![]() Aurally, the game music is, as expected, standard high-quality Mario fare, with the various tracks fitting the themes of the courses exceptionally (the tracks in Mario-themed courses are upbeat and bouncy, the tracks in the Bowser courses are menacing and foreboding, etc). The 3D effect used in the game is also pretty fantastic, and while racing games generally seem to do a solid job with 3D effects on the console in general, Mario Kart 7 makes the best use I’ve seen so far of the technology, both in the genre and overall. The game obviously doesn’t stack up to its Wii counterpart, but given the confines of what the 3DS can handle, Mario Kart 7 is, so far, one of the best looking games on it, both mechanically and stylistically. The environments are colorful and represent the Super Mario worlds as one would expect, and both the new tracks and repeated tracks are well designed and look nice as you race on them. The visuals are fully 3D and the characters are instantly recognizable, as one would expect. Mario Kart 7 makes a solid transition to the 3DS screen, and is a good mid-range experience, visually, between Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart: Double Dash! overall. As is standard, there’s plenty of stuff to do with the game, alone or with others, and while the bulk of your time will be spent either unlocking everything you can in the Grand Prix or playing against others, there’s certainly enough to do with the game that you won’t feel like you’re shoehorned into those modes in the least. You can also jump into games with friends locally or jump online over WiFi to play against other online Mario Kart players. ![]() If you’re looking to play solo, you can jump into various Grand Prix tournaments, run through time trials, or jump into a Balloon Battle or Coin Runners battle against the CPU. As normal, there’s no story of any significance to the experience (everyone decided to get together and drive around in circles), but the franchise works not because of its plot, but because of the gameplay options. ![]() I mention this point because, well, that’s kind of what the game feels like.Īs with its numerous predecessors, Mario Kart 7 continues the grand tradition of racing down the track, dodging shells and banana peels the whole way, leaving you, depending on your place, struggling to keep the lead or keep up. ![]() The sudden change to numbering releases, which also ignores the arcade releases, oddly, might not have any bearing on anything, but it gives the impression of burnout, of Nintendo saying “Eh, here, take it” and handing the player another Mario Kart instead of trying to do something really special with the game. What’s interesting, though, is that Mario Kart 7 is the first game in the series to have its release number in the title prior releases in the series tend to have subtitles, such as Mario Kart: Double Dash! or tend to be titled after the console they’re released on, such as Mario Kart Wii. With the 3DS library mostly consisting of a bunch of ports of older games, only NOW IN 3D, as well as a bunch of cash-in stuff no one wants, having something that is both important and “original” in the sense that it’s only on the 3DS is a big selling point for the console, and so we have Mario Kart 7 ready to go in time for the holidays. Well, Nintendo generally releases a new Mario Kart for any console they release at this point, and since the 3DS was basically a risky proposition for Nintendo from the get-go and wasn’t getting any better in the weeks after launch, it makes sense to shove one out the door to get gamers good and frustrated interested in the console. Way back when I reviewed Mario Kart Wii, I made mention of the reputation the Mario Kart franchise has developed of being belligerent and frustrating, by way of using an XKCD comic to illustrate this point:
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