The great thing about racing games is that everyone basically knows what to expect. You race around a track and try to beat the other guys by placing first, right? Because of this consistency, when the formula is varied, we know it immediately. MotorStorm: Arctic Edge does a nice job of taking the familiar and putting it into a new context. The setting, a remote arctic landscape in Alaska, makes for some great window dressing and also introduces unique environmental challenges. Neat effects like mud and snow hitting the windshield of your vehicle make things feel more realistic, and if you really like what you see, there's Photo Mode. This lets you freeze the action and move the camera around, zoom in or out, and even add some dramatic tilt to create your very own screen grab.

The music is intense and powerful, a perfect match to the crazy action during your races. We don't generally condone an abundance of hair metal, but somehow it perfectly suits the mood here. If you don't like it, you can add your own soundtrack using MP3 tracks you've transferred to the PSP. Navigating the treacherous landscape of MotorStorm: Arctic Edge would be exciting enough without other racers, but adding in a posse of trucks, cars, bikes, and sleds determined to knock you off the road pushes things up a few notches. Flying through icy caves, rolling under cascading waterfalls, and launching off steep rock ramps, the scenery in MotorStorm: Arctic Edge perfectly captures frantic, seat-of-the-pants action, and barely contained mayhem above the arctic circle.

Beyond the unique setting, MotorStorm: Arctic Edge turns out to be fairly straightforward as a Racer. You can start off in one of two modes, Festival or Wreckreation. Festival Mode looks like a traditional career or campaign mode, with progressively more difficult challenges, new vehicles and vehicle customizations, new tracks, and specialized challenges. Wreckreation is more along the lines of a typical single-race mode, including options for Time Attack, Free-Play, and Multiplayer. Ad hoc or Online Multiplayer brings the heat (or cold, as it were) for up to eight racers, nice for folks that feel inadequately challenged in the other modes or that can't beat the CPU. Free-Play Mode is a chance to race one of the twelve tracks available in MotorStorm: Arctic Edge, with custom options like direction, race type, difficulty, and vehicle type. The "Time Ticker" race available as an option here is expanded in Time Attack mode, letting you run each track against the clock using one of eight specialized vehicles.

These lightweight but fun modes are a sidebar to the main action in Festival Mode. Here you race for points that allow you to progress by rank up the chain to contest that offer greater challenge and reward. Certain races contain specialized challenges that award you with stars used to unlock new challenges. Most races push you toward specific vehicles, which you gradually upgrade and expand through unlocking new models. The so-called Garage Mode offers more cosmetic customization than performance tuning, but you also get to check out earned awards, unlocked movies, and driver models. All things considered, MotorStorm: Arctic Edge is a big racing experience that will keep fans engaged and replaying for points and achievements a long, long time.

Players could be forgiven for thinking, in the first few hours of play, that MotorStorm: Arctic Edge is a pretty puny Racer. The CPU competition is dialed way down until about Rank 3, when you'll finally start seeing other racers clinging to your tail and overtaking you if you aren't careful. Before that time, they'll fade away quickly in the rear-view mirror in just a lap or two. Any frustration this might cause for seasoned racing fans can be alleviated by simply stepping up to more difficult races as they are unlocked. There isn't a strict requirement that all races be completed in sequence, so more advanced players can skip ahead to the good stuff. Rank still has to be earned, but harder races earned greater awards. There will be times when players can earn points for Top 3 placement in a race, but still fail to earn the star award for special challenges. The unique qualities of the arctic landscape make for special challenges, and each course is littered with obstacles. Sliding across ice or skittering over crumbling snow while trying to navigate tight curves and narrow passages creates some interesting challenges.

The control scheme in MotorStorm: Arctic Edge is straightforward enough. We love the stock control scheme that maps the two shoulder buttons to acceleration and braking. You can modify these back to a more standard configuration that uses the (X) button to accelerate and the ([]) button to brake. We also prefer the stock analog steering, but steering with the left/right face buttons is also an option. A big part of playing strategically is to leverage the boost option, pushing top speed and acceleration until the effect wears off and you flame out. Boosting in combination with the handbrake allows for some really quick adjustments and helps you compensate for slippery conditions. We won't say that MotorStorm: Arctic Edge is anything other than an arcade racing game, but it controls well enough to fool you at times.

Eight vehicle styles provide a wide range of options for fans of high-octane, arcade racing. As you progress up the ladder in Festival Mode, you'll learn the difference between nimble snow sleds and bikes and heavyweight trucks or half-tracks. Levels are even segmented to provide optimal routes for specific vehicles, with loads of hidden paths and shortcuts. MotorStorm: Arctic Edge is filled with thoughtful touches like this, making it a must-play at least on a rental basis. To those looking for an intense and edgy racing game that takes place in one of the most extreme locations imaginable, MotorStorm: Arctic Edge is made to order.