Since its first introduction, the Motorstorm franchise has always had something to live up to. The first game was prefaced by a tech demo that the developers couldn't possibly deliver upon, showing off graphics that they, in no way, intended to meet. When the sequel was released, its thunder was all but stolen by the surprise hit that was Blackrock Studios' Pure. It's no fault of the game's developer, but it feels as though the series is continually being screwed over by circumstances outside of its control - an issue that doesn't seem to have carried over to Motorstorm: Arctic Edge.

On the contrary, Arctic Edge is one of the few titles launching alongside the PSPgo, meaning it could a great purchase for anyone just picking up the new handheld. While the PSPgo isn't receiving the best marks with reviewers or gamers, it still sets up Arctic Edge in a position to impress, something the prequels never had a chance to succeed at. With a new developer in Bigbig Studios and without anything holding it back, does the scaled-down racer flounder, or does the franchise fare well in the small pond?

In most ways, the downscale does little to to change the Motorstorm experience. Motorstorm titles have always been some of the best looking games on the PS3, so it's no surprise that Arctic Edge continues this tradition on the PSP. The graphics are impressive considering how much is going on at once, and even with all of the vehicles on screen simultaneously, there are no noticeable slowdowns or frame-rate drops. It lacks the polish of God of War and some of the other high-end PSP titles, but still does a good job at making the portable experience work. Even the slow-motion crashes return, and while they lack the jaw-dropping visuals of the console version, they're still very fun to watch.



In order to access all of the content, players must compete in the Festival, which is Arctic Edge's version of a career mode. It's laid out as an upward spiral of events, with points awarded for each successful win. Typical races, time trials, and a new type called Ticker is available, which pits four racers against each other to earn points by maintaining leads. Certain races will also allow players  to unlock Stars, which are earned by fulfilling certain criteria such as maintaining a position for a pre-determined amount of time. Stars are spent to unlock future races, continuing up the spiral of the Festival. None are all that original, but originality is hardly ever called for in racing titles. Points earned in the Festival unlock additional vehicles, with 24 available in total. These are split into eight different types, from typical motorcycles and ATVs, to more location specific snowmobiles and snowplows. Each controls differently, and requires different styles in order to deal with their benefits and weaknesses.

All in all, the core elements of the series are retained fairly well: racers driving in assorted vehicle types rush through harsh environments, trying to best each other by finding the quickest route. This time around, the muddy tracks of the original and jungles of the sequel are replaced by the Alaskan tundra, which serves as a welcome change of scenery, and allows for some fantastic level design.



The game's twelve maps all try and find unique ways to make the best of the arctic setting by tossing in different paths that would otherwise be impossible without the snowy landscape. Ice bridges that crumble under the weight of larger vehicles fully take full advantage of both the setting and the franchise's variety of vehicles, and half-pipes "arcade up" the experience with a few seconds of wall-riding from time to time. The developer is sure to provide numerous paths and plenty of shortcuts as well, which vary in effectiveness depending on the vehicle used.

Just as before, holding X boosts the engine to faster speeds, but can cause the vehicle to overheat, eventually ending in a fiery explosion. Also as before, running through water or, in Arctic Edge's case, snow, can cool things down and make the boost last longer. However, since almost the entire game is snowy, determining which areas are deep snow and which are just dusted is often nearly impossible, and if feels as though Bigbig Studios simply missed this when developing the title. The same can be said about the game's physics, which lack a certain level of polish that would have pushed the game to the next level. They certainly should have tried to expand even more on the benefits (or detriments) of racing in an icy landscape. There's no real difference between driving in snow, on ice, or through mud - it all feels very similar. Ice should be slippier, snow should be harder to turn in, and mud should be bumpier. It's likely a restriction of the handheld and not the developer, but that's a sign that they should have possibly chosen a different landscape for the PSP version and reserved the Arctic circle for a system that could handle it.



Memorization of the different tracks is important to dealing both with other players and the AI to the point where it's almost a detriment. Learning each turn is key to figuring out when to boost, and when not to, meaning repetition of tracks takes priority over raw skill. On that same note, computer players, especially later in the game, can be extremely aggressive, so it takes an early lead to hope to ever think about progressing in the Festivle. That said, the computer is fairly predictable, always taking the simplest route and hardly ever taking risks, so once a lead is earned it's hard to lose it without crashing into a few walls.

Bigbig games was able to push a good amount of power out of the handheld, both in terms of visuals and other features that are usually reserved for console titles. Being able to pause the game at any time to take screenshots to share with friends helps the presentation as well, and is a feature that should work its way into more games. The soundtrack is also worth commending, featuring tracks from bands like Queens of the Stone Age, Prodigy, and Radiohead. That said, there are a few areas where the presentation falls short. Load times are a bit on the long side, but it's a minor gripe, instantly forgivable once the race begins.



Multiplayer is a big part of the Motorstorm experience, and Bigbig Studios was sure to bring it over to the handheld version in full force. With support for both ad hoc and online play, the game supports up to six players in either race or Ticker Mode. Besides being nearly lag-free, it also shows unprecedented support for the PlayStation Network on the handheld, and allows for players to view and access their PS3 friends list from the PSP. Fleshing out the multiplayer experience are the typical leaderboards and downloadable Ghost Data. For anyone looking to play a handheld title with friends, Arctic Edge's suite of multiplayer tools puts the racer at the top of the class.

Despite its faults, Motorstorm: Arctic Edge might be the best iteration of the Motorstorm franchise, or at least the most fun. The amount it loses on the downscale pales in comparison to the amount it gains by being portable, something that can't be said about every franchise that finds itself getting hit with the shrink ray and showing up on the DS or PSP. On the handheld, many of the issues that plague the console counterparts aren’t as detrimental, and Bigbig Studios did a great job capitalizing on the PSP’s strengths to create a fine racing experience on the go.