PS Vita Review: MotorStorm RC

Since it was announced, this little Evolution project always had the potential to be the perfect Vita game, and it delivers on many levels, sitting proudly atop the Top Sellers section of PSN. Small and compact, just like the remote control cars, it offers perfect bite-sized pieces of gaming and massive amounts of replayability.

I was enjoying the game enough on day one of my Vita ownership, challenging the medals system by aiming for a top three spot, then a win; or the fastest lap, longest drift, overtaking rival cars within a set time... its a PacMan feeding frenzy trying to earn those medals and unlock the next courses and cars.

Then, I found my fellow Vita owning PSN friends and saw their times on the race pages and their tracelines ahead of me on the track. It was like a red rag to a bull and a whole new level of challenge erupted. And, if you ever get fed up of trying to win one over your buddy, there's the live leaderboards of global players to truly mock your (well, my) pathetic efforts.

Sure, the graphics are diminutive, so much so you can sometimes get caught out, jolted or span around by something you didn't perceive among the clutter. But you'll be back in a few seconds (TIP: if you cock a race up, press select then X. and you'll be back at the start within a second), so learn and adjust (try the different camera angles) - get better, win more.

That's the way MotorStorm sucks you in and it refuses to let go with plenty of different cars in each class, plus some free downloads and paid-DLC to keep the roster fresh. There's also the Playground to let you run off some steam and Wreckreation for custom challenges and practice. A beat-heavy sound track and plenty of neat little tricks from designers who have clearly mastered their art and used the smaller scale to hyper-focus it.

Developer: Evolution
Price £4.79
Score 10/10
Progress: Over 100 medals, many cars still to collect
More Vita and PSP reviews here