Mario Kart 7
ChatterboxZombie | 27 Jan 2012 | tl;drThe Kart-racing sub genre is a pretty nifty little one. With games like Mod Nation Racers and the nostalgia smothered CTR, the typical Kart racer has swerved and skidded its way into the hearts of casual and hardcore gamers alike. As the likely origin of the sub genre, the Mario Kart franchise has seen the pudgy plumber take to the race track over and over. Now with the 3DS on shelves MK is here for a obvious seventh installment, engines revving with Mario Kart 7. Should you step on the gas. or swerve to avoid this sequel?
Simple and straight to the point MK7 can be split into three aspects: Single player, Local Multiplayer and Online. While the latter two have the simple names to assure, it’s the Single player where MK7 shows off the most of it’s content. Here you’ll choose to your Grand Prix, Time trial or battle mode of choice, and then hit the tarmac right away.
The Grand Prix is likely the best of the single player options, with a total of 8 cups spanning 32 Tracks. Like previous entries in the series, the Tracks are 50/50 with half of courses being new, and the other a collection of prior circuits from the series. With each cup having 4 tracks and playable across four CC classes of varying difficuilty, it may sound like a lot, but a dedicated player will easily find themselves blazing through the cups with little effort.
Though the time trial and battle modes are just as fleshed out as the Grand Prix, they’re really not as compelling or interesting. The ability to race against downloadable ghost data for the best time is a nice touch to the time trial, but the battle modes aren’t really that fun when you’re stuck with 7 computer controlled racers. They’re not so slim as to feel like needless padding for the SP experience, but compared to the Grand Prix, they’re just not as fun.
Multiplayer is what the Mario Kart series is known for, and 7 delivers great competitive racing both online and local. Playing against friends is easy and smooth, and the online mode has a few neat features that prior entries missed. With the ability to make personal lobbies, customised cups and even mario kart “Communities”, there’s a fair amount to do online with your racer. Whether you want to blitz through one balloon battle after another or just join random people for a quick race, it’s a nifty and easy experience to connect.
But this is a Nintendo game after all. Uncle N has never been one to give players a huge amount of Online options, and MK7 is no different. You can play and race no problem but in terms of personalization and communication with other players, this one is pretty bare-bones.
Of course the core gameplay is what makes Mario Kart unique, and it’s still the same tried and true formula of Power-ups and turbo-drifting around corners. Now however you can fly in the skies with gliders and swim underwater with propellers. It’s been largely publicized as the key feature of the game but these bolt on additions aren’t really dramatic changes. They are fun though, and suit the game without derailing the flow of the race.
While on the racetrack grabbing a “?” box will get you a random power up. these come in the form of speed boosts, banana skin traps and enemy chasing turtle shells same as always. There’s some fun new ones to play around with, and though they’re not particularly complex, each has it’s own little nuances with which skilled players can learn to get an edge.
Unfortunately the Forever loathed Blue shells make yet another Return. These homing missiles of destruction hone in on the 1st place racer and blow him to bits in an unavoidable onslaught. Sure it’s just a game, but getting creamed out of pure luck just to get passed and have victory stolen from you is a bitter pill to swallow.
Power-sliding is the technique to drift around corners and gain a boost after coming out of it. Though the hugely popular Mario Kart DS had a more unique system that allowed certain skilled players to get an edge, MK7 reverts to a simplified version of the system. It’s a damn shame, because the way it’s handled really is too easy to get a hang of, with minimal results. It’s one thing to make a game open and accessible, but when perhaps the only potential for skill and depth of competitive play is removed, the game suffers as a whole.
It’s fun to play, but without the ability to “Snake“, Mario Kart 7 loses it’s competitive depth in favor of simplistic, shallow gameplay.
In likely the series biggest change comes the new feature of collecting coins. Coins are scattered through out race tracks and arenas and can be collected in all modes. Collecting coins (to a maximum of 10) will not only increase your max speed, but amounting a collection of them will net you new pieces to customize your kart. With a number of parts spanning the 3 sections of chassis, wheels and gliders. Being able to suit your racer with your own custom kart is a fun part of the game, and the statistical difference of the parts gives the game it’s biggest claim to depth of gameplay.
Presentation is reasonably clean and crisp. The mushroom kingdom looks just as colorful as ever, and the race tracks are definitely the imaginative highlight of the game. With the 3D on or off it runs at a smooth 60fps, although the aliasing is occasionally rather ugly on some character models. Sound is good with all the signature vrooms and squeaks, and the music is just as cheery as ever. It can get pretty annoying at times though, as can certain repetitive voice clips.
Mario Kart 7 brings the zippy racing fun the series is known for to the 3DS in style. It looks pretty as punch and is fun and easy to play in tons of different ways. The new additions of gliders and customizable parts add some much needed variation too. What’s unfortunate about it all is that it doesn’t have the strength, or the stamina to support more skilled players. I cannot stress enough that it is a casual game. It’s a blast to play, but when you’ve put in so many hours only to realize that the winner is so often chosen by pure luck, it can be a little disheartening.
It’s a game anyone can enjoy, but at the price of no real challenge.
Written by ChatterboxZombie.
