ModNation Racers: Road Trip seems like a quality game, but the absence of multiplayer is baffling.

Having been thoroughly impressed with the PlayStation Vita version of Play Create Share racer, ModNation Racers: Road Trip, last year, we thought it was a certain pick-up alongside our system next month — but then we read that it has no online multiplayer.

The news was confirmed in a live chat yesterday with developer United Front Games. Clearly realising the oversight, the studio pointed to the inclusion of ad-hoc multiplayer (i.e. local play) and asynchronous gameplay similar to TrackMania. To be precise: the game will constantly record and compare track times with your friends, putting ghosts on the track for you to compete against.

Of course, while these modes are welcome, neither are a substitute for true, competitive, online multiplayer. We understand that Road Trip is a portable game, so the likelihood of being near a Wi-Fi spot is somewhat lower, but the oversight is inexcusable. Part of the joy of ModNation Racers is downloading (or creating) quirky kart and character designs, and showing them off online.

What makes the news even more disappointing, though, is that the PSP release of ModNation Racers totally included a basic online multiplayer component. It wasn't great, but it worked, and we actually spent a few hours messing around with it.

If United Front didn't have the time to implement a multiplayer mode, then we're not sure why Sony didn't just delay the game. It's not like there's a dearth of quality content at launch, and ModNation Racers would make a great summer release anyway.