The PlayStation 3 featured the best looking racing game after it launched: MotorStorm, the first party Sony title offered some of the biggest thrills and stunning visuals in a racing game.

Great gameplay; Interesting race tracks; Awesome online multiplayer; Great visuals

Not much gameplay innovation; Physics are frustrating at times; Long loading times

Skyscrapers topple as the world's biggest city crumbles above the devastating movement of an apocalyptic earthquake. Now let's race! The premise for MotorStorm: Apocalypse isn't the most lucid or cohesive set of ideas but the combination of Armageddon and racing makes for enough "Oh s***!

Michael-Bay-style; exploding and collapsing cityscapes pump adrenaline into the game; Multiplayer appears to have great RPG elements

Relies heavily on annoying boost mechanic; Has balance issues; Needs tighter controls

MotorStorm Apocalypse simply cannot seem to win. The third entry in the series has been plagued by delays due to the nature of its content and now it lands during the great PSN outage of 2011.

+ Great track layouts; + Four player split-screen; + Tons of customization

Inconsistent visuals; Cut scenes

(continued from previous page) ...With the ability to take advantage of a cool variety of load-outs and perks for your vehicles, it's a rewarding levelling system that offers a well-paced progression through the ranks.

Fast-paced; aggressive races really get the blood pumping; The carnage around you is quite spectacular; Rewarding multiplayer levelling system

Lighter vehicles spin-out too easily, Inconsistent A.I; Sometimes they are too good, others times they barely try, The frustration of crashing frequently and being placed in last position

The MotorStorm series has always eschewed simulation in favour of big thrills, chaotic racing, and exotic circuits. In MotorStorm: Apocalypse those elements have been refined to focus on what the series does best.

Cleverly designed tracks; Destructive events make each race a thrilling experience; Beautiful visuals; Lots of multiplayer options

Shallow storyline; Boosting opponents feels weak

I can't help but feel underwhelmed by my experience with MotorStorm: Apocalypse . The central game play and graphics engine are showing signs of being past their prime and the weak story elements make it hard get invested here.

The latest outing, MotorStorm: Apocalypse Anyway, the narrative hook has a few consequences that affect the overall MotorStorm: Apocalypse experience, most notably the removal of vehicle choice when running through the plot and the mass amount of stuff going on on-screen at any one time.

The Racing genre has always been split between two camps: on one side are your highly accurate driving simulations and on the other the arcade racers. MotorStorm Apocalypse very firmly plants its flag square in the arcade camp, sets fire to it and then runs it over with a monster truck.

MotorStorm: Apocalypse is a looker, technically and artistically. It all starts with the great-looking and well-animated vehicles, which tear along each track with impressive ferocity. But anyone who's played MotorStorm and MotorStorm: Pacific Rift knows to expect that.

The MotorStorm series of racing games have never been entirely grounded in reality, but the games' settings could always be imagined as at least somewhat existing in our world. Not anymore.