The portable version of Sony's pretender to Mario's crown, Modnation Racers PSP is a bold attempt to topple everyone's favourite plumber from his undisputed position as king of the kart racing games. Nobody has even come close to achieving this before, so what's Modnation Racers got that Mario hasn't? Well, in a similar vein to Little Big Planet and sharing its 'play, create, share' ethos, Modnation Racers brings an element of customizability to the table with the ability to edit your cars, drivers and even create and share tracks yourself over PlayStation Network. But is it enough to challenge Mario and co? Well let's see...
There is no doubt that the wealth of editing options is impressive. Everything down to the colour of your eyes, to the types of tires you drive to the steepness of a bank on a track can be tweaked to your liking. Much like Little Big Planet, most of the customizable content is locked away until you progress through the single player game. Where, by completing challenges, you can access more and more items and styles with which to paint your mark on the Modnation universe. However, unlike more serious racers, customization of your car is purely for cosmetic value and has no effect on how your car handles or its power. That said, it still fun to tinker with spoilers, exhausts and decals to achieve your desired style, for a little while at least. Unfortunately for a game that relies so much on customizability, the vast majority of selectable themes and tweaks fall into tired, well travelled styles collectively known to Americans as 'zany'. The same also goes for the games characters which only young children could really find engaging and cool, having as they do, the collective charm of a bucket of sick.
Continue reading: Modnation Racers, Review Sony PSP
