Is this simply another Mario Kart clone, or is there an engrossing streak to Sony’s LittleBigPlanet kart racer?
Format: PS3 (version played), PSP Dev: United Front Games Pub: Sony Out: 21/05/10 Players: 1-4, 2-12 online
There’s a happy balance that is apparent after spending just one hour with the creed of the kart racing genre. An equilibrium between steering and cheap projectile tricks. It’s a feeling that needs little explanation nor emancipation from complex interactive routines. A correctly executed boost or takedown would bring even the most novice driver screaming into first place in a shower of victory. But Sony’s new community-focused kart racer doesn’t just carve its own unique play style, it adds skill and depth to a genre that many thought had plateaued.
United Front, the team behind ModNation Racers, has surely spent many months fine tuning their urban vinyl inspired racer. Its art style is characterised by a cheeky innocents, the influence of contemporary urban design comes through in its graffiti art and anything that can be ‘modded’. Initially, gameplay feels wonky and adjusting to its audacious controls takes time, like trying to breakdance with a handicap.
Beyond the tried and true kart racing staple, the powerslide, ModNation gets even more manic by fusing its boost and shielding mechanics. You rack up energy by drifting and performing daring spins, which is used to boost or deploy your shield. It’s a question of speed or protection which gives ModNation a tactical frame. Unfortunately, the weapon balance takes the wind out often. Power-ups can be stacked for even deadlier weapons. However, being on the receiving end severely impacts your chances of placing, as weapons are far more powerful than the abilities given to evade or defend against them.
There’s more to ModNation than just racing, of course. Borrowing from the school of LittleBigPlanet, ModNation is a completely customisable Scalextric set. The Munny-esque ‘mods’ of the game’s namesake are part of a personalisation system with humongous potential. There are so many changeable options for your mods and karts, and customisation is so quick, that it’s hard not to find yourself spending more time editing than racing. Its sticker editor doesn’t quite match Forza’s effort, but could easily warrant mouse and keyboard use.
In LBP you designed 2D platform levels, here it’s racetracks. The track editor is one of the most innovate ever seen. The process of crafting basic tracks is so fast and easy that even your pet could do it – if they had opposing thumbs. In less than eight minutes, you can stream roll the track design, automatically add trackside scenery and test drive your track to see how it plays. The comprehensive tools displayed in the circle menu means all the functions can be found quite readily. Because of this ease, a far larger portion of ModNation players are likely to upload tracks compared to the LBP community. But as masterful as track studio is, it’s still an editor that will require experimentation and care if you wish to build playable tracks for a premium karting experience. Alternative, though, you could just go wild and bung in dizzying loops and impossible apexes – the computer will figure it out.
Sharing your creations with the world, as well as sampling your friends’ own, is central to the game. From the ModSpot, your personal hub world, you can invite friends and engage with the ModNation community. You simply drive up to players to check out their creations or access the full database from the circle menu. It’s this immediate, connected approach that gives it the edge over LBP. Downloading other players’ mods, karts and tracks becomes impulsive, because it is so straightforward. Unsurprisingly, the top community mods and karts are all unlicensed copycats.
ModNation’s career mode is a poor show of its repertoire and the mostly forgettable vignettes come across as half-baked. Its multiplayer modes, which include the now prized four-player split-screen, are another story however. Playing against real players is an amusing, competitive foray, dampened only by the balance hiccups.
So with all its bells, whistles and shiny toy karts does ModNation Racers achieve a podium finish? The weapon set is small, but balance is the game’s most pronounced gameplay blemish. It’s not uncommon to be hit by multiple attacks in succession – how can you counter incoming missiles when you’re not even given the chance to build energy for a deflection? And choppy acceleration ruins the flow of races. Yet, when it comes to the user-generated content and community features, ModNation Racers takes the top prize. PlayStation has its Mario Kart and a lot more besides.
Aaron Lee
Tags: creator, modnation, multiplayer, racing, sony
