New MotorStorm Mode - Rumour: New Track

Evolution Studios 'must have' PS3 launch title, MotorStorm has a new driving mode called Time Attack.

According to Sony, "In Time Attack gamers can set their best times on each track with any available vehicle classes, then race against ‘ghost’ laps in subsequent Time Attack races. Extra-fast times will see your ghost laps automatically uploaded to the global leader boards for others to compete with. Additionally, gamers will have the option of racing against up to seven ghosts at a time – beat their friends’ efforts then let them have their ghost lap to prove it. Players can race against their own recorded ghost, take on the best runs recorded by other players (downloadable from the online leaderboards), or try and beat the expert ghosts from Evolution.

"The Time Attack mode will be a free download via the PS storestore starting June 7th. Before installing, please load MotorStorm from the Blu-Ray Disc, select ‘Online’, an appropriate game universe, and install any updates if prompted."

So, it's going to be June not May as previously understood due to the press release posted at Evolution saying... May. Or maybe there's been a mix-up in communications at Sony, as despite the June date we're still expecting to see the update hitting in late May.

This will be in time for a what we understand to be a new MotorStorm track or tracks, possibly even new vehicles car and driving modes. At the moment this is unconfirmed but we'd expect early June to be an exceedingly good month for PS3 owners who like to get virtually muddy.

MotorStorm's latest downloadable patch (version 1.2) is detailed below:

Game List Improvement:'Game Status' is now displayed with the game list in the online lobby making it easier to find a session where you'll be able to join and race promptly.

Host Identification:Within the game lobby the host is now clearly identified by a 'host' icon visible to all players and updated during host migration.

Boost Exploit:A bug involving the boost system that allowed a player to use boost in an exploitative manner has been resolved.

Buddy List Size:This has been updated to support up to 50 friends.

Text Cut-off:When playing in standard definition all messages will now display as intended.

Improved Stability Online:Online gameplay stability has been improved.

Audio issues:All known issues with 5.1 / 7.1 surround have been fixed. Audio issues within the front-end have been resolved.

Player Ranking:Players were found to be ranked incorrectly due to a bug. Because of this all online rankings will be reset and the ranking system should now function correctly. Evolution and Sony apologize for this measure but it will result in a fairer and more stable ranking system for all players.

Auto-Start:Races will be forced to start after a fixed countdown which should dramatically reduce the waiting times in lobbies. Hosts may delay this countdown up to three times.

Save Data Corruption:When quitting the game using the PS button it was possible to corrupt the save game data. This will no longer occur.

Lobby Information:Upcoming track and current lap details will be displayed in lobbies.

Vehicle Damage:When restarting a single player race during a death camera the damage wasn't always reset at the start of the next race. This has now been resolved.

Missing Audio:Audio effects were missing from the death camera, these have now been reinstated.

Name Tags:Added ability to switch the player name tags on / off during online races using a single button press (L1).