Motorstorm: Pacific Rift

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Off-road racing game promotes agressive behavior.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

Find out more

Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

Find out more

Parents say

Not yet rated

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this is an off-road racer where aggression is the key to victory. Players will often bump into vehicles to force them into crashes. When riding bikes or ATVs, you can even push fellow bikers off their rides. Parents of new teen drivers might want to consider a recent study which suggests that playing some racing games can increase one's willingness to take risks while driving in real life. The game is playable online, a feature Common Sense Media doesn't recommend for children under age 12.

  • Racers aren't good sports. While on bikes, players can punch, push, or force fellow racers off the road.
  • The game promotes aggressive driving. Players on bikes can punch fellow racers on bikes or ATVs off their vehicles.
  • Not applicable.

What's it about?

Sony returns to the roads less traveled with off-roader MOTORSTORM: PACIFIC RIFT, an intense and thrilling racing game. The sequel to MotorStorm packs a wealth of new tracks and game types that give the series more heft. The story revolves around a racing festival on a remote island in the Pacific Ocean. As you win races, you'll earn experience points that earn you festival tickets to tougher challenges. Players can also enjoy the game online through 12-player races, rankings, and matchmaking.

Pacific Rift packs a ton of options for players to choose from. Vehicles vary in speed and size, ranging from motorcycles and ATVs to monster trucks. The tracks look fantastic, offering multiple paths toward the finish. For example, big trucks can muck it up on muddier tracks while ATVs take higher, narrower paths and jumps. Environments are equally balanced. One moment, you're racing through thick brush in a forest. The next race, you're jumping over lava flows or through waterfalls. You'll also earn the opportunity to unlock different events like time trials and eliminators.


Is it any good?

 

For those unfamiliar with MotorStorm, each vehicle includes a boost meter to ramp up your speeds. But if you use your boost for too long, your vehicle explodes. Overall, the racing is exhilarating. Computer-controlled drivers are pretty smart and aggressive. They'll often attempt to bump you off the road or into embankments. When you rush through mud or water, specks will splash onto the screen. Wrecks look explosive. Chunks of metal fly across the screen as vehicles crunch against obstructions. One minor annoyance with Pacific Rift is you're not punished very severely for crashes. This is good for novices, but can feel cheap to the expert player. This proves to be a minor speed bump in the long run, as Pacific Rift presents an invigorating style of off-road racing.


Sign Up Message
Sign up for our weekly newsletter
Each week we send a customized newsletter to our parent and teen subscribers. Parents can customize their settings to receive recommendations and parent tips based on their kids’ ages. Teens receive a version just for them with the latest reviews and top picks for movies, video games, apps, music, books, and more.
Please enter an email address.
Please check your email address for possible typos.
Sorry, you must be 13 or older to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Sign me up!

What families can talk about

Families can talk about off-road racing versus standard racers on tracks. Which environment do you prefer and why?


This review was written by Brett Molina
Adult
June 22, 2010
 
This is in no way violent, But its difficult.
Motorstorm is clearly a good game. It doesn't have really mature themes, Just a bit of aggressive racing. You are not blowing heads off so its not bad. When you are next to someone you can punch them off the bike or ATV. Which to be honest isn't bad. You can fall off bikes but there is no blood or visual pain. The language is only in the lyrics when you are driving. As there is a lot of background music. Its no more violent than any other racer. Good game and very difficult.

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 14 years old
November 15, 2010
 
this game is really good and cars do explode, but this is a good game

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 16 years old
March 7, 2010
 
Motorstorm is fun for all ages.
Firstly, I do not see how this promotes violence, E rated games sometimes do. There is no blood or violence really, Language is background music. But h*ll, da*n and a*s normally. Great game, Shame about it being very hard and frustrating.

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 15 years old
December 27, 2009
 
like it its really fun when u get to bump the other riders off their bike

Flag as inappropriate 
Adult
December 10, 2009
 
It is fun for 4 people, not an educational thing.
This game is simple, there are no rules, do whatever it takes to win, again, these games are not meant to be educational or anything else, only for entertainment.

Flag as inappropriate 
Kid, 11 years old
November 27, 2010
 
awsome for teens iffy for tweens
i think it is iffy for 10 cause a lot of violence crashing getting injured.

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 17 years old
June 30, 2009
 
Aggressive? Seriously? The whole sport of racing is aggressive: you try to get past people and come in first.

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 16 years old
October 4, 2009
 
Good for any age
Come on the only thing close to violence is when you fall of your bike.

Flag as inappropriate 
Kid, 12 years old
September 10, 2011
 
Very Addicting...
Being a girl, you'd probably be surprised that I would like to play this kind of game. However, this game is super fun! To make it short, Motor Storm Pacific Rift is basically about you racing against other people in all these different terrains. You want to aim to get first place. You can knock off people from either their motor bike or their ATV using a button on your controller. I wouldn't consider it very violent, but it's not something that you should do on a regular basis. Other than that. There are no issues, but it is a game that can become violent as there aren't any rules. It's as great game!

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 15 years old
September 16, 2010
 
It's a good racing game
I love it. I play it all of the time. I think its a decent racing game, but there is a little violence

Flag as inappropriate 

This review was written by Brett Molina
Platforms:PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2
Available online?Available online
Genre:Racing
Developer:Sony Computer Entertainment
Release date:October 28, 2008
Price:$59.99
ESRB rating:T for Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Mild Violence

This review was written by Brett Molina

Contact us to give us more feedback on our learning ratings.

 

Review It

Share your review with others

Hang on! You need to be a member to post your review.
A safe community is important to us. Please observe our guidelines.

Tell us what you think about our new Learning Ratings. We value your feedback.


About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

Great alternatives handpicked by our editors

 

vote now

Will you play Motorstorm: Pacific Rift?


Already played it? What do you think?

 

Been There? Tell us about it