MotorStorm - updated hands-on

There's a big storm a-brewin' - a MotorStorm, in fact. You might already know this is a crash-filled, manic racing game, and that it's become one of the PS3's most anticipated titles. While we've offered up several hands-on impressions of this sand-filled cargasm in recent months, publisher Sony loosened the game's leash to let us play with it a little more. She's a feisty puppy, this one.

The selection of vehicles we've been given the keys to has been amped up dramatically. Joining trucks and motorcycles are ATVs, buggies, and rally cars. There are a couple types of each to play around with, along with a handful of different paint jobs and riders for each type. Like motorcycles, the ATVs enable you to taunt and punch rivals, along with giving you some control over your trajectory, so as to avoid vehicular disintegration when landing massive jumps.

Every vehicle has unique control, though things like e-brakes and turbo boosting (which blows you up if you boost for too long) are standard. The controls are loose, but it's not like people are expecting Gran Turismo Dirt here. However, it's not so squirrely as to be ATV Offroad Fury with cooler crashes, either.

For added challenge, feel free to tackle it with the Sixaxis pad's motion controls and swing the controller around like a seizure victim. Pulling back on it will result in wheelies for the smaller rides, and another added benefit is that you'll crash more - because, you know, the crashes are really sweet.

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