In advance of our video content (which is being edited at the moment), here’s a few hastily assembled notes following our visit to Evolution and Liverpool Studios.

MotorStorm

Having all but finished MotorStorm – it currently awaits certification - developer Evolution Studios lifted the lid off its mud-plugging racing game, confirming that it will be a must-buy for the PS3. Taking place at a fictional motor-festival in a near photo-realistic rendering of Monument Valley, Motor Storm features tracks with multiple routes - and the best route depends on what vehicle you are driving, with lighter ones such as dirt-bikes and ATVs best off avoiding the thick mud at the bottom of each course. Other key aspects of the game are its artificial intelligence - which aims to give players exciting racing rather than to slavishly act like real human beings - and its sheer attention to detail. For example, the mud which splatters your windscreen and the side of your vehicle has varying levels of viscosity, and is cleared from tracks to an extent as races progress. The impressive car modelling - yielding spectacular crashes in which bits of vehicle innards are left strewn on the track - also impressed. And MotorStorm will be ready for the European PS3 launch in March.

Formula One Championship

Formula One fanatics are in for a treat when the PS3 arrives in March, thanks to Sony Liverpool’s Formula One Championship. The developer has availed itself of the power under the PS3’s bonnet, adding a number of features to the official F1 game. Especially on the visual front - racing in the wet generates a startling impression of water on the camera lens, which is particularly severe when you are in the spray of another car, so causes you to adjust your driving style. With driver aids off, Formula One Championship offers the most real-life experience yet as far as driving an F1 car is concerned - at last, you can see for yourself how tricky they really are to drive. Uprated driver AI is designed to act like the real drivers - drive behind Michael Schumacher, for example, and he won’t get flustered, but do the same to Takuma Sato and he will probably make a mistake, letting you through. And you can hit any track for morning practice and see what it would look like at dawn.

Ridge Racer 7

Namco also came to the UK to demonstrate Ridge Racer 7, the first PS3 installment of the arcade classic. Most of the company’s emphasis was placed on the game’s online mode -which is new for the franchise and sure to be a big draw on the PlayStation Network. But car customisability has also been given a more important role in the game with, for example, various types of nitrous boost, with different characteristics, available as you progress through the game.

Stay tuned for the vids…