The original Motorstorm was an oddly controversial title.  Odd because who ever considers racing games controversial?  Still, Sony managed to make it just that by over hyping and delivering a disappointing demo that wasn’t quite up to the finished product.

Still, when all was said and done, those who played the game found a very enjoyable racer with some obvious flaws.  If fixed, those mild hiccups could lead to a fantastic sequel.  But a more polished Motorstorm wasn’t enough, it seems, for Sony and they’ve instead gone in a fairly new technology direction.  As reported earlier, Motorstorm 2 will allow you to drive around a tropical island crushing bushes and small trees.

That much was already known, but this new tech demo (said to be only 40% done) shows a fairly impressive evolution from the original game.  The effects of running over vegetation aren’t quite “wow worthy” yet, but they seem to be headed in the right direction.  More impressive were some of the water effects.  With a new four-player mode and online racing again, Motorstorm: Pacific Rift is shaping up to be the game the original should have been.