Motorstorm: Barren or Just Too Young?

After picking up the Motorstorm 1.2 update along with the developer diary, I started thinking about what Motorstorm really is. When I first inserted Motorstorm after installing the update, the first thing that caught my eye was the new menu item on the start page called "WRECKreation". I was disappointed when I opened the menu item and all I saw was a time trial, but then I started thinking to myself. What menu item would have only one thing inside? Afterwards, I watched the developer diary, and I really liked what I saw.

The developer diary didn't focus too much on the 1.2 update but what was really going on behind the scenes. It talked about how the team started working on future updates from the day that the game was released, and how they already have ideas that they will implement after the 1.2 patch is released. This made me think back to right before the game came out.

Everyone was excited about Motorstorm. It looked just as good as the target render that was shown two years ago, and it had been said that the quality of gameplay would match. All of the hype died down, however, when it was announced that there would be no split-screen multiplayer. In fact, there were no other modes other than online multiplayer and the "campaign". Sony responded to the public outcry by saying that Motorstorm was an opportunity to show off the Playstation Network's capabilities. After that was said, almost everyone thought that Sony meant that they wanted many people to be playing Motorstorm online. Even I thought this until seeing the developer diary.

Now I think I know what Sony meant behind that statement. They didn't want to show off their online multiplayer capabilities, but rather to show off another important aspect of the Playstation Network, and that is the ability to improve a game for years after its release. They've already shown this by doubling the amount of game modes since the release, although doubling on one mode is pretty easy to do, and I think that they will continue to release these updates until there is really nothing more to add to the game, which would include split-screen multiplayer.

I think that this is a great idea and will probably pave the way for other titles to release more content gradually, provided that the cost is not too high, and since Motorstorm is just a first example from Sony, the next titles will not have the lack of modes that Motorstorm had, which would make an incredible amount of content available. What I'm trying to say is everyone needs to stop ragging on Motorstorm for its lack of content. Just like a baby, Motorstorm does not have a wealth of content in its early stages, but I predict that as it matures, the excellent team behind the game will make sure that in the end, Motorstorm is well worth the $60 spent to obtain.