News: MotorStorm: Pacific Rift

If Hollywood has taught us anything, it's that the best entry in a popular franchise will always have a stylized "2" somewhere in its title. Oh, but not Paul Hollywood. Noooo, he's saying that Motorstorm's first sequel won't be distinguished by a number, but rather its "Pacific Rift" subtitle. Also, you'll notice it has a lot more trees than the last game.

Speaking at Sony's PlayStation Day 2008 event, the creative director at Evolution Studios talked up some of the features in the upcoming Motorstorm: Pacific Rift. Boasting twice the number of tracks and four times as many racers in local multiplayer (total: four) than the PlayStation 3 launch title, Pacific Rift puts racers in a tropical locale, one filled with interactive vegetation technology. It's a fancy way of saying that when you're playing chicken with a rather large tree, you'd best be inside one of the game's new monster trucks. Another benefit of hurtling through lush island terrain can be found in bodies of water -- splashing through them can cool down your engine temperature.

We're sure to learn and see more of Motorstorm 2 Motorstorm: Pacific Rift closer to its planned Fall release.