Introduction

With the recent release of "MotorStorm", Playstation 3 owners finally have something besides "Resistance: Fall of Man" to justify their early adoption. Evolution Studios' "MotorStorm" offers PS3 owners motocross-style arcade racing action wrapped up in a stunning presentation. While sporting amazing graphics and realistic physics, the game play is actually very similar to "Excite Truck" for Wii. We decided to compare the two using criteria we like to see in our racing games in order to find out which is the One True King of shallow arcade off-roading fun. Keep in mind we aren't comparing these titles to the overall game field, but just to each other. If both games completely suck in one area, one is going to suck worse making the other the winner.

CONTROLS: Both games feature motion control schemes, but in "MotorStorm" it's an option that you can enable or disable. "Excite Truck" requires that you steer using the motion control, and it does add a little something to the experience, but after playing it for a few hours I found it to be uncomfortable. The motion control definitely feels better on "Excite Truck" because the nature of the game supports it better. It has a lot more jumping and flying that necessitates pitch and yaw, and "MotorStorm" has more slipping and sliding in the mud where I preferred the analog stick. This is a close one, but I'm going to give it to "Excite Truck" for fully embracing the motion control technology, and making it an integral part of the game. The "MotorStorm" controls are very solid, but the inclusion of the motion control feels tacked on.

WINNER: Excite Truck

GRAPHICS: This is no contest. "MotorStorm" is a beautiful game with a solid frame rate and stunning textures. "Excite Truck" is ugly in comparison almost to the point of obscenity. The PS3 is always going to outperform the Wii in this area unless the game's art department just refuses to show up for work. I'm not even sure "Excite Truck" is stretching the capabilities of the Wii, or even the Gamecube for that matter. I understand that the Wii focuses on gameplay and innovation rather than graphics, but in an industry that is moving into higher resolutions and hi-definition, graphics still matter. "MotorStorm" is a showcase piece for the power of the Playstation 3, and since it's a first generation game on the hardware, the possibilities of what games may look like in a year or two are very exciting. The way the dust coats the vehicles over time and the way the mud sticks to the car as you slide sideways is a joy to behold.

WINNER: MotorStorm

"MotorStorm" showcases the PS3's graphical prowess.

TRACK VARIETY: "MotorStorm" gets lazy here; very lazy in fact. The game only comes with eight tracks and they are all of the dirt, dust, and mud variety. I realize that's the running theme of "MotorStorm", and I'm not suggesting that they throw in an Apennine Mountain Range track (it's on the Moon) or anything, but a game that looks this good with such a limited color palette (I'm seeing lots of brown here) should have an abundance of tracks. The tracks that are there are excellent, but it doesn't take long before they get repetitive. On the other hand, "Excite Truck" has tracks that traverse a variety of terrain types in locations all over the world. Going from jungles to frozen tundra to exotic beaches keeps the gameplay fresh. The choice here is easy.

WINNER: Excite Truck

VEHICLE VARIETY: It may not be fair to look for vehicle variety in a game called "Excite Truck", but I never said this was going to be fair. I like to have lots of vehicles to choose from in a racing game, and I like there to be a few at the end that are absolutely awesome. Both games are deficient in this category, but since "MotorStorm" allows you to race on everything from motorcycles to semis, I'm calling it the winner, but not giving it a pass. At least "Excite Truck" has the excuse of being a truck racing game for its lack of interesting vehicles. "MotorStorm" has many vehicles types, but none of the individual vehicles of each type are terribly exciting. Am I the only one thinking that it's an enormous oversight that I can't unlock the "Mad Max" Interceptor or Frankenstein's car from "Death Race 2000"? Seriously, a child can see that (well, at least a cultured one that is a fan of the last 30 years of racing movies).

WINNER: MotorStorm

Now THAT's an accident

Music: Wow that "Excite Truck" music is so awful that I expected to see C.C. Deville credited as Music Supervisor. It's an unending cacophony of bad 80s guitar-screeching nonsense (and not in a good way). Thankfully, "Excite Truck" allows you to listen to your own MP3s with the use of an SD card, but something is clearly wrong if I have to provide my own music to keep from bleeding. The "MotorStorm" music is no greatest hits collection, but at least they licensed some music from this century and paid up for the original recordings (rather than cover bands). Listening to good music is an important piece of the driving experience in real life let alone in a video game.

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WINNER: MotorStorm