Starfox's Peppy Hare would be proud of Motorstorm: Apocalypse.
Chaos grips the streets of the nameless city. An earthquake ravages precariously teetering skyscrapers into toppling over with thundering force. Order is nonexistent as people run amok, pillaging and firing upon each other with scrounged weapons. But for the motley band of participants in the so-called Festival, there's no better time or place for a good race.
At a preview event held in San Francisco, I got a chance to experience the majority of the game's 40 tracks using some of the 12 available vehicles, including superbikes, hot hatches, and a big ol' monster truck. And while I enjoyed the real-time destruction effects of each track, I was instead drawn to Apocalypse's interesting use of boost cooling.
Boosting is the key to sailing past that finish line in first place. A temperature gauge keeps track of how far you can push your boost; push it too far and you're met with explosive (and hilarious) results. But the real kicker is the concept of "air cooling": once airborne, you can let off the gas to significantly speed up the cooling time on your boost. It's an interesting incentive for players to seek out and hit the numerous man-made and natural jumps that festoon each track. If pulled off correctly, you can pretty much keep that boost held down until the end of the race.
Motorstorm: Apocalypse has a planned April 12 release date for the PS3. Hit the jump to see more screens from the event:
