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The character creator is extraordinarily deep. At the offset I was given a choice of no less than 260 types of eyes. From there I could change their position, height,width, and even their size and slant. I could change the placement and type of each eye individually. From there I could choose to make my character’s nose, mouth, comprise their wardrobe, and add decals to give each racer a little flair. Every component of your characters -- from their clothes to their skin -- can be altered by giving the material a metallic, rubber, or cloth sheen. All told, this is a game that you could sink plenty of time into before starting a race proper.
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A major part of the racing experience comes from drifting, something you're meant to be doing almost constantly as it fills up your boost meter, which is used in a variety of clever ways. Of course, it gives you a speed boost, but you can also use a pittance of your boost meter to pull off a side-swipe attack with a quick flick of the right analog stick. Its other use is that you can spend a quarter of your boost gauge to momentarily put up a shield protecting yourself from an oncoming attack, which is indicated by a blinking target symbol at the bottom center of the screen. Your boost meter, and how you decide to use it -- towards offensive attacks, defensive protection, or simply to gain an extra speed boost -- provides more tactical options than many kart racers out there.
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Weapon pickups are handled differently than other racing games. The weapon you acquire is based on your position in the race. If you're in last place, your weapon will be more powerful than if you were in first. It ensures that everyone has a chance to catch up. Every weapon can be charged up three levels, achieved by acquiring two more pickups. If you don't like the weapon you're given, you can drop it as a mine behind you.
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It’s in the level editor that ModNation Racers has legs. Many racing games are totally impenetrable to a newcomer, and that’s a big issue. Veterans will know the tracks inside and out, whereas novices will generally lose, regardless of their skill. With Modnation, experts and newcomers alike can be placed on equal footing as they venture into unexplored maps together. It achieves a sense of wonder, discovery and balance in a genre based on repetition and mastery.
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Ultimately, ModNation Racers looks great so far. There’s little to dislike at this stage of its production, thanks to character and level customization that should raise the bar set by LittleBigPlanet on top of solid, balanced racing mechanics. While we still have yet to see some of the game's aesthetic "themes," (only the grassy theme, "Alpine," and desert themes have been unveiled), and number of players in a race has yet to be determined, what we have seen so far looks very impressive indeed. Keep an eye out for it when it drops this spring exclusively on the PS3.
http://g4tv.com/games/ps3(...)rs-Hands-On-Preview/Hype +100.