According to Paul Rustchynsky (lead designer of MotorStorm: Pacific Rift) over on the blog.us.playstation.com website, the new free ‘After Party’ update – which is described by the developer as the biggest update to the MotorStorm: Apocalypse game so far – has now been released onto the PlayStation Network, and will be available to download the next time you load up the game.

One very interesting feature of the newly released ‘After Party’ update is the new day-and-night track The Rock, which is set on an abandoned prison island close to the bay. The track does include multiple routes that have been carved into the prison island’s varied terrain, so players can expect to see some off-road racing action that resembles that of the legendary island in the Pacific Rift title.

The developer also announced that there will be a few new single-player races, which have all been hand-crafted by the design team over at Evolution Studios – introduced through Special Events Packs, with each pack having gamers play as a character from the Festival. If players manage to take first place in the six unique events, they will be rewarded with the grand sum of 120,000 chips.

The first pack, titled Stone: Jack of Clubs, is included in the ‘After Party’ update. The other free packs will become available on PSN over the coming weeks. MotorStorm: Apocalypse players will also have the opportunity to boost their chip total with the Weekly Challenges. There will be a total of 30,000 chips up for grabs each week, but to claim them you’ll need to beat a target in a Rookie, Pro and Veteran challenge.

Chips can then be used to unlock new Ranks and rewards, as well as a number of PlayStation 3 trophies. Evolution Studios has also been listening to MotorStorm racing community feedback, and has made a few changes to a number of the vehicle types. Although the Superbike, Supercar and Dirt Bike are the classes that have received the most noticeable changes, the Muscle Car, Racing Truck and ATV have also been tweaked.

You can read more about the ‘After Party’ update via the Blog.us.playstation.com website. Have you downloaded the new MotorStorm: Apocalypse update yet?

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According to a recent article by Chris Leggett over on the techday.co.nz website, the racing game was originally scheduled for release on March 17th, but the release was then delayed following the catastrophic Canterbury earthquake that occurred on February 22nd.

As Chris notes, the premise of the MotorStorm: Apocalypse game sees players racing through environments that are crumbling around them due to earthquakes. Gamers in New Zealand haven’t got to wait long either, as the game is due to arrive on May 5th.

The release of the MotorStorm: Apocalypse game was also delayed in the UK, following the Tokyo earthquake and tsunami on March 11th. The game was released on March 31st in the UK, while gamers in the United States are expecting the game to arrive today (May 3rd).

MotorStorm: Apocalypse comes with brand new vehicle classes including superbikes, muscle cars, choppers, hot hatches and supercars. Besides featuring the single-player mode, the game also comes with 16-player online multiplayer and split-screen modes.

Are you pleased that a new release date has now been confirmed?

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The news comes from the Playstation Blog and says that the game’s release date will be held back until an update is given on the matter. The decision to prevent the release has come about due to the huge disasters in Japan and New Zealand recently, and it is assumed that once the areas are safer a new release date will be announced.

Many gamers are saddened by the news but equally sympathetic to the victims of the disasters, many have stated on the Blog that people will need to let time pass before a destructive game such as this comes out. Others are more dissapointed and feel that the game will not cause any controversy or upset and so should have kept its original release date March 12.

Whatever your views is you can’t deny that it is a massive sign of respect, Japanese and New Zealand victims and are aware of the content in their games. We will keep you posted as we hear more details on the matter.

Do you think that delaying the game’s release was the correct decision?

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Sadly, we haven’t – that’s probably since this is the first time we’ve heard about the beta as well. Sony are obviously keen to stress test the online multiplayer of the game before the game goes on sale on March 12th in the US, March 16th in the UK.

The million dollar question is though – did you get into this beta? If so, we’d love to hear your initial impressions of the game. Is multiplayer a big improvement from Pacific Rift or is it a game you’re planning to avoid come launch time?

Check out this screenshot we’ve found over at CVG, it proves that the beta is ongoing as we speak. Players will be able to play at any time they wish, but it seems as if Sony are also holding special events on certain nights to really give the servers a pounding.

For those of you who didn’t get into the beta, the good news is that a demo is meant to be on the way soon, although there isn’t long at all until the game releases.

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