PS3 Review - ModNation Racers

Most importantly, ModNation Racers features a ton of customizable content. First and foremost, the character you race as can be designed from the ground up on a plain canvas. Players have managed to create characters such as Sonic and Solid Snake using objects, paint and stickers alone. In a similar fashion, you can also create your own vehicle. The engine, wheels, body, ride height and more can all be fully customized to your liking and best of all, you aren’t only limited to cars. There are jeeps, trucks and even a handful of funny vehicles such as a lawnmower and an ice cream truck. The ability to create your own character and vehicle with such a limitless amount of options adds a deep sense of personality in ModNation Racers. When playing online, the design of each character is noticeable by design so the creations are a great way for each player to display his or her creativity and personality.

Fortunately, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that ModNation Racers’ track studio is even better than advertised. The key to the studio is accessibility, and never before has a racing game had such an easy-to-grasp track editor. Creating a track is as easy as laying down the road and populating the environment with trees, buildings and more. However, that’s not to say that the track studio isn’t rich with features. The studio lets you fine-tune everything you can imagine ranging from terrain height, track banks, environmental details, weapon locations and even details such as sun location, water level and more. On top of that, objects can be added which can either be static or interactive in a variety of ways and you can even add moving objects as well as moving platforms. As a whole, ModNation Racers’ track studio is without a doubt the most accessible and potentially the most powerful track creator on any platform.

Graphically, ModNation Racers is a very artistic game. The visuals are colorful and the presentation gives off a feeling of creativity. Loading times are improved since the beta but still incredibly long which can be hampering at times. ModSpot loading and campaign loading times seem to be longer than the multiplayer loading times which is surprising, but the load times are to be expected given the sheer level of customization that must be loaded inbetween screens. Thankfully, the framerate is consistent and racing is as smooth as butter. At times there are 12 players on screen with beautiful coastal waters in the background and electromagnetic explosions shooting off left and right, but the game maintains its clean level of framerate. While it’d be nice to see the loading times reduced in a future patch, the smooth presentation after load times drastically reduces their impact on the gaming experience.

The soundtrack for ModNation Racers is full of catchy tunes which may very well sing in your head for a few days. The voice overs in campaign mode are terrific coupled with the humorous dialogue that emerge at every cutscene. Weapon and vehicle sound effects are great too and really help when you need to adjust to your surroundings, avoid other players in cliff areas or block missiles with your shield. Overall, the audio in this title is great and help keep the game’s consistency of high-quality.

Each of the races in campaign mode have their own requirements to earn additional bonuses ranging from stickers for your car to clothing for your character. Also, each race has 5 hidden tokens which once acquired can be used to purchase a random object in the Creation Studio. The single-player campaign is roughly 5-hours but you’ll like be back for more, and leveling up in the multiplayer portion is non-stop addictive fun. ModNation Racers also has several multiplayer functionalities including profiles for every character, a mail system and of course shareable content. All content that you and others have created can be uploaded online to be shared, rated and hopefully favorited by other players. Coupled together with the split-screen online and offline modes as well as being able to create and share tracks, characters and vehicles, it’s pretty easy to say this game just may last forever.

United Front Games have not only created one of the most customizable video games of all time, but have managed to create a very well-rounded and enjoyable kart racing experience. The character, vehicle and track creation tools are easy to use but have a high ceiling for the creative player. Beneath the highly-personable features is a racer that is chock-full of intense racing action. The single-player is surprisingly entertaining and when coupled together with both a great online system and fun split-screen, ModNation Racers is respectfully one of the most content-rich games of the generation. ModNation Racers is worthy of your dollar and is one of those games that you keep coming back to months after purchase