Instead of Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser and co, you get strange anthropomorphic plush-toy-like creations that can be customised to reflect your own personality. One of the biggest hurdles ModNation Racers faces is the fact that you don’t get recognisable characters to race around as or themed courses to race at. ModNation Racers, the exclusive PS3 kart racer from Sony and United Front Games, is the latest to try its hand at the ever popular arcade racing experience. You’d think copying it would be easy, but there’s a reason other games in the genre haven’t had similar success. Whether it’s you and some mates all sat on the same sofa, playing split-screen, or you against the rest of the gaming world online, something about Mario Kart has stuck, meaning the same basic formula has remained great fun for years. But most of us love the fact that it’s a racing game that everyone can play. For example, a first level sonic attack emits a series of rings around the player knocking nearby opponents off the track while a third level sonic attacks sends the rings forward, knocking all racers ahead of the player off of the track.Who doesn’t love Mario Kart? Well, OK, some people can’t stand the way the power-ups mean you can be winning one second then last a few moments later. Players are able to collect weapons as they race which can be upgraded to up to three levels of power, weapons include sonic attacks, missiles and lightning strikes.
The meter resembles a multi-tiered thermometer which allows players to the choice of activating a turbo boost to increase the kart’s speed, a shield to protect their kart from incoming attacks or sideswiping other racers.
Players are able to accelerate and drift, successful drifts allow players to fill their boost meter. Not feeling creative? ModNation Racers presents a humorous story with a wealth of pre-made characters, karts, tracks and challenges for all players. The easy-to-use editing studio tools make this creative process accessible to players of all levels. Players can express themselves by creating their own Mod character, styling their own racing kart and even building – in just minutes. ModNation Racers is a thoroughly fresh take on classic kart racing that empowers the player to personalize their entire game.