MotorStorm: Apocalypse

MotorStorm: Apocalypse is the fourth game in the MotorStorm racing series. The game is set in an urban environment called The City modeled after Bay Area in California. A massive earthquake has hit the location, offering an off-road experience, and the game puts more emphasis on the storyline than previous installments. Just like the previous games, it is centered around a racing festival, but this time told through three characters — Mash, Tyler, and Big Dog — that each represent a difficulty level (Rookie, Pro and Veteran respectively) to be unlocked one after another. Big Dog is the leader of the group who travels to the city. The lowest difficulty level allows the player to progress with a much less strict finish place, requiring top five, top three and the first spot respectively. The earthquake is still in progress, so players often have to deal with tumbling buildings, explosions, voids and raised pavements. Cutscenes further the story between missions, which cover three days per character, with comic book-like sequences and voiced dialogs. There are about twelve races per character and tracks are repeated for each character, but not entirely identical. Typical controls are used to steer the vehicles, along with a button to boost and one to focus on important events in the background. There is an unlimited amount of boost, but it takes some time to deplete the meter to prevent the engine from overheating. This can also be achieved by driving through water, and the engine cools down automatically when airborne. For certain vehicles, additional controls are available, such as shifting weight, performing a stunt or taunting the opponents. It is also possible to ram or punch opponents. After crashing, the vehicle respawns automatically, at the expense of some lost time. When too far off the track, it is possible to respawn manually. Most of the races contain three to five hidden cards, that can optionally be collected. There are 150 cards in total. There are thirteen vehicle classes in the game, almost twice as much as any previous game in the series, but usually only one type of class is allowed per race. Vehicles have different statistics based on handling, speed and toughness, with a ranking from one to five for each stat. The included classes are: ATV, Big Rig, Buggy, Chopper, Dirt Bike, Mudplugger, Monster Truck, Muscle Car, Racing Truck, Rally Car, Super Bike, Super Car, and Super Mini. Single races are grouped under the Wreckreation game mode, where multiplayer is also accessed. Multiplayer introduces loadouts and unlockable perks for the vehicles, as well as skins, items and other customization unlocks. Certain alternative designs for vehicles can only be unlocked in the multiplayer mode. There is a global experience level that increases by winning races. Customization is limited to aesthetics and does not affect performance. Tokens are used to bet in races, boosting the experience meter when a race is won. Split-screen races are supported for up to two players offline and four players online. General online races support up to sixteen players.