ModNation Racers is, quite simply, the LittleBigPlanet of kart racers. Part of Sony’s PLAY, CREATE, SHARE line of games, it’s coming to both the PS3 and PSP. I recently had the chance to play a demo of the PSP version of the game. Packing two Action Races, Flaming Jumps and Lost Temple, as well as a scaled-back version of the Track Studio course design mode, the demo should keep players busy until the full game comes out.
But, hey, don’t take our word for it – check it out for yourself! Game Rant has a ModNation Racers PSP demo code to give away. Just follow @gamerant on Twitter (you’re doing that anyway, right?), and retweet our “ModNation Racers Demo Code give away” tweet to enter. Good luck!
Graphics
Right up front, you’ve got to notice what an attractive game ModNation Racers PSP is. Rendered in a high resolution with bright, primary-colors and nice, smooth edges on everything, the game looks great on the PSP. Though the racers themselves have something of a super-deformed look, the environments (rolling green hills and dense tropical jungle in the demo) verge on realism.
On the track, everything moves extremely smoothly, as the frame rate almost never stumbles. Races are speedy, characters and karts animate nicely (particularly when performing stunts), and the tracks sport a ton of objects and roadside detail. Special effects on the weapons look dynamic – fluorescent contrails from projectiles, the transparent blue shield bubble – without slowing down the action. The motion blur and camera zoom effects that kick in when boosting look especially cool.
Playing
The racing itself feels a little stiff, possibly as a result of the control scheme. Gas is on the right bumper, and the brake (which I never once used) is on the left. The “X” button causes the kart to hop (single or double tap) and drift (hold down). Weapons are assigned to the square button, boost to the triangle button, and shields to the circle button. Players can choose to steer with either the digital pad or the analog nub. The karts control better with the nub, but the digital pad is more comfortable to use.
As you may have noticed, controlling the game makes use of every single button on the PSP. Predictably, this makes holding the system while you play a bit uncomfortable. But when you’re in the thick of a heated race, you probably won’t notice.
The courses in the demo, called Pre-Mades, are a lot of fun to zip around on, and come packed with power ups, short cuts, and jumps. The other racers put up a fair fight – you’ll probably never find yourself getting too far ahead.
At least in the demo, power-sliding seems less important in ModNation Racers than in other, similar games. Boosting is where it’s at with this game, and the boost meter takes up a significant chunk of real-estate on the right side of the PSP’s screen. Primarily earned by performing stunts after a jump, boost will speed you by environmental hazards, and ahead of your competition. Of course, simply attacking your opponents with rockets never hurts, either
Music in the game is the kind of peppy, innocuous rock-lite you probably expect from a game like this. There is certainly nothing wrong with it, but nothing particularly memorable about it, either. Less forgivable is the (now customary) snarky announcer, who constantly grouses about your performance. (Note to the Kart Racer Development Community: “humorous” announcers are never a good idea. Please don’t include them in any future games. Thank you.)
Creating
The Track Studio included in the demo allows players to create a single track using the grassy, hilly Alpine Theme. By basically driving a kart around an empty field, players are able to lay down a course that can be further edited to include all manner of on-track features (jumps, power-ups, obstacles), as well as course-side decorations (trees, houses, mountains, etc.). The course editor feels a bit less powerful than its big brother in the PS3 version of the game. Specifically, variations in course height are much less dramatic than on the PS3. I was also unable to create a track that crossed over itself, which is not an issue in the console version of the game. Finally, the created tracks feel a bit shorter than those created on the PS3.
That said, the Track Studio is still extremely impressive. Tweaking the layout and details of your track to perfection, then driving around the finished version, is extremely satisfying. Unfortunately, created tracks cannot be saved in the demo, and once you’ve gone for a spin on them, you’ll have to start over.
Sharing (my thoughts)
I came away from my time with the ModNation Racers PSP demo quite impressed. That the full game will feature so much more content than the demo – a career mode, online races, more extensive track creation options, the ability to share tracks with other PSPs – really has me looking forward to release day. How about you – are you ready to play, create, and share with ModNation Racers?
ModNation Racers comes to the PS3 and PSP May 25th
