Toronto Thumbs

Race. Create. Share
Modnation Racers Event

Sony was kind enough to invite Toronto Thumbs to an event for United Front Games’ soon-to-be released kart-racing revolution entitled ModNation Racers; the event was held at a venue fitting for such an exciting and fun game: 401 Mini-Indy in Toronto. I have been to a few events where ModNation Racers has been on display, but I was always too slow on the draw, missing out on chances to play it due to its popularity (all of the ‘appointments’ to play the game were taken). Before I left my house for this latest event, I said a silent prayer to Kratos that I would be able to get my hands on a controller hooked up to a PS3 console that was running this game.

Ask and ye shall receive.

For those of you that have been living in a bio-dome for the last few years, ModNation Racers is a Kart game for those of us that can’t get enough of kart games. Comprised of a number of experienced racing game fanatics, United Front made the decision to create ModNation from the ground up, certainly paying homage to kart games of the past, but building something fresh and new with their own unique style and creative energy.

William Ho, one of the game designers from United Front, was kind enough to chat with me for a while about ModNation Racers, which he immensely proud of. It was obvious from the get-go that he and their team are dedicated to gamers of all ages and skill; track creation, for instance, doesn’t require that you hold a post-doctorate in mechanical engineering, and racing controls are easy to pick up. ModNation Racers follows the same philosophy as LittleBigPlanet with one small twist: Race, Create, Share. United Front has made it easy to do all three; with easy-to-learn controls, and easy-to-use customization tools, practically anyone can pick up a controller and play! Sounds good so far, doesn’t it?

William stressed that they wanted to take this accessibility to the next level; they wanted to take ordinary, anonymous players, and turn them into superstars; this is where the online component comes into play. In most racing games, leaderboards exist solely for bragging rights based on lap times and races won. But what about a game where those are not the only things that you can be good at? What about leaderboards for things like: top level designer? This adds a whole new dimension to on-line notoriety – in a good way.

Later, when I chatted with producer Dan Sochan about the game, he talked about how people that don’t normally like to race end up getting into the racing aspect when they actually create their own characters and tracks. I would agree; customizing your own characters and playing areas gives you an emotional attachment to those things, even if only a small one. Wouldn’t you want to drive a track that you created? I know I am going to be doing that again and again.

I got to play with the game on my own later, and I played for a while; creating characters is easy and fun, as there are practically endless combinations of features you can use to bring them to life. I mentioned earlier that track creation wasn’t rocket science: William created a fully-functional feature-rich track in 3 minutes, while he was talking to me. When it was my turn to give it a go, I wasn’t quite as fast, but I don’t think I spent more than 5 minutes making my awesome race track. The ease of creation is all due to…well…the ease of the creation tool; United Front has made a track-level creation tool; that is, you basically drive the track you create as you create it (it looks like an extra-wide concrete mixer and steam-roller hybrid). You can modify direction and elevation on the fly, and even take a step back to check out what you have done. Feeling lazy? Let the game finish your track for you. Don’t feel like decorating it? The game will automatically populate the track and the surrounding area with theme-appropriate objects. It’s that simple.

As for the racing? Well, that can be as easy or as hard as you want to make it. You can just play ol’ vanilla-style, or you can start grabbing weapons that are actually implemented intelligently. Picking up a weapon gives you the first level of that item; additional pickups give you a higher level (the max is 3) and subsequently, a more powerful weapon. A level 1 turbo boost, for example, spits you ahead a bit; a level 3 turbo boost (warp) teleports you ahead a great distance. Strategy is required for this type of play, though, as an attack on your own vehicle will cause your weapon to lose levels, or you may even lose your weapon if it is only at level 1. There are also defensive tactics as well, involving shields that can be built up by drifting.

As if all of this was not enough to get excited about, the interoperability between the PS3 and PSP is awesome. While you can’t have races between the two consoles, you can definitely create and share content between them. United Front has thought of everything, which is great, because I have been growing tired of a lot of the arcade-style racers and kart games out there (*ahem, I’m looking at you, moustache*). If you have been looking for a great Kart-racing game that looks good, plays well, and offers a ton of playability and re-playablit, look no further!

ModNation Racers hits the shelves of our fair continent next week!

Posted in Events, PlayStation 3, Previews, PSP |