The kart racing component of Mario Kart and the character creation features of LittleBigPlanet have been combined in ModNation Racers. The player begins the game as an up-and-comer named T.A.G. in the M.R.C. (ModNation Racing Championship) series. He has his mother as a sponsor and a washed-out racer for a crew chief. As the player progresses through his ballooning career, he encounters various exciting, sound, and evil individuals. The first race serves to familiarize the player with the game’s controls as well as some components of the game, such as the various weaponry and power-ups, which include rockets, sonic weapons, lightning weapons, and boost power-ups. These weapons can be acquired by collecting the item pods sprinkled throughout the course. Each weapon has three levels, with level one being the starting point and levels two through three being unlocked as more item pods are collected. Following the player’s first competition, they will be guided to the ModSpot, the central gathering place for all M.N.R. participants.
The user is given an overview of the creation feature of the game at the ModSpot, where they are also allowed to customize their racers and karts utilizing the creation station. The player can acquire additional items through the career mode by completing specific objectives and winning matches. These challenges include defeating three opponents, activating three traps, and other similar tasks. They can also pick up tokens dispersed throughout each track (a total of five tickets for each way) and then spend those tokens at a vending machine that operates similarly to a slot machine. They can choose to use either one token, two, or five tokens and then receive an object randomly based on how many tickets they use.
Players can also design their courses by using various tools to mold the environment to their specifications and produce their system—the players can react, which allows them with the rest of the world. Using a sharing center, the players can submit their custom racers, karts, and tracks and download the works of other players. Additionally, at the ModSpot, the player can watch the Top Mod and Top Karts of the week, view players of the week, see who is in the current room, visit the production studios, and even set up races with friends on official tracks or custom circuits created by players.
