As noted in our review, ModNation Racers' load times were unbearably long upon release. When Sony promised that today's 1.02 patch would improve this issue, we busted out the stopwatches to find out for ourselves. Does the patch significantly improve the load times for races?

The answer appears to be a definitive "yes." We used the first five tracks in the Quick Race mode and calculated the average load time to begin a race before and after the patch was installed. Based on our calculations, it took an average of 45.6 seconds to load a single race before implementing the 1.02 patch. Additionally, returning to the Mod Spot after the race took an average of 24.3 seconds of loading.

With 1.02 installed, however, the load time to begin a race decreased drastically. Starting a race took an average of 32.7 seconds, which is about 28 percent faster than the pre-patch time! The loading time it took to return to the Mod Spot after a race also improved with the patch, but not significantly: It still took an average of 22.4 seconds.

Even after the patch, we're still looking at nearly a full minute of combined load times for each race. Still, the improved speediness of launching a race must come as good news for fans of the game.