Game is a definite "must buy" in my books. I LOVE the racing mechanics ... racing style is closer to Mario Kart ... reminds me very strongly of Super Mario Karts on the SNES in terms of racing and drifting mechanics.
Awesome thing is that there is ALOT of strategy involved while on the course. Drifting fills up a "drift bar" on the right. You can use energy from the drift bar to
1. boost
2. Put up a shield to protect from weapon fire
3. side swipe opponent as you pass using right stick
How you use your drift bar WILL make the difference between victory/defeat. Alot of strategy in deciding how to use energy in your bar, when to conserve, and which option to use it for.
The nice thing about the drift bar is that it means if you are in first it's not a "foregone" conclusion you are going to be cheaply knocked out of first by weapons fire.
I love how they handled the weapons in game. There are a number of different types (trubo boost, missles, sonic boom, lightening) ... each of the weapons has 3 levels (so if you pick up a 2nd power up it strengthens the weapon in your arsenal). Thing is though, if you get hit by another weapon, you lose whatever weapon you have. Strategy again, use weapon or try to save up for an uber weapon?
The campaign is cute and has had me laughing so far at the story. Game has tokens hidden around the track to keep you coming back for more and each track has 3 sub goals to achieve which give you unlock-ables. Definitely lots of re-playability. Track design is great, single player you'll have alot of fun with while learning how to race for when going online.
As for online?
OMG
Think Chromehounds level of customization in terms of designing a racer and kart (although limited to the "look" of your kart/racer rather than stats). I've already made a Ms. Pacman (helmet says pac attak lol) --
http://community.modnation.com/en-us/creations/207554
Spent a good hour fiddling around making my Ms Pac Man. Kart creation is similarly fun.
As for track creation? fucking amazing. I went online for abit and ended up on this track filled with jumps, ramps, even shorcuts. I had NO IDEA until the end it was a user map not a professional one from the game.
The track mods alone will make the game worth the price of entry, being able to download unlimited amounts of user content ... think Super Mario Karts but with unlimited track options and you are the right path. Even if you don't like building tracks yourself, the community will be sure to provide unlimited content for pretty much forever.
So uh yeah, awesome title well worth it.