Mario Kart 7

Game Info

Games that create their own genre don’t come around that often.  But that is exactly what Super Mario Kart did when it was released for the Super Nintendo in the fall of 1992.  Ever since, we’ve seen imitators try to replicate the thrill of racing go-karts with mascot characters.  While almost all of them are quickly forgotten, the Mario Kart series has endured.

Mario Kart 7 for the Nintendo 3DS is the first entry since Mario Kart Wii arrived over three years ago.  I mention this because the setup of the game is pretty similar, from track selection to the online portion.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as the Wii entry was laid out well.  It’s easy to get into a single-player game, local or online multiplayer game, or into the Mario Kart channel via the touch-screen.

Single Player has four different game modes available, including the requisite Grand Prix and Time Trial modes.  Also included are two battle modes, which seem odd to include here, but can be a good spot to practice before going online.  Like in past Kart games, Grand Prix is where you race on a series of four tracks to earn trophies and ranking stars.  It’s also where you can unlock more characters and kart parts to drive with.  You start with eight basic characters, with the opportunity to double that amount, creating a diverse roster.  You also can unlock a variety of kart bodies, wheels, and gliders, each offering different strengths and weaknesses.  Time Trial mode is a good place to set best times to send to your friends and, like in Mario Kart Wii, offers a chart showing an approximation of where you rank amongst other racers worldwide on each track.

Getting into a multiplayer match couldn’t be a simpler task. Even friends that don’t have the cartridge can take part in the local multiplayer via Download Play.  However, they only get one character and kart option to pick from, encouraging them to pick up their own copy.  When you play online you can choose between Race and Battle games.  I’m happy to see the battle return to a free-for-all format, as opposed to the teams featured in the Wii version.  Though I could do without alternating between the Balloon Battle and Coin Runner modes.  I would have preferred to be given the option to play whichever one suited my particular fancy at that moment.  I do feel Coin Runner is the weaker of the two battle options, having spent so long busting balloons on the older series games.  Either way though, both Race and Battle get you into a game with strangers quick and seamlessly.  I never experienced any lag during the actual race and never had a problem finding people.

A cool new feature for online play is the Communities.  These are basically little rooms you can set up for anyone to play in, but with your own custom rule set.  Want to make like Scott Pilgrim and only use Bob-ombs?  Or would you rather have no items at all?  Either way, you can set it up however you want for both battle and race modes.  Points earned in the various events are tracked, so it’s fun to watch the leaderboard for bragging rights. All you have to do is give other people your Community code and you can have your own racing clubs (Go here for info on GameGravy’s official communities).

For tracks, we get an even mix of old and new courses again, with 16 revamped and 16 all-new.  The old tracks look great with their souped up graphics, especially the ones from the SNES & N64 games.  I found the new tracks to very fun to race on, and they are obviously designed to feature some of the new Kart features, like the hang glider and underwater propeller.  While using these new techniques is a fun change of pace sometimes, more often than not I found myself just wishing I could keep my kart on regular old land.  Things get pretty crowded on the later courses, which feature less retaining walls and more bottomless pits, and in turn, more cursing the heavens.

Graphically, the game is top notch.  Everything is very colorful, as you’d expect anything with Mario in the title to be.  You feel a real sense of speed as you’re playing, which is helped by the great 3D effect adding depth to the proceedings.  You do occasionally get a double image while racing, but that’s probably more me thinking I can go faster and avoid the pit by waving my system around.  As you can guess, this makes the new first-person gyro controlled racing view not one of my favorites.  It’s an interesting idea, but just doesn’t control well and creates more blur.  But when racing from the default vantage point and viewing the screen from the sweet spot, you’ll be hard press to find a better 3D experience.

The sound in the game is a mixed bag.  Of course, you’re going to get whatever character you pick exclaiming out every time you make a jump or use a boost or knock someone out or adjust your mirror (OK, maybe not that last one), some of which are more annoying than others.  Donkey Kong in particular is given a voice that seems way out of place, while the Mii voice continues to be creepy.  The music is just kind of there, and didn’t leave an impression on me either way.  I’m still waiting for Nintendo to include “Seek & Destroy” for play during battle matches.

For a racing series that has been around as long as Mario Kart, you have to make sure you sprinkle in some new with the tried and true gameplay that made your name in the first place.  While the addition of the glider and underwater driving is welcome, it’s not as big as Nintendo would have you believe.  However, the classic formula remains and it’s still a very fun racing game, with tons to do and unlock.  Whether you like racing against a series of 1s and 0s or actual flesh and blood, you can’t go wrong with this latest effort.