Instead of Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser and co, you get strange anthropomorphic plush-toy-like creations that can be customised to reflect your own personality.

One of the biggest hurdles ModNation Racers faces is the fact that you don’t get recognisable characters to race around as or themed courses to race at. ModNation Racers, the exclusive PS3 kart racer from Sony and United Front Games, is the latest to try its hand at the ever popular arcade racing experience. You’d think copying it would be easy, but there’s a reason other games in the genre haven’t had similar success. Whether it’s you and some mates all sat on the same sofa, playing split-screen, or you against the rest of the gaming world online, something about Mario Kart has stuck, meaning the same basic formula has remained great fun for years. But most of us love the fact that it’s a racing game that everyone can play.

Who doesn’t love Mario Kart? Well, OK, some people can’t stand the way the power-ups mean you can be winning one second then last a few moments later.

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