| For years now, Sony's brand has been short on one | | | | Download ModNation Racers and Unlimited PSP/PSP |
| very important genre of game: a kart racer. Sure, | | | | Go Games For Free! |
| Sony's consoles are home to franchises like Gran | | | | First, and most importantly, the gameplay is a lot |
| Turismo, some of the best racing games across any | | | | better than we thought it would be. In truth, we |
| platform, but that simple, jump-in and play style that | | | | went into the game skeptical at how well the actual |
| comes with a kart racer has been absent. Nintendo | | | | races would play out. Having spent a fair amount of |
| has clearly dominated the market with its Mario Kart | | | | time with other kart games, we were worried the |
| games, but after playing ModNation Racers on the | | | | controls would feel too loose, or the karts |
| PSP, we feel Sony is giving Mario and friends a run | | | | themselves would feel too light, floating away with |
| for its money. | | | | each big-air jump. Nope. The controls are tight, but |
| Download ModNation Racers and Unlimited PSP/PSP | | | | obviously not as tight as a racing simulator. The karts |
| Go Games For Free! | | | | feel heavier than they look, meaning they don't |
| This is not a rip-off of Mario Kart. ModNation Racers | | | | bounce all over the place if you run into an opponent |
| has its own identity and adds some very important | | | | or mistakenly go off-road. |
| features to advance the genre. While it'd be easy to | | | | The controls are pretty basic. Since this is a PSP |
| call it "Sony's Mario Kart," we think that's quite | | | | game, we thought they may be too simplistic, but |
| inaccurate. If you are a fan of co-op and multiplayer | | | | even though you'll use every button, your hands |
| kart racing games, especially ones that are quirky and | | | | never feel too crowded to perform the necessary |
| customizable, you are going to adore ModNation | | | | boosts, takedowns or weapon blasts (that is, unless |
| Racers. | | | | you have unruly, massive hands). The right trigger |
| It should be noted that we have spent very little | | | | button is the accelerator while the left trigger serves |
| time with the PlayStation 3 version of ModNation | | | | as the brakes. You'll use the analog stick to |
| Racers, but we are told the PSP version is practically | | | | maneuver your kart through the track, while square |
| identical, including career mode. So, here's a basic | | | | activates your weapons, circle activates your shield, |
| rundown of what you can expect when you give the | | | | X jumps, and triangle acts as the action button. |
| PSP version a try. | | | | |