ModNation Racers PlayStation 3

Released on 21/05/2010

• ModNation Racers Preview

  Mod it, Race it, Share it!

  Creation games have always been popular, but none has captured the hearts of gamers like LittleBigPlanet. Which is why I was thrilled when when I heard about ModNation Racers. A racing game in the same vein as LittleBigPlanet, where you can create tracks, cars and even the drivers.

  Race It!

  ModNation at its core is a racing game. The nearest title to compare this to is Mario Kart or Crash Tag Team Racing. Basically it’s a beautifully silly go kart style racing game with a host of power ups to use and abuse other players with.

  The racing is fast and furious and even though the code I saw was early code, it looked fantastic!

  Mod It!

  The big difference between this and other go kart racing games is that you can create the track, the cars and the players. Track creation is an absolute doddle, just accelerate and turn in the directions you want the track to take. You can raise the track high into the air, lower it into the ground and tilt it for corners.

  Once the track is complete just add the scenery. Buildings, trees, fences, cows, chickens the list goes on. If you’re not feeling creative enough to put each individual piece in, you can have ModNation auto populate the area with scenery, which is pretty entertaining. The camera zooms low and follows the track low as the buildings, bushes and other bits and pieces sprout from the ground.

  The racing is fast and furious and even though the code I saw was early code, it looked fantastic!

  Cars are just as fun to Mod. Every detail of the car can be tweaked, sprayed and messed with creating some surprising and awesome results. This truly is as versatile as LittleBigPlanet. There are hundreds of options open which means the only real limitation is your own imagination.

  But the area that caught my imagination and got me hooked was the character Modding. The options and combinations gave us some hilarious and, if I’m honest, scary outcomes. By combining pig tails and altering bits here and there, I managed to create a pretty average Predator! Only to then see that someone else had done the same - only their Predator was better.

  Share It!

  The big pulling point to ModNation is that when you’ve finished creating your tracks, characters and cars, you can share your creation with the world! You can even give other players the option of editing your original once they have downloaded it.

  There were so many pages of player-created content when I had a look. Some were amazing and some were, well, not bad! But the creation tool was being bent to the will of so many players who had found ways to create some of TV’s most loved characters such as Spiderman, Stewie (Family Guy), Jack Skellington (Nightmare Before Christmas) and even that loveable sailor, Popeye.

  I managed to create a pretty average Predator! Only to then see that someone else had done the same

  Modding the Nation

  Like LittleBigPlanet, ModNation Racers will keep you coming back for more, because in reality there will never truly be an end to. So you’ve raced on every track pre-installed to the disc? Just download some more for free! You want a different car? Build one!

  ModNation Racers isn’t quite ready, but even in this early stage it’s clear that the combination of creation and racing is an excellent match, why no one thought of this sooner I don’t know. They seem to go together hand in hand, like bangers and mash!

  Preview by: Tom 'Mod' Daly
  Version Tested: PlayStation 3
  Preview Published: 25.02.2010

  Published: 25/02/2010

• ModNation Racers - Review

  Join the Mod Nation!
  

  ModNation Racers kicks off by introducing you to the ModNation Racing Championship, which forms the centrepiece of a career mode that sees you journey from the amateur ranks to racing superstardom.

  Bursting with personality, the game's presentation is generally top notch, mixing vibrant, colourful cartoon visuals with crisp high definition graphics to great effect. Meanwhile, its story and characters are involving and charming. You're joined on your adventure by a likeable supporting cast, including your second hand kart dealing uncle, while your progress is charted from a TV studio by humorous commentators Biff Tradwell and Gary Reasons.

  Hit the track

  Racing focuses on speed, weapons and shortcuts. Perhaps just as important as good racing lines and luck with the weaponry is drifting, which requires you to hold down the X button as you accelerate toward a corner with R2 - this charges up an energy meter that can be used for bursts of speed or as a temporary protective shield.

  Weapons come in the form of crazy projectiles - your arsenal includes electric bolts, pulse attacks and missiles.

  Weapons come in the form of crazy projectiles - your arsenal includes electric bolts, pulse attacks and missiles - although the number of offensive items on offer is a bit limited. While you can't carry two weapons at any one time, going over multiple weapon grab points upgrades the one you already have at your disposal, so small blue pulses turn into sonic booms and pink lightening streaks that can only be fired directly forward evolve into more powerful items with tracking abilities.

  Quick races give you access to tracks that let you alter settings such as difficulty, top speed, number of racers and weapon options, while online and split screen modes allow you to compete in multiplayer races on developer-made or user-created tracks. The only drawback to all of this choice is a few lengthy loading screens, which can pull you out of the experience a little bit.

  Do it yourself

  While ModNation Racers' campaign mode is a decent enough offering on its own, you'd be missing out if you didn't explore the vast array of content available. Rather than accessing different options via a menu screen, players drive around a hub area called the Mod Spot, parking up at various stops to access alternative modes.

  Arguably the game's biggest selling point is its accessible creation toolset. The Creation Station lets you make custom racers and karts using a wealth of facial features, wheels, engines, stickers and paint jobs. It's both artistically satisfying and visually pleasing.

  Arguably the game's biggest selling point is its accessible creation toolset... it's simpler to use than LittleBigPlanet's Create mode.

  Best of all is the fact that it's simpler to use than LittleBigPlanet's Create mode. Laying a track is as easy as painting with a virtual brush. You simply drive your kart through an unpopulated environment of your choosing - such as jungle, seaside or desert – and as you twist and turn the track is laid out behind your vehicle. You can cross back over already laid track to create bridges or underpasses, and rewind your progress if you don't like something you've done.

  After you've completed your basic track you'll want to populate the environment, adding tress, animals, water, hazardous objects, weapon pick-up points and even choosing the position of the sun depending on the time of day you want for your race. At any point during the design process you can choose to 'autocomplete' your track, in which case the game will add all the nice geographical features and other touches for you.

  Front of the grid?

  Some will spend weeks crafting their dream tracks, but even if creation's not your bag there's nothing stopping you from enjoying the fruits of other peoples' work, as all the user-created tracks can be uploaded online and shared with the wider community for free.

  Billed as Sony's second entry in the Play, Create and Share brand first introduced with LittleBigPlanet, and by some as an HD rival to Mario Kart, ModNation Racers had some mighty standard setters to live up to. But by offering both an accessible track editor and a fun, solid kart racing experience, the game manages to deliver on both the creation and driving fronts, leaving Sackboy and Mario looking somewhat anxiously in their rear-view mirrors.

  GAME's Verdict

  

  • Great, accessible creation features.
  • Fast and fun kart racing experience.
  • Gorgeous presentation.

  

  • Could do with a few more basic weapons.
  • Will need a big online player base to offer plenty of new levels.
  • There are a few too many lengthy loading times.

  Review by: Tom 'The Mod' Ivan
  Version Tested: PS3
  Review Published: 02.06.10

  Published: 02/06/2010

• Europe first across the finish line for ModNation Racers

  According to VG247, Sony has announced a release date for the intriguing kart racer ModNation Racers. The game will be revving up on 21st May in the UK.

  This means that Europe gets the game before the US, incidentally, as it will launch in the States on 25th May. That gives us four precious days to learn those tracks so we can dominate the global leaderboards.

  Actually, learning the tracks shouldn't be too important with this one. As one of Sony's "Play, Create, Share" games, like LittleBigPlanet, ModNation Racers puts as much emphasis on creativity as it does on cornering, with a suite of tools that allow you to build your own tracks and kart racer characters, give them specific themes, and then take them online for the world to enjoy.

  Once you're on the track, the game looks like a lot of fun too: expect crazy handling, over the top power-ups, and unpredictable finishes as all kinds of trackside carnage erupts around you.

  ModNation Racers will be available for the PlayStation 3.

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