Remember the majority of last year, when it looked like the PS3 was an utter write-off? MotorStorm lingered around our Charts page for about 11 months, which gradually weathered each caption for the game – "It’s been kicking around for a while, now," for example, is one of the desperate comments we used to describe the game. “We really didn’t expect it to be selling in the tenth month of the PS3’s life span,” is another. Along with Resistance: Fall Of Man (referred to as, "a turd that just won’t flush"), MotorStorm was the only game worth playing on the PlayStation 3 for a depressing amount of time.

Now that a sequel’s on the horizon, our appreciation for the franchise has returned. MotorStorm is hardly a game in desperate need of a follow-up, but that’s not the way business works – MotorStorm has shifted 3 million copies, so a sequel was inevitably going to rear its ugly head. It’s looking pretty swell, though. Judging by the trailer, MotorStorm 2 will feature more precise environmental damage than its muddy predecessor. Whereas in the first game, there wasn’t a lot of variation beyond metal obstacles, mud tracks and cliff crashes, we’re expecting a surprising array of additions in the sequel.

Set on Pacifica Island, MotorStorm 2 will contain more identifiable tracks than ever before. MotorStorm was dominated by dusty, canyon-set races that lacked any real pizzazz – in the sequel, expect variation to be at the top of Evolution’s check list. Tracks set on snowy mountaintops, beaches and in jungles add a thematic layer of interest, but we’re most excited about the prospect of interacting with the environment. In the trailer, there was a noticeable amount of collapsing bridges, and other variable disasters. The frequency of these events suggests that tactics will become a part of the experience, with water traps and pratfalls becoming a more prevalent aspect in each race.

In a mildly less interesting twist, MotorStorm 2 will feature monster trucks, otherwise known as a mobilised form of terrorism. These beasts will likely put paid to any rival motorcyclists, but we were hoping for a slightly more ambitious addition than that. At the start of the trailer, for example, we zip across the sea, glimpsing a number of boats that are circling the environment – can’t we get in them, for a bit of water-bound tomfoolery? Obviously not, because the game seems to be centred around the same type of racing as the original MotorStorm. Following Evolution’s bare bones progression of the World Rally Championship games, though, we’re not particularly surprised – MotorStorm, like the first one, will probably pay off through its downloadable Network content.

After Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, SingStar and Buzz!: Quiz TV, we’re expecting MotorStorm 2 to have its own content-heavy Network channel. If you remember rightly, the original MotorStorm didn’t exactly overwhelm with its basic range of features, but the eventual downloadable content did. With extra Race Tickets, a Time Trial mode and brand new tracks even in January of this year, MotorStorm made quite a creative use of its Network status. With lessons learned from the first game, we’re expecting an onslaught of original extras for the follow-up.

So, with a modified version of the original, beautiful engine in tow, MotorStorm will really look the part when it returns this October. Even though we were happy with the downloadable content available for the last game, the sequel promises environmental carnage – we just can’t confirm what it’ll be at the moment, unfortunately. Never mind, though: MotorStorm 2 will probably be hands-on at E3, so we’ll have all of the important facts for you in a few months time.