ModNation Racers PSP – MMOMFG Review
ModNation Racers PlayStation Portable
What do you get when you combine cute Sackboy-esque characters, kart racing and a motherload of customization options in a pint-sized package? ModNation Racers for the PSP, obviously. After having previously loved the MNR beta earlier this year, I was chomping at the bit for the opportunity to test the waters with the full product. In this case, my first run through the full product would be on a handheld system. Would the portable version cut back on the glitz and glamor and offer limited options? Not so fast, my friend! Sony Computer Entertainment San Diego Studios, developers of the PlayStation Portable version of ModNation Racers, have taken the formula for success of a sure to be hit game franchise and put the pedal to the metal in a rip-roaring gaming experience in the form of a PSP title. Just how much fun can one Mod have with a kart racing title? Well you’ve come to the right place, as I’ll give you the ins and outs of ModNation Racers and whether you’re getting the whole shebang or if this is just an appetizer to the full console version out later this month. Read on, my racing friends!
What’s Good
I’ve got serious gas – Straight out of the box, MNR delivers full speed action and will leave you on the edge of your seat. This isn’t your typical Kart title that gets pumped out by every game studio. Even if you played the PS3 beta version that came out in late December 2009, you get the same excitement in a handheld package. Swerving across the tracks at full speed while only requiring a few button presses will allow gamers to appreciate the scenery and the action on the track and not the actions at their fingertips. Far too often button mashing and multi-button mashing leads to on-screen accidents. This is a good and a bad point for ModNation Racers, but I’ll get into the negative side of the controls shortly. In terms of a real kart title that goes beyond being a PSP replication of a larger PS3 title, you’re getting the full product here. From the second you start a career mode, you’re in control of whether you’re going to just enjoy the story, which is hilarious, or if you’re going to take full advantage of the game’s level of depth, i.e. the customization and community.
These tracks are side by side – The career mode has a great feel to it, driven by story and gameplay, you can’t help but continue to hit next track after each successful race. The benefits include unlocking new Mods, karts, customization accessories and tracks. That’s quite the benefit for just having fun and rockin’ out on the racetrack. I’ve played through the career mode twice and had a great time just playing through to win each race and the second time through to try and complete every accomplishment, each track featuring three challenges, which unlock more of the bonuses listed above. Every time I go to customize my kart, it is fun to check out what I’ve unlocked and see just how more ridiculous I can get my Cart to look. Who wouldn’t be amazed when they see a kart fly by with a couch as the driver’s seat, a canoe paddle for a spoiler and tires that would make a monster truck jealous?
Customization goes a long way – For being one of the most user friendly titles in a long time, San Diego Studios have upped the level of creativity for gamers allowing them to put their custom touches on just about everything. Got a knack for customization and you don’t want to settle for just one color or one body type for your racer? No worries, ModNation Racers has enough customization options to keep you playing well into the night. If you’re wondering just how deep, let’s just say I spent well over an hour making a racetrack and then just test-drove it for at least another hour, tweaking it just to my level of perfection. Sad, but true! With the community features where you can share, download, and tweak others’ creations, you’ll find the perfect combination between creator and borrower. If you’ve got a knack for working with your fellow gamer, or striving to make the best tracks, you’ll be in customizer’s heaven.
You’ll be back; you’ll definitely be back – ModNation Racers is one of those games that can reach a number of different gamer personalities. If you’re a kid, a grandparent or even my girlfriend (none of the three are related), then you’re probably going to have a good time with MNR. In fact, in the PS3 beta, my girlfriend built a car for at least 45 minutes. I haven’t shared the PSP version with her yet, because if I had, she’d probably be making Mods and karts and I wouldn’t have had time to finish my career mode. Once I hit publish, I’ll gladly share the title with her, as I’m sure she’s going to have a good time. Just like LittleBigPlanet, Sony has hit the nail on the head for cross-genre games and I salute them for doing so. It is hard to find games that can interest the general consumer and get more people gaming. ModNation Racers is definitely a game even my Dad could pick up and love. Perfect Father’s Day gift?
What’s Bad
Just sideswipe or stomp him already! – I’m rocking the old school PSP 1000 and when trying to stomp or sideswipe someone, I am sacrificing my control on the race to attempt to get the opponent, generally ending with me in a wall. Drifting is good and provides boosts, but at times, it isn’t worth your time as most tracks early on never offer a drift of longer than a mere millisecond before the drift would end with you facing a wall. Obviously you can design tracks that allow more drift friendly turns, but if a kid were to play this title without having the controls down or the concept of drifting, it wouldn’t be all that easy for them to master. Definitely a slight learning curve in terms of power moves, but the races are easy enough, you’d never necessarily need to use them.
I’ve got the boring menu blues – For such a fun and gorgeous game, the menus certainly didn’t get any love. I was definitely underwhelmed when turning on the game for the first time, ho-humming my way to find career mode after a few presses of X here and there. If the game incorporated the flashy, fun style throughout the menus, it would have spiced things up a bit more outside of just the career mode.
It’s all in the details – I know I’m being a complainer here, but there isn’t all that much to list as negatives for MNR. If I have to pick another What’s Not complaint about the game, it would be that with so many options for customization and track building, it was hard to tell what most of the items available for building even were until after I placed them on the track and test drove. I wish there had been descriptions of the items so I could have saved myself some time. Half the time, I’d place stuff all over my tracks, then test drive them and hate what I put down because I simply selected them on a whim. If that is a valid complaint, I’m not so sure, because truth be told, I was just throwing crap all over the tracks, but for the real custom track builder, as a preview option or brief details about each item would go a long way.
Worth Remembering:
This is easily the must customizable handheld title on the market. San Diego Studios went above and beyond the average port of a blockbuster (to-be) console release and delivered what they needed to do with ModNation Racers for the PSP to make it completely worthy of a purchase. The story was funny enough and the action was deceivingly addictive enough to have me putting down my console controllers and picking back up the PSP again and again. There are multiple race types, hundreds of challenges and 50+ ModJobs (custom objectives tallied up through your MNR career and normal gameplay, which unlock more add-ons) and hundreds of karts, Mods and track options to keep you playing for weeks, if not months.
Worth Forgetting:
There isn’t much worth forgetting in such a jam-packed PSP title. If I had to list anything, it’d likely be the controls, as I am still frustrated about the stomps and sideswipes, as previously mentioned, ending up face first into a wall doing more problems than good during the race. These are small complaints from a damn near perfect handheld title. If anything could have been user-friendlier, it would have been the menus, which are pretty bare bones.
Sony’s San Diego Studios went above and beyond the average port of a console release (MNR slated for May 25) and delivered a full product that can’t help but pave the way for “fuller” handheld ports in the future. If ModNation Racers for the PSP is the appetizer, the full console version is going to be an absolute feast. I often found myself trying to decide whether I wanted to build new tracks, finish the career mode or simply play one of the fast-paced single race offerings. With plenty of online support, leader boards, the ability to swap or download/upload cars off the community section, ModNation Racers has something for everyone. Whether you’re a tinkerer, a gear-head or just a fan of cute Sackboys, you’ll be pleasantly surprised with this title, even if you aren’t a fan of racing games. Sorry for the clichéd comparison, but MNR is totally Mario Kart meets LittleBigPlanet meets Gran Turismo. That is definitely a compliment and based on this comparison, I’ve got my new go-to game when I’m in bed or on the road. ModNation Racers is definitely one of my top handheld titles for 2010 and possibly of the past few years. I’m not generally a full time portable gamer, but I will be for the next few weeks, at least, which is great as I’ve actively had my PSP on me for the last week, whether at home or on the go.
*MMOMFG was provided a review copy on PSP from Sony
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Nice one.
