Modnation Racers

Kart racing games have never been too popular here, what with mainstream racing titles consistently stealing the limelight. What makes kart racers different is the ability to discover alternate routes, have a variety of power-ups such as shields and missiles, and are generally less serious than regular racing games.

But Modnation Racers is beset with problems right from the opening scene thanks to a gamut of long loading screens before the gameplay even begins. I’d like to believe I’m a tolerant individual but I can see no good reason why I should sit through an arduous loading screen or in some cases two of them. Last I checked current-gen tech was good enough to prevent painful waiting. It’s probably a case of the development studio being rushed to ship the game. Either way, it is extremely annoying.

However, if you’ve managed to tolerate the poor load times you’re introduced to a very creative game in the vein of Sony’s adorable platformer LittleBigPlanet but with kart racing instead. Everything from entire tracks to your driver’s appearance are completely customisable allowing you to create a very unique experience for yourself. Wish you could have Optimus Prime driving a kart? Go ahead. Want to race across Gotham City? It’s yours for the making. The seemingly infinite possibilities make for a very fresh game. Add a vibrant online community into the mix sharing levels and designs and you have a game that’s here for the long haul.

Or so you’d think.

Robust customisation aside the gameplay is just about average with balancing issues. The AI is adept at rubber-banding, that is gaining an almost magical ability to beat you in spite of placing last. Add to the fact that the placement of power-ups throughout levels is completely random leads the game to devolve from one of skill to that of absolute luck. And if you manage to get three power ups in a row you have an almost invincible weapon to affect every other opponent.

Given that you’re not exactly swimming in options for kart racing games, Modnation Racers is a decent attempt but falls one update patch short from recommending it just yet.