If anyone ever asks you what all the fuss is about as far as next-gen consoles are concerned, all you need do is show them MotorStorm. This outrageous mud-plugging racer, set in a near-photo-realistic Monument Valley is the most anticipated European PS3 launch – and it was created in the less than salubrious surroundings of Runcorn, between Liverpool and Manchester.

We visited developer Evolution Studios, TV camera at the ready, and asked the key MotorStorm players how they managed to create such a monster, and what is it, precisely, that makes the game stand out. In this video you will find CEO and Founder Martin Kenwright talking you through MotorStorm’s “off-the-scale” physics, unprecedented car deformation and accurately modelled mud, as well as confirming that there will be downloadable content available for Motor Storm via the PlayStation Network.

Meanwhile, Producer Simon Benson describes the extreme lengths Evolution went to in their quest to film Monument Valley in HD, and the difficulty of getting the levels just right so that they could accommodate seven types of vehicle. And Lead Designer Nigel Kershaw describes how MotorStorm’s AI, with its so-called Gag system, focuses on entertaining human players, by such diverse means as getting bikers to flip you the finger, or gaggles of trucks to gang up on you and run you off the road.

Steve Boxer