Motorstorm

EASILY the best of the inaugural PS3 software line up, Motorstorm shows what potential lurks beneath the bonnet of Sony's super console.

A fantastic-looking off-road racer, Motorstorm pits seven different vehicles against each other in a series of hairraising races packed with incident and carnage. Photo realism is a term that's bandied about too much these days, but the graphics here really do look just one step removed from the real thing. The first time you see this game playing on a large HD television your jaw will hit the floor.

Motorstorm is about more than mere looks, though. The close racing feels as fresh as any racer on any format for a long, long time. Every course has multiple branching routes. The key to success is knowing your vehicle's capabilities and hunting out the route that best matches its strongest attributes.

The bikes have better acceleration and greater manoeuvrability, the big rigs can bust their way through obstacles and the mud bugs have terrific grip in slippery conditions. Working out the best course lends Motorstorm a degree of thought and replay-ability that's often missing in racing titles.

And when you get tired racing alone, there's also a tremendous multi-player feature that lets you go online and compete with real drivers.