Review: ModNation Racers

ModNation Racers isn’t a game afraid to revel in its influences, in fact it quite proudly display them on it’s sleeves. Part Mario Kart and part LittleBigPlanet the game attempts to do for kart racing games what LittleBigPlanet did for platform games two years ago and while it doesn’t quite manage to come together as fluidly as LittleBigPlanet did, it’s an acceptable entry into Sony’s ever expanding “Play, Create, Share” initiative.

From the start, ModNation Racers attempts to give itself something different  from other kart racing games with the addition of a bare-bones story in which players take control of a Tag, a graffiti loving kid (who is both fully customizable and replaceable) who sets out to become the next ModNation Racing Champion.  While the story plays out in predictable fashion there are some fun characters, such as racing commentating team Biff Tradwell and Gary Reasons, who manage to give the game a nice sense of charm, which when combined with the game’s cartoon inspired graphics will (for the most part) keep players entertained as they dig their way through the many different play modes ModNation Racers has to offer, including single player, online multiplayer and a deep track editor mode.

Despite the multitude of options on hand, most players will be spending their time with ModNation Racers behind the wheel of a kart and in that respect the game offers a fun experience, although there’s little weight to the vehicles and controlling them is a little too simplistic  All the hallmarks of kart racing are here, from collectable power ups to boosting and drifting but as far as the racing aspect is concerned, ModNation Racers doesn’t offer anything new. Yes there are missiles and shields to be picked up and successfully performing stylish acts will raise a boost meter but beyond that, the pick ups remain surprisingly generic given the amount of customisation in the game.

It’s the LittleBigPlanet influences that can be seen throughout the rest of the game, sometimes good, sometimes bad. A short racing tutorial introduces players to their ModSpot, the game’s hub world. From here players can drive to each section or game play mode, or just jump straight in to The Creation Station and delve into the games deep customisation options.

From the get-go, ModNation Racers attempts to match LittleBigPlanet‘s customisation mode in both depth and accessibility and for the most part it succeeds. Within thirty minutes of play, most players will not only be able to fully customise their avatar and kart but also create a full track for them to race around. There are stickers, paints and multiple parts unlocked from the start, all of which can be combined to make a unique kart, though most of these are purely for aesthetic reason, with more extras to be unlocked throughout the game’s various race mode.  The same can be said for both the avatar and track modes, though the avatar customisation suffers from accessories not always interacting as they should: perish the thought of giving your avatar hair and a hat. But for players with enough creativity there is an endless number of activities for those wanting something similar enough to LittleBigPlanet that provides a different set of mechanics.

With all of this customistion at hand it’s disappointing that ModNation Racers fails then to offer the level of tutorials that LittleBigPlanet does. Those wanting a more casual experience will find themselves increasingly lost in the depths of creation, with no real provision for a middle ground between light creations and the need to then populate every square inch of the world. ModNation Racers is never really convincing in who it’s aimed at, with the tutorials either providing too much information, or never enough: the game even begins with a racing tutorial, one which disrupts the players first race to inform them of the most basic of racing tasks, and this makes the lack of effective tutorials for the more advanced sections of the game more surprising.

Continuing to work against the game’s appeal to a casual audience are some very long loading screens which affect both styles of gameplay and appear before almost every screen transition and players will have to get accustomed to waiting up to three minute before progressing, which quickly becomes tedious, especially when just accessing a screen for a tiny tweak. While a post-release-date fix has been promised, it’s of little help to players who want to get stuck in immediately, especially those drawn to ModNation Racers as a cute racing game who may not want or be able to engage with the online elements.

ModNation Racers takes the best from the genres it emulates but lacks both the polish and skill to successfully fuse them. While those who have put plenty of hours into LittleBigPlanet will find themselves easily swayed by the games customisation section it will be hard for those more used to a casual kart racer to retain interest for long without something much more robust being brought into the mix.

Zombie Rating: B-