ModNation Racers Review

SolidSnake

June 13, 2010

The PS3 has some great racing games, which no one can deny. While the PlayStation does not have Forza, it does have Gran Turismo, MotorStorm, and now, ModNation Racers. But, is ModNation Racers really worth comparing to those other three great racing franchis-es?

ModNation Racers definitely doesn't take itself as seriously as those other franchises. After all, it isn't care racing, its kart racing. However, this allows ModNation Racers to go places those other games can't. For example, in Gran Turismo you won't see anyone using power ups on you. I guess the real game to compare ModNation Racers to is Mario Kart. Both are kart racing games, have power ups, and take themselves less seriously than the big car racing titles. However, that doesn't deduct the fun from Mario Kart or ModNation Racers.

ModNationThumb (4K) The biggest thing about ModNation Racers is that it is fun for anybone to play. Maybe you're the person who likes to go in depth and spend large amounts of time creating your own mods, karts, or tracks. Or maybe you like spending some time to create your own things, but don't waste time trying to make them outstanding. Or, maybe you just like to leech off of the best creations of the best user of PlayStation Network. You can do any of the above, and have fun doing whatever you feel your time is best spent doing in the game.

You will find out quite quickly that some power ups are better than others. My personal favorite is the 3rd level of the green power up, "Warp." It doesn't just use turbo like the 1st and 2nd levels, it actually teleports you a good distance. The rocket (red power up) is my next choice for a power up. It's 3rd level launches a barrage of rockets and scatters them at targets in front of you. And yes, they're heat seekers!

Another cool feature worth pointing out is that the game does support in-game music. Many times I have found myself listening to my own music while playing the story mode to the game. Nothing like listening to "I'm on a Boat" while shooting other karts with lightning power ups on a seaside track. You can also take pictures of your creations and export them to your hard drive.

If you are playing online and are looking to bring home the gold medal for taking first place, there is little room for mistakes. You may get lucky and be in a game with all rookies, but that is very unlikely, and all it takes is one good racer for you to miss out on first place. Get used to the maps and be ready to take shortcuts,and don't be afraid to hit every enemy every chance you get. They won't. This is war.

One big problem is how tough the enemy AI eventually gets in the story mode. Even if you stay behind them for a whole race or two to learn all of their tricks and shortcuts, they can still whip you. Sometimes you feel like the other racers have much faster karts than you. It doesn't help that you start behind everyone except one other racer in all of the races either.

Well, that's all I have for you guys that I didn't cover in my first impressions. If you missed that or would like to take another look at it, you can read it here. Thanks for reading and don't let ModNation Racers pass you by. This is one great game in general!