Title: Modnation Racers
Platform: PS3
Genre: Kart Racer

There are so many things both right and wrong with this game that I can't even think about where to begin. Okay, so everybody knows this game's real purpose is to be a creative outlet and an actual honest-to-god evolution of the kart racing genre, and for this it mostly succeeds. I say mostly because this is where the first flaw becomes apparent. There are thousands of items to attach to your racer, kart, and even tracks, and the amazing flexibility the editors offer can be seen within 10 seconds of connecting to an online game. Want to race as Vault Boy from Fallout in the A-Team's van? No problem! This doesn't address the actual problem, though - "unlocking" all these parts is a two-prong offensive. Either you can struggle through the retardedly difficult single player career mode and spend your collected tokens on randomly chosen pieces, or you can shell out real-life cash for the privilege of driving around in an 18 wheeler. As of writing, there are very few items "for sale" like this, but it's a frightening glimpse of the nickel-and-dime-ing to come. One way or another, it's going to be an investment of some sort.

The kart racing itself is not perfect, either. First, the good. The accumulated turbo system (bonus turbo boost is given for drifting, drafting, and stunts and such) is extremely clever, and a very limited number of power-ups (that can, themselves, be powered up) keeps things simple yet brutal. The power-ups present another problem, however; unlike most kart racing games, one well placed attack will completely fuck you up for the entirety of the race, with very little chance to recover. The converse is true too, however - through sheer luck of the draw, you can blast your way into an undeserved lead with little effort. Some may argue this makes the races more "frantic" or "fair," when in actuality it's completely ridiculous. Your piddly little shield won't save you against a fully-charged rocket volley, which is especially infuriating given the rough bonus requirements in career mode. Lastly, it seems way too easy to get hung up on walls, or obstacles, or kicked out of bounds because I went up a ramp at a slight angle, though this may just be because I suck.

Also, the load times....Jesus. Tapdancing. Christ. I sincerely hope that these are addressed in a future patch, because as-is, it should have never passed QA. If you're playing a short session, you're better off replaying the same track over and over so you don't have to load back and forth every time. It's really that bad.

So why do I give it high marks otherwise?

I really don't know. It's charming as fuck, for one. Tween-race cutscenes are legitimately funny, and make it an actual decent story mode for once. The sheer flexibility of the editors and potential for expansion - for better or for worse - sets a new high mark for artistic-sandbox style games. Online play is great, and I never play games online, not since that keyboard strangling fiasco of '78. Everything looks and sounds great, apart from a bit of strange choppiness in the "lobby" area, and there is satisfaction to be had in some of the unlocking, even though it goes a bit overboard. I guess what I'm saying is, Your mileage may vary. Ahh haha haaah.