It was compared to LittleBigPlanet, and was pointed to be the next big game in the genre, but is it good enough?
Of course I was really excited, when I first put the disc into my Playstation. I had waited in several months and read every preview and news, so I basically knew everything about it, but I had never tried to racing. I thought it took a hell of a time loading the game, but I thought it was just because I was so excited, but it wasn't. Basically, the loading takes a long time until you've reached Modspot. When you're in the game I really have no problem with the load times. This isn't an issue in my opinion! The first race was hard, because I needed to get used to the controls. In a few tries I beat the first course and proceeded with the story. The first thing I had to do was to design my own mod.
Mod creating is great! It is the best creating part in the game. This is a part you can compare with LittleBigPlanet, since you design your version of Sackboy in LBP. Modding is better. It's more precise and you have more options to create whatever you like. Placing stickers are easy and you have options like changing the width, length, height, transparency and more of the sticker. If you don't like the many mouths or eyes for your mod, you can make them from scratch. Just with stickers. What's amazing is that you also have the opportunity to put accessories on the head of your mod. You can change the colour of one example is I was able to create the head of Mario coming out a 3DS screen in stickers. Mario was only made of accessories.
Karts are made of bodies which you can change between, and then there are parts, which are the engine, the wheels, the number plate and more. United Front Games have made a lot of realistic ones, and also fantasy ones. One example is there is an engine being a Heart. There are lot of different stuff to choose from. Every colour can be changed by pressing triangle, if you want the seat made of sponges to be yellow and blue, instead of red and white. There are also accessories which can be place all over the Kart and at last stickers as in mod creation.
The last creative and perhaps the most important part is Track Creating. Here you can choose 4 themes. Each theme has its own props and surface types, but the game allows you to mix three different themed props. You can't make your own stuff, unless you mix the props to look like something else. It's a shame, since it would allow people to be original, and create tracks, which stand out from the crowd. Many tracks remind of each the others, and sometimes you feel like racing the same track over and over, even though they are different. The tracks aren't as different from each other as in games like Mario Kart and Sega Sonic racing.
The Modspot is the place in the game, which links all the others. From here you have access to online races, career races, sharing station and the creation station. Modspot is always online, and there can be up to 30 players at the same time. Of course there happens lag sometime, when you're 30 online at the same time with custom mods and custom karts, but it's not often anymore. UFG has begun to work on the many issues, and solved a lot. There are 6 podiums. 3 places are for the top mods and 3 places are for the top karts. These were in the start just Mario, Iron Man and Spider-Man, but they have begun to change daily and weekly now. It's great, because then you always have a reason to check Modnation for new updates.
I've spent a lot of time describing the social and the create side, so I will try to make the racing part short: Racing in Modnation is hard.
Well, that's pretty much it... – AND, you will possibly find the AI hard to defeat, but when you've raced a lot, you learn the controls and suddenly you find the AI easy, when you begin trying to complete all the challenges. It's a shame they have made the career mode so hard to complete, since it is Play Create Share. If you haven't beaten the career, you haven't got everything to create with. But with great patience you beat the career some day. Take your time.
Playing with your friends and family locally fails in this game. Racing is much different from other games, and everybody I played with said, it felt like driving on soap. It doesn't feel like you're driving a car, they say. It's too hard to get used to for people, who haven't got the game.
Story: 5
Just basic, and nothing special. + too hard for a PCS game
Gameplay: 7
Games in this genre needs to be easy to handle, and shouldn't take days to learn. But when you've mastered it, the Gameplay is awesome.
Graphic: 10
I love the half cartoony style!
Sound: 9
Soundtrack is catchy and the sound effects varied
Multiplayer: 8
The local play takes it down
Online play: 10
More than 10 should be available. So many opportunities.
LittleBigPlanet was special, because of its social side. The gameplay was easy and everybody could play along with you. That's why you keep going back to LittleBigPlanet, and then begin to create levels. That makes LittleBigPlanet unique, and Modnation haven't managed to do it. It won't be as big a success. The create part is in some ways even better, also the share side, but the gameplay don't.