So I wrote this back in February, but due to NDA’s, we decided not to actually publish it. The game had been through beta already, so those who actually care about such things had already seen it, but I don’t want to step on anyones toes, so I pulled it.
Until now! The game has been released, and everybody can play it, so … yay! It’s mod! It’s .. a nation! and it races! And now, my initial thoughts:
I’ve been bugging Nick to let me visit him at work so I can play for a while now, but it seems that he’s been busy with, you know, working or something. I mean, honestly. So I think the last time I fiddled around with ModNation Racers was sometime last fall. It’s a heck of a lot more polished now (who knew? they HAVE been working hard!) and tons of fun. I find the controls a little twitchy, but I come from a Nintendo background, so most Playstation games feel a bit twitchy to me. Too many buttons, for one.
I’m a huge Mario Kart fan, so I was expecting to compare it to that, and … eh, they have the same basic genre in common, but that’s about it. Yes, they’re both kart racer games, and they both have an emphasis on drifting, and both allow weapons on the course… and that’s pretty much it. Actual gameplay is pretty different.
And, of course, the big thing for ModNation is the customization, and holy crap that’s fun. I didn’t play around with the track building tool, but I did of course build my own custom kart. Lawnmower body, white with blue spots, with two crown decals on the hood. It’s powered by a pumping heart on the back, has a license plate wrapped with christmas lights, has a bunch of vintage suitcases strapped to the back, a sword sticking out of the engine, a wheel of cheese as a steering wheel, and a wooden deck chair as a, well, chair.
It’s possibly the tackiest thing ever, and I love it. I grabbed one of the default racers (he had blue viking horns, so he matched my kart) and off we went.
And … I drove off a cliff. Oh, hmm. Cliff. Ok. So I ran around the track again, and … I drove off a cliff. Ah, yes. That’s where that cliff was. Okay. So, around the track again, and here comes that cliff, and … oh, off I go. Shit.
I think on the 6th lap, I managed to avoid driving off the cliff, but only just. Stupid cliff. On the 7th lap, I managed to warp past it. Muahaha. Weapons that let you warp are awesome. I think I even managed to get the hang of drifting at that point. 8th lap, I fell off the cliff. Argh.
Nick kept giving me suggestions. “Hit square.” “WHERE THE FUCK IS SQUARE?” Yeah, have I mentioned that I’ve never played on a playstation before? Square? What the fuck is square? Hell, I barely understand the trigger buttons. And what’s with all the little joysticks? In my day, we had A & B, start/select, one d-pad AND WE LIKED IT.
Ok, so it’s fun, despite my total ineptitude. Nick, can we get a Playstation?
Luckily, by the time I was done designing lawnmowers and throwing myself off cliffs (and Nick was finished fixing the stuff he was trying to fix — you know, doing his job and stuff) we wandered off to go do Olympic things.
…and that’s where this post ends, because I wrote about other stuff then that I actually posted.
Anyway, ModNation Racers. It’s fun, bitches. Just ask Kevin Butler.