The events of the game take place at the fictional MotorStorm Festival in Monument Valley. The objective of the game is to win a series of off-road races and to be the overall winner of the Festival. Players are in control of seven different types of vehicles throughout the game: rally cars, big rigs, dirt bikes, ATVs, racing trucks, buggies and mudpluggers. Each race requires the player to choose a particular vehicle type and often race against many of the other vehicles.