ModNation Racers Beta First Review

I have been playing the ModNation Racers Beta for a couple of days now and here is what I have to say thus far about the game.

The game itself has ENORMOUS potential and a ridiculously high replay value.  The game can best be described as Little Big Planet and Mario Karts love child.  The kart racing is very fun, drift around corners, jump huge gaps in the track, attack other racers with action items such as tracking missles and time warps, increase your boost and race your way to first place.  The game drops you directly into the ModSpot which is your "home-base" where you can meet up with friends, make new ones or view, rate and download the top rated Mods, Karts and Tracks.  From there, you can also enter the Create Station where you can customize your Mod, your Kart, Shop for DLC, access the Share Station and build your own tracks.  You can also access the Race Station where you can play online, quick play (instant racing action), split-screen race, play career mode, play Hot Lap (time-trial) and play the other custom maps created by the community and test drive upcoming content.

The customization of your Mod (your racer) is very detailed, there are literally millions of combinations and you can get very detailed on your characters look.  I would have to say it is one of the better games for customizing your character than I have seen in a very long time.  Not only can you choose your clothes and accessories, you can change the color of anything to any color on the color wheel in any shade.  You can add stickers to your clothes and recolor stickers as well.  Customizing your kart is also similar, millions of combinations from import tuners to monster trucks to cardboard karts.  Choose your engines, body, driver seat (you can even choose to sit on a thrown and by thrown I mean toilet seat), suspension, spoiler, etc.

Building your own racetrack is super easy and very detailed.  You can get as deep into it as you'd like by building everything from scratch and putting in every single element yourself or you can simple lay your track and then use the systems auto-populate feature which automatically puts all the scenery, boost pads, sharp turn signals, rails, action items, etc. into your track for you.  You literally can create your own racetrack in less than 5 minutes or you can spend hours on one track making it mod-tastic! 

The beta includes three maps from the full game; Farm Frenzy, Market Run and Sandstorm (see below, in order from left to right).  The beta includes full access to the Create Station including building and sharing your own tracks and a couple of race options including playing online with up to 12 players or compete in time trials in the Hot Lap.  My only complaint thus far is the game has frozen on occasion, getting online has been difficult and loading screens are frequent and long... hopefully all to be solved before the full game releases in Spring 2010.

ModNation Racers Beta Starts Today

If you were one of the lucky few who managed to score a beta code for ModNation Racers (I happen to be one of them, woohoo), you likely received an email yesterday or today with your beta voucher code valid for redemption today Dec 18 2009.  The beta is only available to North American residents and ends on Jan 10 2010 so take advantage while you can.  You also should have recieved a limited ModNation Racers Theme code for your PS3. 

ModNation Racers is a mix between Little Big Planet and Mario Kart, with cart racer characters that resemble Sackboy and utilize the "Create, Play, Share" concept while racing around crazy, inventive tracks.  You can race or build your own racetracks and customize everything from your character to your kart.

No DLC for Halo 3: ODST?

Bungie's Curtis Creamer took some time out during the VGA's and answered the questions on many gamers minds, Was there a decision made to have no DLC for Halo 3: ODST? Here is what he had to say, "Well, that was something that we didn't really think we could do for ODST because traditionally all of our DLC has been about competitive multiplayer. That's something that we had the systems in place for. But, since Firefight is more based on the co-operative campaign mode, that was a technology that we hadn't built up to a point where we could add DLC to the game. It would have been too much of an investment to make that happen." It's a shame because Firefight was really fun, but after playing the maps a couple times at a few hours each session, you really want a change of scenery and it doesn't look like that will ever happen.

Would you like to blow it up with me?

Ruffian Games, the developers of Crackdown 2 have decided to not only let you toss cards, scale buildings, incinerate pedestrians and blow up everything in site, they are also including mutants for you to blow up as well.  Watch the trailer.



Video courtesy of That Video Game Blog.

It's Official, Mark your Calendar for Dec 22 2009

Tuesday, Dec 22 2009 is the official release date of the Pirates of the Caribbean Premium Level Kit and the addition of water to Little Big Planet. In this DLC, you receive the ability to add water to your levels, 5 Pirates of the Caribbean-themed levels to play, a cannibal costume, 4 new music tracks, a new level background, 8 new materials, 14 decorations, 27 objects, 133 stickers, 11 new trophies and a partridge in a pear tree (okay, you get everything but the partridge). 

The Pirates DLC is $5.99 USD and will be available from the PlayStation Store.  You can also purchase the Pirates Costume Pack for $5.99 USD which includes Captain Jack Sparrow, Elizabeth Swann, Davy Jones, Barbossa, Will Turner and Tia Dalma.  Each costume is available individually for $1.99 USD.

Pink and Blue Nintendo Wii Remotes Ships Feb 14 2010

If you are tired of your same old white Wii remote, there is good news.  Pink and Blue Wii remotes are coming on Feb 14 2010.  The bad news is they are bundled with the Motion Plus accessory so expect to pay for the new colors.

VGA Premiere of Halo: Reach

Bungie kept their word and during the VGA's premiered their new trailer for Halo: Reach.  Not much shown here other than introducing characters, including a female spartan and the crew getting ready for a fight.

Video Courtesy of That Video Game Blog

New Features of BioShock 2

For those of you wondering how the BioShock 2 development team is moving along without most the original team, here is what they have been up to. BioShock 2 is going to include a playable Big Daddy that is taken through the Journey to the Surface, a section of the Ryan Amusements Theme Park that is used to show children born in Rapture what it is like on the surface. While in this section of the game, the player also has the option to adopt Little Sisters who can be used to harvest ADAM. Like they say, "With risk comes reward" because doing this will put you at the risk of attracting enemies.

Other cool features include dual wielding guns and plasmids, new less time consuming hacking systems and advanced AI systems that utilize cover. BioShock 2 releases Feb 10 2010.

Topatoi: The Pillar of Skies Coming Early 2010

Sony has announced that the second episode of the Topatoi saga, Topatoi: The Pillar of Skies is expected to release in early 2010, probably January or February, but no official date has yet been released. The Pillar of Skies is going to be longer and a bit darker in tone than the original The Great Tree Story. It will also include new enemies, a new environment with light as one of the main gameplay elements and a new extended arcade mode which includes 10 bonus levels that can be played co-op or solo. Watch the trailer below.

On a side note, Sony has listened to our plees for a playable demo of Topatoi: The Great Tree Story and it is now available in the PlayStation Store. Why there wasn't a demo originally baffles me considering their competitor, XBOX, has trial games of ALL their Arcade games. In any event, I played the demo last night and it was quite fun and inventive. A solid platformer with simple mechanics, hidden treasures (stars) and fun, colorful levels.

Water and Pirates of the Caribbean DLC

Sony has just told CVG that the Little Big Planet DLC that will bring water into the game and the Pirates of the Caribbean-themed pack will arrive shortly. Sony told CVG, "We're expecting it to launch just before Xmas."

The ever anticipated water feature (click here for trailer) seems to pair perfectly with the Pirates DLC so it makes sense they are coming out together. The Pirates of the Caribbean DLC includes new levels, new costumes for your Sackboy and new trophies to be earned. You can swin into the action as early as next week according to rumors but definately before Christmas.

Borderlands Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot Official

The second downloadable content for Borderlands, Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot has just been announced. The new DLC will include "three new Riot Mode arenas where players will endure an onslaught of Pandora's baddest enemies. Working together, players will fend off the masses as they fight for fame, honor, and more importantly, loot. Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot also adds a new featre, which allows players extra storage capacity... and the ability to acquire two additional skill points as quest rewards." Sounds like it will be something similar to ODST Firefight and Gears of War Horde mode with additional quests.

The DLC will be hitting the XBOX360 on Dec 29 2009, PS3 on Jan 07 2010 and PC a few weeks later.

ModNation Racers Beta Hits PS3 December 18th

Sony and United Front Games have announced that the ModNation Racers beta will hit the PS3 on December 18th, 2009. The trick now is getting your hands on one of the codes to gain access to the beta. You can follow the PlayStation blog where codes will be given away or get one by purchasing the Little Big Planet: Game of the Year Edition. I have also recently found if you register here before Dec 13 2009 you can be one of the randomly selected winners of a code. ModNation Racers is a mix between Little Big Planet and Mario Kart, it is an extremely customizable kart-racing game with drivers that closely resemble Sackboy from Little Big Planet. The karts and drivers can be customized using hundreds of pieces of clothing, stickers, decals and a wide selection of facial features and hair for your driver. Then you can race arounds tons of exciting tracks and custom community tracks since the title is expected to feature an extensive track editor, similar to Little Big Planets Create Mode. Watch the games customizable features and racing gameplay here.

The beta starts Dec 18 2009 and ends Jan 10 2010, this is a PlayStation 3 exclusive title expected to hit retailers Feb 02 2010.

Not really Achievements?

1 vs. 100 is a free game show style trivia arcade game where you play as your avatar. Most days you can play extended play during specific times of day to earn sweepstakes entries and a chance to be a part of the mob or The One and there are also live shows (a couple times a week) with an actual host where you can win prizes such as Microsoft Points or XBOX Live Arcade games.

Since the game is officially out of its beta testing and starting it's new season, it now has 12 achievements. I was looking through the achievements list and found one that really caught my attention, Low Rider. To achieve Low Rider you must answer instantly and incorrectly three times in a row. Now, since this is the opposite of the point of the game (you want to answer as many questions correctly as possible) why is this an achievement? It seems it is a lack of an achievement because let's face it, if you get this achievement you suck at this game - on a side note I did go throught the minimal button smashing effort to get this because I am a sucker for gamer score and this was too easy not to. It seems more and more achievements aren't really much of an achievement. What games have you played and found achievements that you thought were ridiculous?

LittleBigLand Crown Competition #2

The LittleBigLand Crown competition is back! For those of you that don't know what this competition is, you create your own Little Big Planet level based on the required theme (this time it is A Little Big Land Fairytale) and submit it for the community to vote on. If you get into the finals you have a chance to win a one of a kind gold crown costume for your Sackboy and other great prizes. I myself placed 6th last year with Sacky's Adventure, hopefully this year I can do better. The competition opens on December 8th, 2009 and judging begins January 12th, 2010.

How to enter? Visit the link below and select your fairytale, create a new level and name it LBL:fairytale-yourlevelname and publish it. Make a post on the LBL thread with your PSN-ID and the fairytale you have chosen.

For complete rules and prizes visit LittleBigLand.com for the official details.

Halo: Reach, Reaching?

The hugely announced upcoming game Halo: Reach (set to release in 2010) will be showing a never before seen trailer this Saturday during the VGA's. This trailer is not the pre-rendered trailer we have all already seen but actual in-game footage but not live action. Let's hear what Major Nelson had to say about it in his latest podcast, "It's all going to be in-game stuff. This is not CG, this is not live action, like all the kids on Twitter are speculating. You'll get a first glimpse of the world of Reach, which is phenomenal. I think it's going to be the biggest game of next year by far. Folks loved ODST and thought it was great, but when people see the huge leap forward Bungie is taking with Reach... Everyone that I've talked to that's been on the team and seen it is incredibly excited about that game."

So is Halo: Reach really going to be as great as it sounds and the Best Game of 2010? It is going to be up against games such as BioShock 2, Mass Effect 2, Super Mario Galaxy and Fable III, just to name a few titles expected to release in 2010. What do you think?

Assassin's Creed II Costume

In the PlayStation Store you can now download your very own Assassin's Creed II costume for Little Big Planet. The costume will allow you to dress up like "Ezio".

Also, the new "Online Create" mode is now available for Little Big Planet so you and your sackboy friends can build levels together online.

Free Santa Costume for LBP

Media Molecule will be re-releasing the Christmas DLC again this year. For those of you that didn't pick it up last year, this includes the free Santa costume. You can also purchase the Festive Goodies Level kit for $2.99 USD in the PlayStation Store. This kit includes;

• Sackboy Gift Costume
• Christmas Tree Head Costume
• Material: Wrapping Paper
• Object: Sleigh
• Decorations: Festive Bauble, Bell, Gift Wrap Bow, Candy Cane, Card and Stocking
• Stickers: Red Nose Reindeer, Elves and Turkey
• Lights: Holiday Themed Light