ModNation Racers preview

Gamestyle were one of the lucky 100,000 who got their hands on the European closed beta of ModNation Racers, and have spent the last week getting sucked into the world of the ModNation Racers Championship. There are two elements to the game, creating and racing, and even from the limited options available in the beta, both are handled incredibly well.In the create mode you can build customised karts, characters, and tracks, and share your creations with the world. With hundreds of kart parts and body pieces available, there would appear to be no limit to creativity, and from some the of vehicles and mods people have already uploaded, it's clear that ModNation Racers has the potential to be as infectious as Nintendo's Miis. There are Helgast driving tanks, Spiderman in a speedster, and Mario driving a cardboard box. The beta limits the number of parts available, but even with these it's quick and easy to make some unique and impressive karts.Track creation is incredibly easy and intuitive, and Gamestyle can see it being a bigger hit than LittleBigPlanet's level creator. In many ways it's easier to create a more impressive design, and the ability to race on new and interesting levels should ensure ModNation Racers will keep you coming back for more. The auto-population makes the whole process quick and simple, and means that even basic tracks run smoothly and effectively.The racing is faster, and more frantic than Mario Kart, and Gamestyle did find the action a little confusing on some occasions. The beta only gives you access to offline time-trials or online races. The full game will have a career mode, which should give you a good opportunity to hone your skills before challenging players from around the world. There was no lag, and you can meet and chat to prospective racers in the pre-game lobby, similar to Sony's virtual world, Home. The drift system, which is the key to success, works very well, and sliding around corners is extremely satisfying.ModNation Racers is certainly a game to look out for in 2010, and even though the beta suffers from horrendous load times and a restricted selection of parts, Gamestyle still managed to lose themselves for hours creating and racing. It's left them wanting more, and the full game can't come soon enough.