Come be a part of a Mod-y Nation . . .
From the main menu of ModNation Racers you have four options, the first of which is "Race Central". This option is broken down in to three sub-options, the first one being "Single Player Race". From this sub-option there are three available game modes, the first of which is an "Action Race". This is a 3 lap race (by default) against 5 other Mods (again the game's default), with weapon pickups available throughout the race. The second mode is "Pure Race" and is the exact same thing, a 3 lap race against 5 other Mods, only this time there are no weapon pickups available. The final mode here is called "Last Kart Standing", a 5 lap race against 5 other Mods. At the end of each lap one Mod is eliminated from the race, and weapon pickups are available throughout.
After selecting either of these three game modes you then select which track you want to race at (there are 27 in total, only a small number of which are available at the very start of the game). Once your track is picked you then decide on a small number of race settings, such as number of laps (between 1-5), speed (Fast, Faster, Fastest!), number of AI (1-5), difficulty (Easy, Medium, Hard), and time period (for the Last Kart Standing mode only, between 20, 30, 45). Once all of this is done you are then literally off to the races!
The second sub-option under Race Central is "Community Race", the online multiplayer mode of the game. This option is divvied up in to two sub-options, the first one is "Online Race", where you can go online and compete in races with people from all over the world. The other is "Ad-hoc Race", an online mode that lets you take on buddies in your vicinity. I wasn't able to get any action on these modes, so this is all I know unfortunately.
The third and final sub-option is called "Career" and is the meat and potatoes story mode of the game (when you select this mode you are then asked to start a New Career or to Continue Career). Anyhoo, when you get in to Career mode you will be introduced to Tag, a young Mod who works at his Mom's paint shop. However, he has far bigger dreams, for he wants to compete in the ModNation Racing Championship series, and eventually take down the current champ, Espresso! Tag's Grandpa, a former kart racer himself, comes out of retirement to act as Tag's crew chief, and so begins his journey to racing stardom. Your job is to take control of Tag at this point and win your way through a number of MRC racing series, on your way to becoming the ultimate racer. The racing series break down as such: "Home Tour" (consists of 4 races as well as tutorial visits to both the Mod Studio and Kart Studio), "Mayhem Tour" (consists of 4 races as well as a tutorial visit to the Track Studio), "Range Tour" (consists of 5 races), "Grim Tour" (consists of 8 races) & "Grand Tour" (consists of 7 races).
Now, each race in each of these racing series comes with three sets of objectives, broken down in to bronze, silver and gold levels (bronze being the easiest to complete with gold being the hardest, naturally). These objectives can be as simple as say, finishing third in the race, or they can be more difficult, like finishing first and drafting other racers for a certain amount of time, or drifting a certain total distance, or even scoring a set amount of takedowns. By completing each of these objectives you will unlock various items for use in both the Mod and Kart Studios, but more details on them later. By simply beating one of these races (a minimum finish of third place), you then unlock that specific track for future use in the game. Also, in most of these races one of the "Elite" racers you are competing against will have a red flashing license plate. If you take this particular racer down with either a sideswipe or a stomp (more on them later) you will set up a "Grudge Match" race against that particular Mod. This type of race is a 3 lap event, one on one against the Mod in question. If you win the race you then unlock that Mod and his or her Kart for future use in the game. All of this action in Career mode is linked together by cutscenes featuring commentary from official MRC announcers Biff Treadwell and Gary Reasons. These cutscenes also involve some storylines featuring Tag, his Grandpa, his Mom, and the bumbling interference run by Espresso as well as Tag's uncle, who runs Conservative Motors and wants to sponsor Tag (for his own benefit of course, not Tag's). If you can buckle down and complete all of the racing series and Grudge Matches involved in this mode you've done it, you've beaten the game and become the best racer the MRC has ever seen!
Getting back to the game's main menu the second option we come to is "Design Studios", which is broken down in to three sub-options. The first of these is called "Mod Studio" and is where you got to create your very own Mod characters. When you first enter this mode you will be asked to choose either "New" or "Edit". Under New is where you'll do the creating. The categories of items you can use to build and shape your Mod include clothes, voice, head, skin, and odds 'n ends. Within some of these categories will be sub-categories such as pants, shirts, mouths, noses, accessories, glasses, etc. Once you are finished creating your Mod, give it a name before you save and exit. When you choose to Edit a Mod you can then make changes to any previously created Mods. The Mods that you can change include the game's Pre-Mades, any of the Elites, your previously created Mods, and any that you may have downloaded as well.
The second sub-option under Design Studios is called "Kart Studio", once again when you first enter it you are faced with the choice of either "New" or "Edit". This mode works exactly the same as the Mod Studio, under New is where you can create your very own Karts. You piece them together using items that fall under the various categories of decals, parts, accessories, and body. Within some of these categories are sub-categories like suspension, spoilers, antennas, hood ornaments, etc. Once your Kart is complete you give it a name before saving and exiting. When you choose to Edit instead you can make changes to any previously created Karts in the game. Again the Karts that you can alter include any of the game's Pre-Mades, all of the Elites, your own creations, plus any that you may have downloaded.
The third and final sub-option here is "Track Studio". When you first enter this mode you are asked to make the choice of either "New" or "Edit". Under New is where you go to create your very own race track for future use in the game. First you select the type of terrain you want to surround the track, from either alpine, desert, seaside, or jungle. After this is decided you then lay down the path or your track. Once this is in place you are faced with four options to choose from, the first of which is "Place Props". Props cover a vast array of items such as ramps and jumps that actually appear on the track, to other items that appear on the sidelines like barrels and other Mods. The second option is "Deform Terrain", where you can shape the land surrounding your track, creating slight and pleasant rises or towering mountainous behemoths. Next is the "Paint Terrain" option, where you can colour the land surrounding your track in a wide array of hues. Finally comes the "Sky" option, where you can set the weather conditions of your track from options such as morning, blue skies, clouds, and sunset. When your masterpiece is complete you have the option of test driving it to see how everything worked out. Upon completion make sure to name your track before you save and exit. As for the Edit function, this is where you go to make changes to any previously created tracks. Unlike the Mod and Kart Studios though, here you can only make changes to tracks that were your own creation or that you downloaded. None of the game's pre-loaded tracks can be altered.
Back at the main menu the third option is called "Community", which is split up in to four sub-options. The first of these is called "Share" and is where you go to share all of your creations. You can choose to either download other people's created Mods, Karts and Tracks, or you can choose to publish your own created Mods, Karts and Tracks. The second sub-option is "Leaderboards", where you can go to view the best online racers in the world, their results divided up in to a number of different stat categories. Third is the "My Stats" sub-option, where you can view a detailed summary of your own personal results involving your online play. And the final sub-option is "Online ModJobs", which is a list of the various online ModJobs available in the game and whether or not you've completed them (more on ModJobs soon).
The fourth and final option on the game's main menu is called "My Stuff"! It is divided up in to six sub-options, the first of which is titled "ModJobs". ModJobs are a series of in game quests/objectives ModNation Racers sets for you, by completing them you unlock more items to be used in both the Mod and Kart Studios. These objectives are pretty diverse and include things such as completing the various individual race series in Career mode, drifting for a certain total distance, using every type of weapon in the game, etc. In total there are 51 ModJobs to complete, 27 to be found in the various single player modes of the game, and 24 to be found in the online modes of the game.
The second sub-option under My Stuff is "My Stats". Here you will be given a detailed breakdown of your overall performance on ModNation Racers, including various vital statistics such as time spent playing, events started, events won, total distance driven, number of takedowns, weapon hits, studio creations, your Career mode stats, among many others. The third sub-option is "Options", where you can do any of three things. First of all you can view the game's two pre-set control schemes and toggle between them as you see fit. Or you can also toggle the pit radio on/off and the music on/off.
The final three sub-options here include "Save Profile", "Load Profile" and "Credits", all of which should be pretty self-explanatory.
Once out in the world of ModNation Racers, as you make your way around the track, there are a number of things to look out for. First of all are the environmental features that can impede your progress or even lead you to your doom. The tracks in this games are how you say, what are the kids calling it these days . . . extreme? There are chasms and pits, and bodies of water to fall in to, hair pin turns, you really need to have your wits about you to have success in this game. There are also features that are put on the track for either your benefit or your detriment. Items that help you out include boost pads, which propel you along the track at increased speeds, and ramps, which launch you high in to the air, giving you the opportunity to perform tricks. As for the items that hinder you, there are walls that can expand and block your path, as well as these strange robots that can bounce you backwards or even blow up your Kart. The main thing you'll need to be on the lookout for though, are pickups. These pickups take the form of white orbs with an icon in the middle of them, and most of them end up giving you some sort of weapon you can use to destroy the other Karts you are competing against. These weapons include mines that you can drop behind you, as well an many forward firing weapons such as a missile, heat seeking missile, cluster of heat seeking missiles, homing electric shock, and an area blast. The other pickup these orbs can contain include a boost, which makes your Kart temporarily go a lot faster.
The game screen is pretty busy for this title, but not distractingly so. Along the left hand side of the screen is a vertical meter with icons representing the heads of each Mod that is participating in the race. The position of these icons then change in relation to each other as the action unfolds, giving you a quick indication as to what position each racer is in. In the top middle of the screen will flash temporary game messages, like when you perform tricks while jumping. This information will describe what you're doing and also how many points you've earned for doing so. In the top right hand corner is a small cluster of information. Here you will find your current race position, the lap counter, as well as your total elapsed race time (at the conclusion of each lap your lap time will flash below this just briefly). Along the right hand side of the screen is a vertical gauge that fills with yellow as you make your way through the race. You fill it by performing takedowns on the other racers, or hitting them with weapons, gaining air off of a jump or ramp, or by doing tricks in the air while jumping. What this gauge represents is your boost, as it fills you can use this energy to gain a temporary speed burst and fly around the track. Finally, in the bottom right hand corner of the screen will appear icons representing whatever pickup you may be armed with at the time. With regards to the pause menu, it offers up just three options, including "Resume", "Restart" and "Return to Race Central". All pretty self-explanatory.
As for the game's controls, they are pretty in depth but at their core very easy to understand and catch on to. To steer your Kart around the track simply press left or right on either the directional pad or the analog button. The R button is used to accelerate, while the L button brakes and eventually reverses your Kart. The Triangle button (press and hold) is what engages your boost function, while the O button puts up a defense shield around your Kart (doing so takes energy from your boost gauge). The X button is used to make your Kart jump (press it once), double jump (press it twice in quick succession), or to drift while turning (hold the button down while you steer left or right). As for the Square button, press it to engage whatever pickup you may have equipped to your Kart at the time. There are a couple of special moves, called takedowns, that you can perform on the other Karts in the game. When you are directly beside another Kart, press Up on the directional pad to perform a sideswipe takedown. Also, while in the air (after going off a jump/ramp, or even following a double jump), press Down on the directional pad to perform a stomp takedown. Doing these takedowns drains energy from your boost gauge, but they also earn it back for you if you connect with your takedown. Finally, the Start button pauses game action while the Select button is used to respawn your Kart if you get stuck in a bad place or are about to die.
The presentation behind ModNation Racers is quite fantastic! This is one of those series of games, along with the likes of Twisted Metal and LittleBigPlanet, that is exclusive to Sony systems and help define them as a brand. ModNation Racers helps them do this very well. First of all, the world of the Mods is very cool, and very unique. There are so many kart racing games out there, to come up with something so new and different after all these years is a major feat. The Mods, their Karts, and the tracks you drive on are all very unique, plus they are rendered very well. This game is nothing if not colourful, and all of the graphics are sharp and well detailed. As for sound, the game features some great original music, and the sound effects in race, such as explosions, as well as the radio banter between Tag and his Grandpa, are of the same high quality as the visuals. As for gameplay, the camera angles are great, game speed is great, and the controls respond just right.
For pros and cons they mostly fall on the side of good regarding this title. First of all, like I just mentioned, everything behind the presentation of this game is fantastic. The look, sound, gameplay, controls . . . all is well with ModNation Racers, they did a fantastic job in it's creation. Also, the fun factor is through the roof, this game is so fun and easy to play! I also like the plethora of game modes available, which not only include racing modes but creation modes as well. Lastly, the unlockable content up for grabs is pretty large, between all the items in the Mod and Kart Studios as well as the Elite racers. There is a lot to strive for while playing through this game. On the downside, the only thing that I thought of as a con was that despite how many game modes there are and how much unlockable content there is, I actually played through this game very quickly. It seems quite ironic, but this game does seem a bit short to me looking back on it!!
With regards to tips and tricks I can give to other players of this game, I may have a couple at least. First of all, don't bother with the regular single player modes when you first start out on the game if you don't want to. Don't be afraid to get right in to Career mode as you pick things up pretty fast and there's no harm in losing a few races right off the bat in Career mode, it doesn't set you back at all. Also, once you get deep in to Career mode the races will start to get a lot harder. Completing the bronze, silver and gold objectives involved with these race may seem impossible at times. What I did was run these more difficult races a few times each, concentrating on obtaining just one of the objectives each time. This gives you more of a clear purpose and causes less confusion, making it more likely you'll achieve your goal. Then you can go back and rerun the race, striving for the next objective in line. Finally, if you are a completionist, that is if you strive to unlock everything in the game and obtain all the applicable achievements, then I would view the various ModJob requirements before you start your racing experience on this game. Having a general idea of what objectives they are looking for you to complete with regards to these ModJobs will give you an advantage from the start and help you achieve them all the sooner.
In summary, ModNation Racers is a Sony exclusive that is not only great, it helps lift it's brand to a higher level. This is a definitive game of it's genre, a masterpiece in so many ways. I consider it to be a must have for those who enjoy racing games of any type. Bravo . . . encore, encore!!