Jet Moto 3
Encyclopedia
Jet Moto 3 was released exclusively for the PlayStation video game console
on August 31, . It was the first and only Jet Moto title released by developer Pacific Coast Power & Light
and publisher 989 Sports. It has been released only in North America. It was released on the PlayStation Network on February 21, 2008 but was removed shortly thereafter for undisclosed reasons.
The game received moderately positive reviews, averaging 75.75% at video game aggregate site GameRankings. Reviewers generally praised the game's visuals, considering them an improvement over the previous installments. Jet Moto 3 would be the last title to date in the Jet Moto series
. Two additional sequels, Jet Moto 2124 and Jet Moto: SOLAR were cancelled during development.
or motorcycles. Players instead control hoverbikes
which sit close to the ground and can be ridden over land and water. Most of the courses in the game are designed to take advantage of this ability. Characters are split into teams, and bikes are adorned with logo
s of products such as Mountain Dew
and Doritos
, similar to real-life sponsored racing.
Ten characters are available from the beginning of the game with two more unlockable. This Jet Moto is notable for the inclusion of new stunt tracks. The objective of these tracks is to perform stunts to gain higher points and to collect coins scattered throughout the track. Another notable inclusion is the "hop" button, which is used to boost your player above the ground to avoid obstacles.
The physics of the jet moto bikes were also changed, with the bikes reaching much higher speed than the two previous games. Weather was also introduced into the series, with jet moto riders racing in the rain and in other weathered environments. Track themes vary greatly, with tracks taking places in volcanic islands, underground catacombs, the heights of Machu Pichu, and a thick Sequoia forest.
and publisher 989 Sports. SingleTrac
had been purchased by GT Interactive, and the original developers had no interest in doing a third Jet Moto title. According to former 989 Sports president Kelly Flock, Pacific Coast Power & Light was "nearby and cheap" and was headed by Don Traeger, who had formerly worked on the Road Rash
series, so the decision was made to use that studio for development.
Like it's predecessor, the game supported the DualShock
Controller. The Jet Moto 3 graphics engine and developer toolkit were built from the ground up by lead programmer Ming Lee. Lee was challenged to increase the framerate and graphic quality of the game. To do so he decomposed the opcode
s of the PlayStation's graphics processor and rewrote some of the PlayStation's library calls. This in essence allowed Lee to access the PlayStation hardware as he saw fit, allowing him to optimize his code specifically to his hardware calls. In doing so, however, the developers broke compatibility with first generation PlayStation consoles, something that was not caught until after the game was released. Fellow programmer Matt Gaston focused his energies on AI, physics and user interface
programming.
With programming optimizations in place, developers were able to use the additional power to add weather effects previously unheard of. Lee noted in an interview with PlayStation Museum that rain particles "actually streak in 3D according to your camera speed", noting that other games used a 2D effect on the game's HUD
to produce the effect of rain. Colored fog was also shown in one level, something that the PlayStation console could not do natively, and had only previously been seen in one game, Spyro the Dragon. Real time lighting was also added to the game. Jet Moto 3 would also use CGI
cutscene
s for the game's introduction, a first for the Jet Moto series. It was released on the PlayStation Network on February 21, 2008 but was removed shortly thereafter for undisclosed reasons.
, however sales did not continue to hold strong.
Reviewers were mixed on the opinion of the game's visuals. Game Revolution
called the graphics "a vast improvement over the grainy, somewhat choppy visuals of Jet Moto and Jet Moto 2." IGN
also praised the Jet Moto 3s visuals, citing a vastly improved framerate and draw distance than Jet Moto
and Jet Moto 2
. GameSpot
, however felt the graphical details were poor, citing that the game's environments were "nice and pretty unless you get too close." The CGI cutscenes were also panned by GameSpot, calling it "frightful" and stating "none of the characters look even fractionally human."
Game Informer
praised the new stunt tracks, stating that they "will capture hours of your playtime." Electric Playground spoke highly of the game's soundtrack, stating that the varied types of music fit each track's location and environment. They further praised Jet Moto 3 as superior to the other titles, calling the first two games "notoriously bug-ridden."
and Pacific Coast Power & Light
were also working on a fourth Jet Moto title, dubbed Jet Moto 2124 for the PlayStation, however the game was cancelled when Jet Moto 3 showed poor sales. Jet Moto 2124 was to be set over a century after the first three games. Jet Moto: SOLAR, developed by RedZone Interactive, was also cancelled. SOLAR would have been the first title in the series to appear on the PlayStation 2
.
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
on August 31, . It was the first and only Jet Moto title released by developer Pacific Coast Power & Light
Pacific Coast Power & Light
Pacific Coast Power & Light was an old game developer of DT Productions and Locomotive Games and develops games for a variety of game machines and consoles...
and publisher 989 Sports. It has been released only in North America. It was released on the PlayStation Network on February 21, 2008 but was removed shortly thereafter for undisclosed reasons.
The game received moderately positive reviews, averaging 75.75% at video game aggregate site GameRankings. Reviewers generally praised the game's visuals, considering them an improvement over the previous installments. Jet Moto 3 would be the last title to date in the Jet Moto series
Jet Moto
Jet Moto is a series of futuristic racing games for the PlayStation video game console. Jet Moto and Jet Moto 2 were developed by SingleTrac, known for Twisted Metal and Twisted Metal 2. SingleTrac then left Sony, the publisher of the series, and Jet Moto 3 was developed by Pacific Coast Power &...
. Two additional sequels, Jet Moto 2124 and Jet Moto: SOLAR were cancelled during development.
Gameplay
Gameplay in Jet Moto 3 differs from that of a traditional racing game with carsAuto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
or motorcycles. Players instead control hoverbikes
Hovercraft
A hovercraft is a craft capable of traveling over surfaces while supported by a cushion of slow moving, high-pressure air which is ejected against the surface below and contained within a "skirt." Although supported by air, a hovercraft is not considered an aircraft.Hovercraft are used throughout...
which sit close to the ground and can be ridden over land and water. Most of the courses in the game are designed to take advantage of this ability. Characters are split into teams, and bikes are adorned with logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
s of products such as Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew is a citrus-flavored carbonated soft drink brand produced and owned by PepsiCo. The original formula was invented in the 1940s by Tennessee beverage bottlers Barney and Ally Hartman and was first marketed in Marion, VA, Knoxville and Johnson City, Tennessee. A revised formula was...
and Doritos
Doritos
Doritos is a brand of seasoned tortilla chips created by Arch West and produced since 1964 by the American food company Frito-Lay ....
, similar to real-life sponsored racing.
Ten characters are available from the beginning of the game with two more unlockable. This Jet Moto is notable for the inclusion of new stunt tracks. The objective of these tracks is to perform stunts to gain higher points and to collect coins scattered throughout the track. Another notable inclusion is the "hop" button, which is used to boost your player above the ground to avoid obstacles.
The physics of the jet moto bikes were also changed, with the bikes reaching much higher speed than the two previous games. Weather was also introduced into the series, with jet moto riders racing in the rain and in other weathered environments. Track themes vary greatly, with tracks taking places in volcanic islands, underground catacombs, the heights of Machu Pichu, and a thick Sequoia forest.
Development
Jet Moto 3 would be the first and only released Jet Moto title by developer Pacific Coast Power & LightPacific Coast Power & Light
Pacific Coast Power & Light was an old game developer of DT Productions and Locomotive Games and develops games for a variety of game machines and consoles...
and publisher 989 Sports. SingleTrac
SingleTrac
SingleTrac Entertainment Technologies was a video game developer, mostly for the PlayStation platform. The management team and much of the original development team came from Evans & Sutherland, bringing their 3D graphics and software engineering skills into the video game industry.Its most famous...
had been purchased by GT Interactive, and the original developers had no interest in doing a third Jet Moto title. According to former 989 Sports president Kelly Flock, Pacific Coast Power & Light was "nearby and cheap" and was headed by Don Traeger, who had formerly worked on the Road Rash
Road Rash
Road Rash is the name of a motorcycle-racing video game series by Electronic Arts, in which the player participates in violent illegal street races. The game was originally released for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, but was ported to several other systems. Six different games were released from...
series, so the decision was made to use that studio for development.
Like it's predecessor, the game supported the DualShock
DualShock
The DualShock is a line of vibration-feedback gamepads by Sony for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation 3 video game consoles. The DualShock was introduced in Japan in late 1997, and launched in the North American market in May 1998...
Controller. The Jet Moto 3 graphics engine and developer toolkit were built from the ground up by lead programmer Ming Lee. Lee was challenged to increase the framerate and graphic quality of the game. To do so he decomposed the opcode
Opcode
In computer science engineering, an opcode is the portion of a machine language instruction that specifies the operation to be performed. Their specification and format are laid out in the instruction set architecture of the processor in question...
s of the PlayStation's graphics processor and rewrote some of the PlayStation's library calls. This in essence allowed Lee to access the PlayStation hardware as he saw fit, allowing him to optimize his code specifically to his hardware calls. In doing so, however, the developers broke compatibility with first generation PlayStation consoles, something that was not caught until after the game was released. Fellow programmer Matt Gaston focused his energies on AI, physics and user interface
User interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
programming.
With programming optimizations in place, developers were able to use the additional power to add weather effects previously unheard of. Lee noted in an interview with PlayStation Museum that rain particles "actually streak in 3D according to your camera speed", noting that other games used a 2D effect on the game's HUD
HUD (video gaming)
In video gaming, the HUD is the method by which information is visually relayed to the player as part of a game's user interface...
to produce the effect of rain. Colored fog was also shown in one level, something that the PlayStation console could not do natively, and had only previously been seen in one game, Spyro the Dragon. Real time lighting was also added to the game. Jet Moto 3 would also use CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
cutscene
Cutscene
A cutscene is a sequence in a video game over which the player has no or only limited control, breaking up the gameplay and used to advance the plot, strengthen the main character's development, introduces enemy characters, and provide background information, atmosphere, dialogue, and clues...
s for the game's introduction, a first for the Jet Moto series. It was released on the PlayStation Network on February 21, 2008 but was removed shortly thereafter for undisclosed reasons.
Reception
Jet Moto 3 was fairly well received, averaging 75.75% at gaming aggregate site GameRankings. It ranked tenth in the top ten racing titles for June 2000 according to the NPD GroupNPD Group
The NPD Group, Inc. is a leading North American market research company. The NPD Group consistently ranks among the top 25 market research companies in the independent Honomichl Top 50 report, which the media and the research industry acknowledge as a credible source of information on the market...
, however sales did not continue to hold strong.
Reviewers were mixed on the opinion of the game's visuals. Game Revolution
Game Revolution
Game Revolution or GR is a gaming website created in 1996. Based in Berkeley, California, the site includes reviews, previews, a gaming download area, cheats, and a merchandise store, as well as webcomics, screenshots, and videos...
called the graphics "a vast improvement over the grainy, somewhat choppy visuals of Jet Moto and Jet Moto 2." IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
also praised the Jet Moto 3s visuals, citing a vastly improved framerate and draw distance than Jet Moto
Jet Moto (video game)
Jet Moto is a racing video game developed by SingleTrac and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation video game console and PC. The PlayStation version was released in North America on October 31, 1996, in Europe in February 1997, and Japan on August 7, 1997. The PC version...
and Jet Moto 2
Jet Moto 2
Jet Moto 2 is a racing video game developed by SingleTrac and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation video game console. It is the sequel to the game Jet Moto. It was released in North America on October 31, 1997, in Europe in April 1998, and in Japan on August 6, 1998...
. GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
, however felt the graphical details were poor, citing that the game's environments were "nice and pretty unless you get too close." The CGI cutscenes were also panned by GameSpot, calling it "frightful" and stating "none of the characters look even fractionally human."
Game Informer
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
praised the new stunt tracks, stating that they "will capture hours of your playtime." Electric Playground spoke highly of the game's soundtrack, stating that the varied types of music fit each track's location and environment. They further praised Jet Moto 3 as superior to the other titles, calling the first two games "notoriously bug-ridden."
Legacy
Jet Moto 3 would be the last game in the series to be released publicly. 989 Studios989 Studios
989 Studios was a division of Sony Computer Entertainment America that developed games for the PlayStation consoles and Windows personal computers. Their titles include Twisted Metal III and 4, Syphon Filter and 2, Jet Moto 3, Bust a Groove, EverQuest and others...
and Pacific Coast Power & Light
Pacific Coast Power & Light
Pacific Coast Power & Light was an old game developer of DT Productions and Locomotive Games and develops games for a variety of game machines and consoles...
were also working on a fourth Jet Moto title, dubbed Jet Moto 2124 for the PlayStation, however the game was cancelled when Jet Moto 3 showed poor sales. Jet Moto 2124 was to be set over a century after the first three games. Jet Moto: SOLAR, developed by RedZone Interactive, was also cancelled. SOLAR would have been the first title in the series to appear on the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
.