From the pacific, from out of the desert and now making it’s way across the edge of the Artic world, MotorStorm is back in handheld form and looking better than ever. MotorStorm: Artic Edge sees the series going to colder places on the globe, it’s a lot different than the jungles and sand we’re used to but it’s a stroke of genius if you ask me. Not only are many of the tracks brilliantly modelled around the environments but so are the specialized vehicles.

There are slippery glaciers, avalanches that threaten to bury everyone, deep snow that can send you off on a death wobble you might not recover from, everything is very cool and a heap of fun to take on the road with you. Even though it is in a different location than the last two games, it still feels and looks very much like a Motorstorm game.

Little has changed ,and, in this instance, that’s a good thing! The only thing that feels different when you are sitting behind the wheel is that you’re looking at all the action on a smaller screen. All the same modes are there from time trails to flat out racing and multiplayer is also representing however it seems to be ad-hoc only which is a little disappointing.  

There are just a whole heap of events to take part in and even though there are only a handful of tracks, areas become opened, you’ll race the tracks reversed and different weather conditions will kick in to make it feel like there are more tracks to race on. A lot of the tracks are very similar with each other, and it isn’t long until a fair bit of repetition starts to creep in, but at least the action is fast and furious.

I actually found the early races to be a bit of a challenge but as I start to memorize the tracks and the shortcuts it wasn’t long until I was winning every race. Admittedly the competition does heat up later on in the game but because you’ll be so used to the way the vehicles handle and the layout of the terrain you really shouldn’t come up against too many obstacles to stop you from getting first place on the podium.

Although the graphics lack the spit and polish that the PS3 had, you have to understand that as a handheld game, it’s one of the best looking out there and probably the best looking one on the PSP. Everything feels 100 percent Motorstorm and the developers have done a wonderful job at getting all that content into such a small game. It’s a white feather in the Motorstorm cap, definitely worth buying if Motorstorm is your thing and you’re looking for a portable version.