I guess this is what next-gen should be about - providing us gamers with experiences that just simply wouldn't have been possible on the last-gen technology. Possibly the most outright entertaining game in the PS3's launch line-up, is also one of the most technically breathtaking. The premise of the game is based around a fictional festival in a mountainous, arid desert, which I presume was just an excuse for throwing all of the PS3's mighty processing power into a deluge of racing genocide.

There are four types of vehicle available for selection, I'm talking cars, pick-ups, buggies and motorbikes ,all racing through the landscape avoiding huge rocks and obstacles, constantly trying to barge each other off the road or avoid being rear-ended into oblivion. All of this mayhem runs at a hectic frame-rate and when viewed in HD, the screen is awash with jaw-dropping visual flourishes, such as mud splattering the screen as vehicles surge through muddy ground; the sun casting beautiful real-time shadows over the cliffs whilst the clouds drift across and debris flying past your windscreen when a truck ploughs through a barrier. I expect a lot of you gamers will spend the first few races just trying to take it all in with amazement.

The most impressive aspect of this organized chaos is that it's undeniably convincing, you really feel as if you're right there in the battle, with both the hazardous landscape and the other die-hard racers to contend with. It's a case of survival of the fittest, mixed with a little war of attrition and then sprinkled on top with some of the finest AI ever witnessed in a racing game. Believe me, playing in a 12-player race is great fun and racing against the computer-controlled opposition is almost as intense.

You'll chuckle with delight the first time you see two computer racers so caught up in their own personal battle that they end up falling off the edge of a cliff, but that same delight can quickly turn to despair as you yourself are shunted from behind, only to find a 600ft drop beckoning. A few seconds later, you'll respawn and it's straight back into the thick of things.

MotorStorm's online is absolutely thrilling, some of the best I've experienced in fact. Pretty much identical to the single-player races, the velocity is just as intense, and there's extra intrepidation as you're up against the unpredictability of human opponents. There's bucket loads of customization options available, offered before you get on the road, and you can choose to either host general races or contests specified by the type of vehicle you choose. If there's a runaway leader amongst the group, a catch up option is also available - if you're tired of getting a pasting.

Another major bonus is the manner in which the type of vehicle you're in determines the style in which you race. For instance, riding a dirt bike will leave you vulnerable to the rest of the racing classes who will then seek to shunt you off course or even nudge you into a gigantic boulder. This calls for a strategic approach as you try to avoid their attentions, but on the up side, the bike is easy to maneuver and nipping between cars and finding shortcuts are much easier to achieve. In contrast, get behind the wheel of a pick-up rig and you then have the license to go and wreak havoc as you bully and charge through the opposition, relying on your brute force rather than top speeds to guide you to the finish line.

The cunning balancing of races ensures you'll have to try out each vehicle to find out which one suits your needs most. The MotorStorm festival consists of 21 racing events, each featuring four races spread across eight tracks. Some contests give you the privilege of selecting your own type of transport, whilst others seat you in a compulsory vehicle. Whatever you end up driving, just remember one thing: turbo boost.

You'll need to memorize the tracks and then time your boosts accordingly to have any hope of winning. One false slip of the turbo button can see you either zooming into the abyss or crashing straight into a rock. Time your boosts correctly (over a nice straight ramp lets say), and watch your machine fly. There are genuine heart-in-your-mouth moments to be found tearing around the track at breakneck speed, turbo initiated, the vast landscape rushing past in a dizzying blur, with your wheels mere centimeters away from a vast drop to the valley below. Some might even say this is almost reason enough to go out and seek a alone.

MotorStorm isn't flawless, despite my rich praises, for one thing there are no off-line modes, and I personally think that overall the game could do with a few more tracks to boot. Longevity could be hampered by players getting frustrated too, given that winning a race can sometimes be more down to luck than skill thanks to the chaotic nature of the beast. But as a showcase title, a technological spectacle, and as a nonstop, nerve bending example of extreme racing, MotorStorm is the current heavyweight next-gen racing champ.

This is indeed living.

89%

By Dean Cole