In summary
Rating: 85%
Best for: Casual, enthusiast and hard-core gamers
Digital Life says: Make your cake and eat it
Plus: Unlimited customisability; online community
Minus: Impossibly long load times; needs Internet access to get the best experience
Contact: SterKinekor - http://www.playstation.com
Price: R699
As any avid gamer knows, the worst part about a good game is that it inevitably has to finish. This is almost always the case and while it doesn't mean you have to stop playing the game, knowing there is no more content to explore and no new experiences to be had is a sad realisation.
Certain games are exempt from being 'finished', such as massively multiplayer online games, where you nurture your character and let it continue 'living' online. Fighting games are also endless in their replayability - the content is limited, but it's always fun to spend a day bashing heads, in two-player mode. Racing games also lend themselves to this, in a way. Sure, there are only so many tracks and cars you can have, but there's something soothing about perfecting your lines and getting that low, low lap time.
It's a bit repetitive, though, and despite developers releasing new cars and tracks through DLC (downloadable content), it can only spice things up for so long.
Modnation Racers takes the latter concept - downloading game content from the Internet - and puts players in charge. Instead of the game developers releasing new content every month, Modnation Racers has all the character, car and track creation tools built in. Players can craft their own race machines and arenas, and even fully customise their in-game avatar. The system is a bit unintuitive and needs some patience to learn, but it works beautifully. For those who don't want to spend hours customising their experience, the online trading system lets them acquire others' creations.
Sadly, all of this fun, variety and customisability comes at a huge cost. The loading times in Modnation Racers - not to mince words here - are horrible. It's often unbearable to sit for 40-plus seconds only to do a three-lap race. Those with online access - and ideally you do have online access, to get the most from the game - will be able to get an update for the game, which the developers promise reduces the load times, but don't expect a drastic improvement. Other than that, it's massive fun, and one of the year's best PS3 games.
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