According to the PlayStation Blog, today at 2pm Pacific Time ModNation Racers will go live with a pretty significant update. Some of the features of the update include shorter load times, a new “casual” difficulty, and the ability to get into Online matches quicker. Along with the patch, United Front Games has also made some enhancements to Community.ModNation.com, the game’s community website, including the ability to see your racing stats and your favorite creators.

And if that wasn’t enough for you, UFG has made the racer and kart Nukular and Kart available as DLC, previously only available as a pre-order bonuses. Seems like quite a humpday for ModNation fans, but is it enough to justify the 60 bucks?

Hit the jump below to see the full list of enhancements included in the update, and let us know in the comments section if this will be enough to keep you behind the wheel and building tracks.

Load Time Improvements
While there are still loads, you will see decreases in load times throughout the game.

New “Casual” Difficulty Mode
We’ve added a “casual” difficulty setting in the options screen.

Challenge friends in XP Series
We’ve added the ability to invite your friends to XP Races & Series.

No more “Hot Lap” Cheaters
We fixed a bug that allowed players to cut the track and post unbeatable times in Hot Lap.

Get into Online Races Quicker
Along with improved load times, we’ve removed the online game room from the ModSpot so you can get into the race faster.

Improved Server Stability
We’ve addressed issues to improve intermittent disconnects that players were experiencing.

Three Challenges now more attainable
We wanted to provide you challenges, but didn’t want to sacrifice fun. We found 3 challenges that proved extremely difficult and changed the conditions to complete them. This includes:

• Devastator takedown on Wild Run
• Devastator takedown on Modobahn
• Sideswipe 3 opponents on the cliff side on Fracture

The Tin Bucket Unlocked!
Finally this is an item is unlocked and available to everyone by default.

Collector Card Improvement
Now see all player creations in their entirety.

Improvements to ModNation Racers don’t stop here, we are still constantly listening to the community and are committed to making ModNation Racers one of the most enjoyable experiences you’ll have on your PS3.

New features on Community.ModNation.com

We added features to the Community site Community.ModNation.com to make the experience better too, including:

Race Logs
Check out your series and XP race stats here.

See your Favorites
Now view your favorite creators as well as others’ favorite creators.

Search for Friends
Search for other players using the new icon next to login.

Rep Check
Check out you reputation under each creation type.