Where the original MotorStorm used the austere terrain of Monument Valley — sandy flats, rocky canyons, and deep mud pools — Pacific Rift placed the Festival on a volcanic island rich with contrasting biomes. Tracks wound through volcanic mountainsides, beaches, jungle interiors, cave systems, and a derelict sugar factory. The environment was conceived as both a visual showcase and a mechanical playground, with water, fire, and lava all interacting with the game's boost system in ways that rewarded route knowledge and risk management.
Pacific Rift retained all seven vehicle classes from the original game — Bikes, ATVs, Buggies, Rally Cars, Racing Trucks, Mud Pluggers, and Big Rigs — and added Monster Trucks as an eighth class. Monster Trucks could drive over most other vehicle types, including other Monster Trucks and Big Rigs, and destroy vegetation and track structures. They also carried a high centre of gravity, making them prone to rolling in hard cornering.
Water played a new tactical role. Rivers, pools, and waterfalls appeared throughout track layouts, and driving through them actively cooled boost temperature, reducing the risk of an engine explosion. Conversely, driving through fire or near lava raised temperature rapidly. This created route decisions with direct mechanical consequences: a cooler line through water might cost time on terrain but pay off in sustained boost availability on an open straight.
Bikes gained a bunny hop capability, and their riders could duck to reduce drag. Any vehicle class beyond ATVs and Bikes could physically ram opponents sideways. ATVs and Bikes instead allowed drivers to throw punches at rival riders. A new race event type called Speed was introduced, replacing lap-based competition on select tracks with a checkpoint rush against a timer.
Four-player split-screen was added, expanding on the original game's multiplayer options. Players could select drivers independently of vehicle class from the Garage menu, removing a restriction from the first game. A Photo Mode accessible from the pause menu allowed in-race image capture and export to PlayStation 3 storage. Players could stream custom music from the console's hard drive during play.
Pacific Rift launched with 16 original tracks. Two expansion packs were released in July 2009. The Speed pack added three tracks, three track variants, and new paint jobs. The Adrenaline pack added three more tracks, five track variants, four new vehicles, and six new playable characters. Among the Adrenaline variants was a Volcanic set that reimagined existing courses with active lava bomb hazards: contact with a large lava bomb instantly wrecked any vehicle, while smaller ones drove boost temperature to maximum or triggered an explosion if the temperature was already critical. Both expansion packs were bundled with a wider "Revenge Weekend" and "Devil's Weekend" vehicle collections available as separate downloadable content.
A pre-rendered teaser trailer released in March 2008 featured destructible environments and character modeling backed by Pendulum's "Tarantula." The trailer was shown at a target-render quality rather than real-time gameplay.
An update patch was mistakenly released in the European region in January 2009 before being withdrawn from servers. Sony confirmed the error and advised users who had already installed the patch not to remove it, as it had modified save files. A corrected update was subsequently deployed. Version 1.02 introduced Microbadges, a cosmetic display system in which players could show up to five badges during online play, and Signature Collections, which awarded new vehicle skins for every car shared with the original MotorStorm game, unlocked at intervals of ten Microbadges earned.
Pacific Rift featured 46 licensed music tracks, nine of which were exclusive to the game. The roster of artists included Megadeth, Nirvana, Queens of the Stone Age, David Bowie, Death from Above 1979, Pendulum, Clutch, Fatboy Slim, Slipknot, and several unsigned acts. Custom soundtrack playback from the PlayStation 3's XMB was also available.
Metacritic rated the game as receiving favorable reviews. IGN praised its graphical component and called it "a worthy follow-up to one of the PS3's early must-have titles." GameSpot commended the track design and multiplayer but noted inconsistent vehicle handling. 1Up.com awarded an A−, highlighting the improved AI aggression, expanded environments, and the seamless transition between biomes. GameZone scored it 8.3 out of 10, describing it as "entertaining and a visual treat." In Japan, where it released as MotorStorm 2 on 20 November 2008, Famitsu gave it 33 out of 40. The game received nominations at the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' 12th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack and Racing Game of the Year, both of which went to Rock Band 2 and Burnout Paradise respectively.
The game's online servers were permanently shut down in October 2012.