridges and even into a wooden sign. WHAT?! WTF happened to the destructible terrain? I smash one more time into the railing on one the brides--and I'm done. I shut off the PS3 and walk back to Fallout 3.


A few hours later I return one final time. I really enjoy playing the first MS--there has just got to be something wrong with me here! I dig in with a different track and car (truck) and everything is a little better until the actual Titanic smashes into me from behind. My little truck goes flying at a ridiculous speed off a cliff as Leonardo Decaprio makes a drawing of my death (ROSE!!!!). I start back up and 5 seconds into joining the race I get hit again by another truck. I respawn and am thumbing the boost riding it hard as it licks the red portion of the temp meter. I'm passing cars--determined--taking some turns tightly and one turn in particular I hit a pebble the size of a crouton that stops my truck. I respawm as 37 cars pass me by. Hey, no problem I'll catch up again--but wait--I would if the crash didn?t happen on this hill. I drive up the hill at 5MPH and reach the top and the race is practically over. I stand up, turn the PS3 off, and head back to Fallout 3.

I don?t know what it is about this racer but it seems like EVERYTHING IS STOPPING ME FROM HAVING FUN.

(Thanks for letting me rant and I apologize for the misspellings and grammar--I'm frustrated and don?t feel like going back for corrections)

 

[arredondo]

Like any other racers, you get better results from knowing the tracks. That said, the A.I. is made to be brutal because it is supposed to be a brutal contest... destruction is part of the mayhem. The lighter your vehicle, the more you are subject to being pushed around. As you improve, you find that you nimbly avoid most mishaps.

BTW, hit the Select button to reset your disabled vehicle except when in the air.

 

[tdawg]

I hit a pebble the size of a crouton that stops my truck

This is my favorite line from your rant! :laugh:

Sounds frustrating as hell. If it were me, there might be a controller-shaped hole in my monitor, or my wall.

 

[Sniper82]

Just played the demo and man the controls sucks. I've never played the first.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Originally posted by: Sniper82
Just played the demo and man the controls sucks. I've never played the first.

Are you kidding? The controls rock. After 3 or 4 tries, I started having amazing amounts of fun just weaving in and out of obstacles with the motorbike. The monster truck has a great attack move while the trucks is just fine at everything.

 

[Sniper82]

the controls on the bike is fair, but the truck just does not turn good for me. Maybe the settings can be adjusts on the handling? Haven't looked into it much.

 

[warcrow]

Originally posted by: arredondo
Like any other racers, you get better results from knowing the tracks. That said, the A.I. is made to be brutal because it is supposed to be a brutal contest... destruction is part of the mayhem. The lighter your vehicle, the more you are subject to being pushed around. As you improve, you find that you nimbly avoid most mishaps.

BTW, hit the Select button to reset your disabled vehicle except when in the air.

Thanks for the tip.

But about my main point--where's the fun? Does a racer really need a learning curve this steep?

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Originally posted by: warcrow

Originally posted by: arredondo
Like any other racers, you get better results from knowing the tracks. That said, the A.I. is made to be brutal because it is supposed to be a brutal contest... destruction is part of the mayhem. The lighter your vehicle, the more you are subject to being pushed around. As you improve, you find that you nimbly avoid most mishaps.

BTW, hit the Select button to reset your disabled vehicle except when in the air.

Thanks for the tip.

But about my main point--where's the fun? Does a racer really need a learning curve this steep?

The fun is learning all the tracks and navigating them. The learning curve is far from steep.

 

[warcrow]

Originally posted by: tenshodo13

Originally posted by: warcrow

Originally posted by: arredondo
Like any other racers, you get better results from knowing the tracks. That said, the A.I. is made to be brutal because it is supposed to be a brutal contest... destruction is part of the mayhem. The lighter your vehicle, the more you are subject to being pushed around. As you improve, you find that you nimbly avoid most mishaps.

BTW, hit the Select button to reset your disabled vehicle except when in the air.

Thanks for the tip.

But about my main point--where's the fun? Does a racer really need a learning curve this steep?

The fun is learning all the tracks and navigating them. The learning curve is far from steep.

You're the first person to deny that. I keep hearing people say the learning curve is steep. I was just listening to the 1UP Yours podcast and two guys brought it up a few times.

 

[thegimp03]

I'm surprised at how much I've been crashing too, and I was a fan of the first MotorStorm and nearly finished the entire game. But, part of the fun is learning the new tracks and stuff. I find that the larger vehicles are much easier to control and avoid crashing than the smaller vehicles.

 

[warcrow]

Originally posted by: thegimp03
I'm surprised at how much I've been crashing too, and I was a fan of the first MotorStorm and nearly finished the entire game. But, part of the fun is learning the new tracks and stuff. I find that the larger vehicles are much easier to control and avoid crashing than the smaller vehicles.

Yea I should reaffirm that it's not learning the tracks/tricks--that lies at the heart of every racer, it's the rediculousness or the crashes. Why did they choose the uber-sensitive buggy and the uber-bouncey ATV for the very first track?

 

[arredondo]

I'm far from a pro, but I got golds and silvers on my first 10 tracks out of a total of 15 races so far. It gets tough starting on the 6th circuit I hear because of the A.I. (maybe 40 races in?), but in no way have I felt the controls being an issue. I've heard of making a mountain out of a molehill, but this takes the cake.

 

[warcrow]

Originally posted by: arredondo
I'm far from a pro, but I got golds and silvers on my first 10 tracks out of a total of 15 races so far. It gets tough starting on the 6th circuit I hear because of the A.I. (maybe 40 races in?), but in no way have I felt the controls being an issue. I've heard of making a mountain out of a molehill, but this takes the cake.

If you think this is fun, then good for you and your $60.

 

[arredondo]

Enjoyment in a game, or lack thereof, is subjective... saying the controls are so bad that you can't win the easiest of races is just plain incorrect unless you just started playing video games last week.