This game is AMAZING AWESOME. At first I was reading the reviews and was a little skeptic- as they said that shielding wasn't actually viable and that game play was repetitive, but that was not the case. On the contrary, I found the defensive measures to be akin to fighting games in their balance and usefulness.

A rundown of the boost/powerup system:

Power ups, when initial picked up, are weak like a short range taser or a green shell or a short boost. You can pick up more powerups in addition to the ones you are holding make the powerup level up into more powerful versions- into a red shell or a big area of effect attack. Most attacks at max level will hit everyone ahead of you for half a track. You can also drop powerups behind you as mines.

Boost, the lifeblood of the race, is gained through drifting and doing tricks off of jumps. It can be used for a speed boost, to sideswipe, and to temporarily erect a powerful shield which renders you invulnerable to all attacks (at a mighty cost).

Honestly this is a fantastic system; I don't know why this hasn't been done before. Me and my friends who played it today didn't even know about the rear view mirror, and on sound alone were able to defend against attacks in a reasonable number of circumstances. I don't really know how to communicate myself but it was just so balanced; if you've played Mario Kart, you know how stupidly, frustratingly, unfair items are. Successfully defending yourself is incredibly satisfying, and with shielding the big attacks are even more satisfying when you land them. It also makes discreet low-level attacks have a place; they are good for stealthy back stabs and really skillful/lucky shots which are hard to defend against based on sound. But then there is the complicated game of trying to ride up behind people and prevent them from dropping a mine or guessing when you'll attack.

And the customization. Hands down best I've ever seen in a game. Better than LBP, better than Saint's Row, better than Fight Night's. Similar (but still better) than APB's if you want a comparison to a PC game. We spent over two hours alone making our characters and karts. AND this was with no unlocks, we probably had 5-10% of the total content, not including DLC.

I recommend this game to anyone with a PS3.

Sounds awesome, I might just have to buy this from the description you gave me.

I have it and the customization is the best part. The racing it's self feels almost tacked on, and I personally feel that it's a little lack luster. Still the customization more than makes up for it.

Is the customisation just aesthetic, or does it affect the racing?

Completely aesthetic, although you can tweak your car's settings.

Just gonna mention that the psp version, or at least the demo, sucks pants. I hope the ps3 one is better.

*shrug* suppose it's not for everyone. I thought the racing is the strongest of any kart game I've played.

Mostly is was the shitty camera. Imagine "Bumper cam" forty feet behind you. couldn't see anything. That's just the portable version though, and from what i've seen the ps3 one looks better. too bad I haven't got a ps3.

Honestly, I thought this game was fine until I learned that it wasn't a PSN game...for a AAA title, it was wholly unremarkable. Sure, customization was great, but hell, the racing was god-awful and bland. It was like a rehash of all the other cart racing games out there, ever.

I disagree the greatest extent. What other kart game has the strategic decision between defense and speed? Which game has non random item shields? Either I'm way off, or you guys are missing the point entirely.

The big thing is that the powerups can be defended against. To me this is a huge revolution in kart games, where items usually mean ten times as much as player ability. This game gives you multiple methods of attacking as well as defending. On top of this you need to consider your boost bar.

All the other kart games I've played, Mario, Crash Bash, DK, ALL of the them not only were clunkier in the actual driving, but had items that were way overpowered. In Mario Kart, frequently I'll be in first then get hit by a blue shell and be bumped to near last. Then I'll get a Bullet Bill, which will drive for me, killing everyone, until it gives me second.

"Plays Mariokart 64, in which there are no bullet bills, then Presses trigger to hold shell behind him defensively"

See?

Although I agree that Blue shells and such are OP'd, that just adds to the strategy, For instance, it's better to be close third or second ih MarioKart that it is to be first because of those shells. Although the new ones make the items retatrdedly overpowered.

In every Mario Kart you can dodge or block incoming attacks from other players. (Other than a few, very rare items, usually only given to the people in last place to give them a helping hand.)


I played the demo, here is my experience:

I made my character. It took me ten or fifteen minutes, even though I went for a simple design. Your selection is extremely limiting, though hopefully this will be changed in the actual version.
The controls aren't too bad, but the way things are arranged just makes it take a while.
Editing the car is similar.

I then went on to a race. It wasn't bad, but I've gotten more of a rush from playing Mario Kart DS.
I didn't notice any of this powers leveling up stuff, it seemed a lot like Wipeout.
Those announcers are also pretty annoying.
The skidding and tailing part was pretty fun.
I would have liked it if there had been a tutorial.

I wasn't satisfied with the track maker at all. Land comes out looking splotchy and ugly, and it seems like it would take hours of customization to get it to look pretty.
The demo makes a track for you and doesn't even let you try and make one yourself. You get a loop, and you get to mess with it. I didn't really get to test out the feature as much as I wanted to because of that.
The Track Maker just seems clunky. Similarly to how I found myself unable to make roller coasters in roller coaster tycoon, I was baffled by the controls and options. It took me nearly thirty minutes to figure the damn thing out.


From what I was able to play it seems like ModNation Racers could have been pulled off better.
This game could have really benefited from a good soundtrack, but there was nothing special to mention.
I found myself extremely bored while editing my player and track, even when sitting in the lobby exploring.

Don't get me wrong, I liked it, but I doubt it'll become a hit.

Like most games that utilize user-generated content, this game will, and seemingly is, be extremely popular when it is released, but then it's popularity will likely burn out, and the community will shrink drastically.

Maybe it was just the demo, but here was my evaluation:
Sixty? No way.
Fifty? No.
Forty? You're pushing it.
Thirty dollars? Maybe.
Twenty dollars? Yes.

Lego racers did that pretty well. You could build up white bricks for upgrading items and you could separately pick a colored base brick. Attack, or a shield, or a trap, or a boost.
Basically, Boost>Shield>Attack/Trap>Boost. Sometimes tearing through items any chance you could get them was best, sometimes fully upgrading an item by collecting 3 white bricks was best.

Of course, it was a pretty clunky racing engine in general, but the item system was great in my opinion.

Totally got 3 white blocks and used boost base.
Teleport forward!

Still have that game, racing is crap.