MotorStorm: Apocalypse

MotorStorm: Apocalypse (MotorStorm 3 in Japan) is a 2011 racing 3D video game by Evolution Studios and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It is the fourth game in the series and the third for the PlayStation 3. It was announced shortly before the beginning of the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010 on the PlayStation Blog by Evolution Studios on 10 June 2010.[4]
MotorStorm: Apocalypse was released in Europe on 16 March 2011[1] but the UK release on 18 March was delayed by Sony Computer Entertainment UK following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan.[5] The Australian launch went ahead as planned on 17 March, but Sony announced further shipments of the game to that country would be halted in the wake of the disaster.[2] The planned North American release date of 12 April 2011[6] was delayed by Sony on 18 March, with no new date being specified.[3] The new date for the UK release has been confirmed for the 31 March 2011. [7]Story

Apocalypse will be more story-driven than previous instalments.
Setting
The game takes place in an apocalyptic urban area called The City, based on the West Coast of the United States (in particular California's Bay Area).[4][8]
Gameplay

New vehicles in the game include supercars, superbikes, hot hatches, muscle cars and choppers.[9][4] Apocalypse is the first game in the MotorStorm series to focus on an urban setting as opposed to natural environments. The city that the Festival takes place in is enduring the throes of a massive natural disaster, causing the man-made structures in the city to visibly deteriorate. As players race through the tracks, the tracks can change in real-time; bridges can buckle and twist, buildings collapse and rifts open up beneath the vehicles as they drive. Players can also customize their vehicles with vinyls, vehicle parts, and modify the vehicle's handling, boosting and offensive abilities through perks. They are able to create and design their own game rules for online tournaments. A new gameplay element is the addition of "air cooling" one's boost. Similar to driving through cool water in Pacific Rift would speed up the rate of boost cooling, releasing the accelerator over a large jump will also cause the boost temperature gauge to drop quicker.
A new challenge in Apocalypse are the introduction of people who will try to interfere in the event. The city houses two factions who will vie for survival. These groups will try to impede the progress of the racers. They will loot from broken buildings, break into fights on the streets, steal cars and try to slam racers off the road, and attack racers with their firearms. A private military company will attempt to enforce order and their involvement will also create obstacles for racers to overcome (such as an attack helicopter firing missiles onto the track).
The events of Apocalypse's MotorStorm Festival will be told from the perspective of three participants, labelled "The Rookie", "The Pro", and "The Veteran" by Evolution Studios, with each participant also representing a difficulty level of gameplay.[10] These three participants will each see different parts of the catastrophe unfold over the course of the three day festival.
Vehicles
Five new vehicle classes, such as the supercar, superbike, muscle car, chopper and the hot hatch, are new additions, with the original MotorStorm vehicles, ranging from the MX Motocross bike to the Monster Truck, being included.
Release

On 13 January 2011 the PlayStation Blog confirmed that the game will be released in Europe on 16 March 2011[1] and in North America on 12 April 2011.[6] The game was initially scheduled to be released in New Zealand on 16 March 2011 but following a magnitude 6.3 earthquake in the country in February, the game release was delayed indefinitely.[11] Similarly, the game's release in Japan was also delayed indefinitely after an earthquake and tsunami struck the country on 10 March, 2011 - the game's originally scheduled release date.[12] Sony Computer Entertainment Europe also delayed the game's release in the UK, stating in relation the disaster in Japan, "We are very conscious of the parallels between these events and the underlying theme in MotorStorm and are doing everything we can to be as sensitive as possible to the situation."[5]
In Australia, the game was launched as scheduled on 17 March , but Sony confirmed the company would halt any further shipments and pull all advertising campaigns for the game.[2]
The planned North American release date of 12 April 2011 was delayed by Sony on 18 March, with no new date being specified.[3]
Pre-order bonuses
In the North America is several pre-order offers through several retail partners. There will be three bonus pack available, and each retailer received one pack.[13]
The three bonus packs are available at participating retailers.
Pre-Order Pack 1: Carbon Edition Supercar includes: Carbon Edition Supercar, Unique high-end vinyl design plus 4 chrome sticker designs (which can be applied to any other vehicle in-game), Dynamic XMB Theme and Carbon Edition PSN Icon.
Pre-Order Pack 2: Carbon Edition Rally Car includes: Carbon Edition Rally Car, vinyl design plus 4 chrome sticker designs (which can be applied to any other vehicle in-game), Dynamic XMB Theme and Carbon Edition PSN Icon.
Pre-Order Pack 3: Carbon Edition Superbike includes: Carbon Edition Superbike, vinyl design plus 4 chrome sticker designs (which can be applied to any other vehicle in-game), Dynamic XMB Theme and Carbon Edition PSN Icon.[13]