I am a big fan of the PS2. It’s like an old pet that you really love, that dog that is always by your side. I have spent many hours in front of mine saving the planet and breaking records. The PS2 must be one of the world’s most successful consoles, having sold nearly 140 million units worldwide and only recently being introduced into countries like Brazil. But as much as I love the old dog, you can’t teach it new tricks. Games like MotorStorm: Arctic Edge is the proof that it’s finally time to put the old friend down. It’s not that the game is not good, it is! It is just not good enough.

MotorStorm: Arctic Edge is the third game in the series, but the first on PS2. The previous titles were PS3 exclusives and really showed off the fidelity of the new console. In an effort to expand the franchise to both the portable market and the huge PS2 install base, this edition of the game is a PSP and PS2 release.

Gameplay wise the game has not changed much at all. It is an arcade racing title, set in the freezing Arctic circle, with a sled load of vehicles available to race on various tracks with different surfaces. At the start your vehicle choices are limited, but completing races unlocks more tracks and vehicles. These vary from snow ploughs and off-road motorbikes to trucks and stock cars. All vehicles handle differently and some handle better in different terrain. The stock car, for example, is the fastest car available, but is a real stick in the mud. The driving physics feel very similar to the bigger brother on the PS3, and the sensation of losing control around a sharp bend is equally satisfying. It lacks some of the great crash physics on the vehicles, but your little driver guy still flops around like a ragdoll.

The tracks vary from icy cliffs to large snowy tundra and muddy valleys. It all seems a bit familiar somehow, almost like the SSX mountains. Each track has multiple routes and shortcuts that can help you to shave a few seconds off your time. However, the game feels too clumsy to inspire you to break your previous best lap time, and as long as you win a race it does not matter what your time was. Some ramps allow insane height in the lighter vehicles, again lending it an SSX feel. But the tracks do tend to become boring rather soon. I would unlock a track, and when I race on it the track just feels so familiar.

The sound effects are very adequate to the point that you don’t notice them. The soundtrack is great and sets the tone for the game perfectly. I often tend to turn off the music while playing racing games, but in this case it actually added significantly to the atmosphere of me being a crazy thrill seeker racing around icy mountain tops.

But there is one thing that really hinders this game from being great: the graphics. It is adequate for a sub-par arcade racer, and taking into account the fact that it is on a console around 10 years old, it is simply bad. I might have been spoilt with the HD generation, but slotting in Gran Turismo 4, the game has not aged at all. It still looks as slick as ever. So why does MotorStorm suffer so much? The textures look extra blurry and ugly and the models seem uninspired. It just looks 10 years old. If more effort could have been put towards making the game look a bit better, it would do very well.

Sony should consider using this game as an advert for their newer console. Running Arctic Edge and Pacific Rift side by side should really show the huge gap in the two titles and not many people will even give the PS2 version a second look. This could really drive up sales of the PS3, and thus MotorStorm: Arctic Edge would not be a complete waste of money.

So, MotorStorm: Arctic Edge is a game that plays well, looks a bit old, and sounds good. Depending on how much you can pick it up for, it should be a worthy addition to the arcade racing addict of the older generation hardware, and it really is a lot of fun. But if there is any slither of hope that a new generation console purchase is on the horizon, then this is simply not worth considering. The old dog can simply not keep up with the new dogs in town. It’s time to put him out of his misery and remember how good he used to be.

The good: Fun arcade racer
The bad: Nothing new; nothing shiny
The ugly: Blurry; fuzzy; old

Purchase: