Modnation Racers: Road Trip Review [PS Vita]

Yes, those cute little Mods have returned to the race track. This time however, they are racing on a whole new handheld system, so how does the new PS Vita version of Modnation Racers, called Modnation Racers: Road Trip, compare to the original game?

Those of you who are familiar with the original game will know that it was heavily-centred around content customisation, meaning that everything from Mod characters, Tracks and even Karts could be upgraded and customised with various outlandish and wacky designs.

The content customisation is still a huge feature of this game, but has been given the typical PS Vita overhaul that one would expect, so that the rear touchpad and front touchscreen are used in order to complete the desired effects.

Now even your karts can be customised with either a quick tap, or a gentle swipe of the finger across the screen, which seems to make the whole thing a lot less time-consuming than in the original game. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? We'll let you decide that for yourselves.

Tracks can be created simply by drawing the desired shape on the front touchscreen, which definitely enhances the ease with which new designs can be brought to life in the game.

Weapons have also been given an upgrade in this sequel, and can be upgraded to a maximum of three levels to make them even more powerful. Moreover, there are a total of seven different controls layouts to try. If the button combination you are currently using seems a little awkward, try using a different layout - you won't be disappointed.

As with the PSP game, there are Quick Race, Multiplayer and a Single Player Career Mode to complete, all with various challenges to test your racing skills. However, whilst the Quick Race mode works well on the PS Vita, the Career and Multiplayer Modes do seem a tad disappointing.

For a start, the Multiplayer in this game seems to be focused on time trial races instead of the ability to compete against friends in an actual, non-timed race. This is disappointing given Sony's plans that the PS Vita be viewed as a socially-centred handheld (a feature which has already been strongly utilised by other launch games).

Furthermore, the Career Mode does not seem to feature an actual playable storyline at all, but instead consists of different racing challenges designed to improve player's skill and accuracy on the race track, which is quite frankly a hollow and tiresome exercise, which it is necessary to complete if players which to unlock all of the customisable items on offer.

In conclusion, Modnation Racers: Road Trip on the PS Vita did not turn out to be everything we had hoped it would be. The customisation features are definitely brilliant, and the touch controls really do make the process a lot easier than in the previous game, especially when designing new race tracks.

However, if this game featured a better Multiplayer campaign and a proper storyline in Career Mode, it would have been an undisputable winner.

If you fancy a casual racing game with quirky characters, and no complicated campaigns, then this is definitely the game for you. If, on the other hand, you want a racing game with a solid Career Mode and good storyline, this game will most likely leave you feeling empty. Overall rating: 7/10.

PS Vita Launch Titles: What titles will be available from Day One?

It is now less than a week until the official European launch of the PS Vita, which should hit the shop shelves on the 22nd of February 2012. However, if you haven't decided which PS Vita title you should choose first, our exploration of some of the initial launch titles should help you.

The official UK launch titles are as follows:

Asphalt: Injection

BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II Plus

Dynasty Warriors Next

FIFA Soccer

Little Deviants

Lumines:Electronic Symphony

ModNation Racers: Road Trip

Michael Jackson: The Experience

Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus

Reality Fighters

Rayman Origins

Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen

TOUCH MY KATAMARI

Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3

Uncharted: Golden Abyss

Virtua Tennis 4

WipEout 2048

There does seem to be a good mix of different gaming genres across the seventeen different core launch titles, with a further five titles said to be exclusively available for download from the Playstation Network Store on day one of the launch.

The five exclusive downloads are:

Escape Plan

Hustle Kings

Plants VS. Zombies

Super Stardust Delta

Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack

(*may be subject to change) 

Many of the launch games - Everybody's Golf, Modnation Racers: Road Trip, Wipeout 2048, (to name but a few) are sequels of prior PSP titles, which means that they are likely to have a big fan base when they hit the shelves, depending on whether or not the PS Vita console itself happens to sell the required units that Sony has predicted.

Moreover, many of these games feature new controls which are designed to demonstrate the PS Vita's new abilities. For example, in Everybody's Golf, whose previous versions have always proved extremely popular, the rear touchpad of the console is used to measure the distance of the ball to the next hole, and the front touchscreen can be used to reposition the ball before 'teeing off', or even rustle the leaves on the trees, or even make your character speak to you.

There are also exciting rumours concerning the game's multiplayer abilities, which suggest that as many as up to thirty competitors will be able to compete against each other during online play,  claim that a daily tournament will be available, and even hint that there will be a social forum available online for those players who wish to discuss the game, however, these details are still largely unconfirmed at present.

Nevertheless, with the PS Vita continuing to perform badly in the current Japanese gaming charts it is clear that Sony will have its work cut out to make its new handheld as popular as the original PSP console.

Some members of the gaming community are citing the high price of the console and its memory sticks as the main reason for its lack of popularity, whereas others say that ceasing the production of UMDs in favour of a new NVG cartridge format makes the PS Vita incompatible with existing PSP games, which has thus led to less interest from current PSP owners.

Whatever the good or bad points of the PS Vita console, it is an interesting addition to the handheld gaming scene and represents an important move away from handheld gaming as a solo activity and towards a more social handheld gaming experience.

Please remember to check out our PS Vita hands-on review once the console launches in Europe on Wednesday.



Dude Looks Like A Lady: Men, Women, And Games Which Can't Tell The Difference!

The number of Girl Gamers has continued to rise significantly since the early twenty-first century. Until that time, gaming was considered to be a widely male-dominated aspect of the Entertainment Industry, with games like Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and Prince of Persia being aimed exclusively at a male audience.

Nevertheless, the development of the Nintendo DS in 2005 led to greater family and casual games being produced. These games also appealed widely to a female audience.

Coupled with this, the Hardcore Gamers market started to feature strong female leads in games like Lara Croft Tomb Raider, Velvet Assassin, and Bayonetta, which increased the validity of being a female gamer.

Nevertheless, whilst video game producers now sought to include female and male avatars in many of their games, they still do not always consider female gamers in the main plot of their games.

Mini Gamers has found that a  number of games contain blatant gender errors, which show that the industry is still promoting video games as a male-only pastime. Here we expose the worst offenders:

 MySims: Agents

Although this game allowed for female avatars (and clearly shows a female on the front of the box), the actual storyline was clearly aimed at male gamers. We created a female avatar (Let's call her 'Minnie Gamers', for example,) and set about choosing a suitable hairstyle and outfit - all good so far.

We then chose our assistant - a male called 'Edgar'. The game starts. The first thing the text on the game says is: "Agent Minnie explained the details of the latest assignment to HIS assistant, Edgar..."

At first this might seem like a minor indiscretion, but at several other points during the game, the accompanying text refers to our obviously feminine detective as 'He', 'Him', or 'His' . Never at any time throughout the game does it refer to our avatar as 'She' or 'Her'.

This must be very off-putting for all the Girl Gamers out there, as the earlier games in the MySims series had a very big appeal to females. The worrying thing is that this game is not the only one that seems to be suffering from some form of gender-confusion.

Enchanted Folk: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Anyone who has tried this game will know that it is a brilliant and absorbing game that provides an interesting cross between the worlds of Animal Crossing and Harry Potter to create a  virtual environment set in a Magic Boarding School. Nevertheless, that still doesn't stop Enchanted Folk from getting confused between its male and female characters.

Several times during the game, teachers and other staff at the boarding school refer to our female avater (Minnie Gamers,) as "Young MASTER Minnie," instead of using the feminine term "Young Miss Minnie".

Once again, it may seem a minor point, but it is amazing how annoying this can get after a few hours of gameplay. Nevertheless, if you thought that only Nintendo DS games contained these kinds of errors, then you would be wrong.

ModNation Racers (PSP)

This particular racing game is big on customisation. When we first reviewed ModNation Racers back in May this year, we were taken aback by all the various costumes, facial features, hairstyles, vehicles and tracks that could be customised to suit the individual player.

This game had a wide range of items aimed at creating the perfect female avatar including pink hair and outfits, bunches, plaits and ponytails, skirts and dresses, lipstick-covered mouths or eye-shadow covered eyes.

Thus a game which has spent so much time making sure that it is also inclusive to female gamers is bound to feature them strongly in the main story mode, right? Wrong.

The game's Career Mode featured a young male racer named 'Tag'. The game then gives players the option to change this character to a created avatar if they wish to do so. Again, we created the female 'Minnie Gamers' avatar and returned to the story mode where we completed our first race in third place.

The commentary at the end of the race did not take into account that we had now chosen a female avatar and said: "HE will have to work harder if HE hopes to beat competitors in the next race..."

Okay, so the odd mention of the wrong gender in the commentary or text description is probably considered trivial by many gamers, but if video game developers are serious about their intention to produce games which can appeal to both males and females alike, then the inclusion of female avatars alongside male ones is clearly not enough.

Therefore, if a game wishes to contain both female and male characters together, then any plots or commentaries should cater for both instances by accurately recognising the gender of the chosen character, and by reflecting this gender in the actual storylines.

Why should female gamers settle for their avatars being refered to as 'He' while a male character being called 'She' throughout a game would clearly be laughable?  This form of androgeny cannot continue if the Video Games Industry hopes to truly attain equality for both its male and female audiences.

HAVE YOUR SAY...

Do you consider yourself to be a Girl Gamer? Have you encountered a game that refers to female avatars as 'He'? How does this make you feel? Do you think that female avatars being referred to 'He' or 'Him' is acceptable? What could the Video Games Industry do to rectify this problem?

If you have any thoughts on this issue and would like to share it with others, why not leave us a comment by clicking on the 'Comments' link at the bottom of this post? We would love to hear from you.

 



Sony offers 'ModNation Racers' Patch

Gamers can race using a variety of vehicles including aeroplanes

If, like many fans of Sony's Modnation Racers, you have struggled to compete against the  myriad of ultra-competitive CPU opponents within the game, then help could soon be on its way to you.

Modnation Racers was released for the PSP and PS3 some time in May this year, and although the game has proven itself to already be a very popular racing simulation, it has suffered complaints from fans that the CPU characters are virtually unbeatable, leading to many gamers being able to complete the final racing levels.

Some of the CPU characters have been accused of being too tough to beat.

Very little is known about the intended patch yet, but Sony has promised that it will include "Less aggressive" CPU drivers. The Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC  (better known as SCEA) has also promised fans that the new patch would take into account some of the other improvement suggestions that fans of the game have asked for.

There is lots of customisation available in this game.

The patch is welcome news, as it means that many gamers will now be able to complete the final levels of the game, and it is also kind of heart-warming to know that Sony is still prepared to listen to what fans of its products have to say about particular issues.

There has been no confirmed date for when the new patch will become available, but the game's developers UFG assure fans that it won't be too long. They are requesting that fans be patient and say that they are putting "The finishing touches" to the patch, which will apparently add a 'Casual' difficulty option to the game's existing Careers Mode in order to help those gamers who just can't keep up on the race track.

Be sure to check in with Mini Gamers for news and updates about the new patch when it arrives!

Game Of The Week: ModNation Racers (PSP)

It has a quirky title, and even quirkier gameplay, but 'ModNation Racers' on the PSP definitely deserves the top spot on this week's gaming charts. This game is a sort of cross between 'My Sims Racing' and 'Little Big Planet'.

The aim of the game is to beat competitors in different racing competitions to unlock customisable items. The game has two main racing modes: Single Player Race and MRC (ModNation Racing Championships) Career Mode.

In Career Mode, you play as a young newcomer to the racing circuit called Tag. Your goal here is to complete a set of challenges whilst racing. The higher you place in each race, the more customisable items you unlock.

As well as racing around the track at high speed, you can choose to slow down your competitors by using a variety of weapons that can be collected from little bubbles that lay across the track at certain points. The weapons include: Smoke Bombs, Electric Pulses and Fire Bolts amongst other things. Points are awarded for how many competitors you manage to hit with your weapons and from how far away you manage to get a direct hit. This adds an extra competitive edge to the game and increases the fun.

Another racing element in this game is the 'Boost' button. The Boost meter has to be filled up before players can use the boost. The way to do this is to perform daredevil stunts on ramps throughout the race, or by 'Side Stomping' (overtaking your competitors by force). Once the boost meter has been filled, it is very effective in helping you to beat your fellow racers.

In the Single Player Race, you can choose from a group of Mods, vehicles and racing tracks to showcase your driving skills on. Here you can also choose the speed of the race, how many laps you wish to try and how many AI competitors you wish to compete against. The Single Player Race mode is also a chance for players to use their own custom designed Mods, Vehicles and Tracks.

That brings us neatly to the best feature of 'ModNation Racers': Everything is customisable, from your own Mod character to the track on which you race and the vehicle you choose to drive. Furthermore, the unlockable items can be recoloured to your specifications using 128 different colours! Moreover, some of your Mods facial features such as eyes and ears can be customised separately, so if you want to create a Mod with one large scary eye and one small eye, that is now possible.

Most of the content is locked at the beginning of the game, so it might be an idea to play the career mode first and unlock a few of the better items, but customising your game is easy and can be completed in a few simple steps. Players can also choose to display their creations on the Web and can download other players' creations as well.



The game utilises the PSP's directional controls and button pad as well as the left and right buttons, but this can sometimes prove a little tricky when racing against a large number of competitors.

Having said that, the game has two control layouts, (A and B,) to adapt the game for either PSP or PSP Go users, but which can be manually selected for either handheld. These layouts switch the acelerator controls from the R button to the X button and vice versa. If you are having trouble using your boost button in the first layout, try switching to layout B and see if this improves things.

Overall, this is a fantastic racing game for the whole family to enjoy. If you liked the customisation tools in 'Little Big Planet', or if you are a big fan of other racing franchises, then this is a game you would be interested in. A real winner! Overall Rating: 10/10.