"Mario Kart Series" Review (50th Post!!!)

For Nintendo Systems

            This is a series of reviews covering all seven currently released Mario Kart games. Although I have already reviewed Mario Kart Super Circuit and Mario Kart 7 they will be re-mentioned in this series of mini-reviews. The order of reviews are by release date. Enjoy!

Super Mario Kart: 7.5

I know Super Mario Kart was the first Mario Kart ever and apparently a huge deal at the time of release, but I’ve never liked this game as I find it to be relatively poorly made. I guess the reason I feel this way is because the graphics are dated and things like item boxes are flat on the pavement which I guess was the best Nintendo could do at the time, but irks me when I play it. Not only that but the controls are awful and I have never been able to control my car and win a race. Pretty much everything about the game bothers me though I do love the tracks in their re-made format in later Mario Kart games, especially Rainbow Road. The only reason my score is relatively descent is because although to me the game is a failure, it’s legacy among other gamers makes me not be too harsh on it, plus if it weren’t for this game there would be no Mario Kart today. The innovation of a Nintendo kart racer with bananas, koopa shells, and Bowser castles is one that could only be done with Super Mario Kart.

Mario Kart 64: 9.0

Being that it was the first Mario Kart to give us an outstanding multiplayer, beautiful 3-Dimensional visuals, and wonderful track designs, it’s hard to complain when it comes to Mario Kart 64. Mario Kart 64 by far has the best music in the series, and while may be the simplest of most Mario Karts it instead offers the most fun and excitement of all the games in the franchise. Whereas many Mario Kart games put too much emphasis on items, Mario Kart 64 puts more emphasis on the way you drive which means it’s much more difficult to maintain a good position in the race. There is plenty of criticisms I have of the game though including the mandatory need to replay a race in Grand Prix if you do not place 4^th or higher, and the lack of a single player battle mode. But then again, Mario Kart 64 is quite possibly the greatest game in the franchise, and certainly the most memorable. Although I’m not very good at Mario Kart 64 compared to my skill on other Mario Karts, I can still spot a good racer when I see one.

Mario Kart Super Circuit: 7.5

Being that it is the first handheld Mario Kart I had trouble complaining too much about Super Circuit, but the fact is that it’s one of the worst Mario Kart games ever. The visuals have aged terribly, the controls are off, and the tracks aren’t designed nearly as well as in later Mario Kart titles. The only saving grace for Super Circuit is the amount of tracks: 20 new tracks compared to the usual 16, plus a handful of returning tracks from Super Mario Kart. When it comes to quantity Super Circuit delivers, when it comes to quality it most certainly does not.

Mario Kart Double Dash: 9.2

Mario Kart Double Dash has always been one of my favorite Mario Kart titles despite its widespread criticism that I’ve found to be invalid. Not only does it have the most revolutionary design (the graphics were a massive jump from N64, the two people per kart idea was genius, the huge character roster was amazing, the kart designs were fantastic, and the courses were ingeniously designed) but the game is the absolute best of all Mario Karts for multiplayer from it’s fantastic battle mode (best in the series) to its unique “double” design. Plus, the game is much more difficult in 150cc than in recent Mario Kart titles, making it one of the most challenging games in the series, and the idea of having character specific items is wonderful and should have never been abandoned. I see practically no faults with Double Dash with just a few exceptions: only sixteen tracks makes for a lack of content but there are six battle courses to enjoy, and whereas the controls still aren’t to perfection they work pretty well. I also wish (as I wish with all the old Mario Karts) that you could play battle mode with one player, which is absent in most Mario Kart titles but only recently trending to allow single player battles. Mario Kart Double Dash may just be the best of the best when it comes to Mario Kart. It may not have the stellar refinements of Mario Kart 7, but it’s an amazing game and one of the best racing games I’ve ever played.

Mario Kart DS: 8.8

Mario Kart DS offers some of the best aspects of the Mario Kart series, while also offering the worst. As usual, the tracks are fantastically designed and a blast to race on, but the fun is held back thanks to a bit smaller character roster, other players “snaking”, and a somewhat disappointing online mode. Of course, the mission mode included with Mario Kart DS is fantastic and makes this Mario Kart the best when it comes to Gameplay Amount. With the lack of an analog stick, the controls aren’t as good as usual, and the graphics while relatively good for the DS do not compare to many other Mario Kart titles. The map screen is well utilized and makes racing quite a bit easier as it can be glanced at with ease. Battle mode in Mario Kart DS works well enough although the tracks are a bit lackluster. Finally, possibly my biggest problem with Mario Kart DS (and all handheld Mario Karts) is that the multiplayer simply isn’t as fun. You can’t all sit on the same couch and play off the same screen, and unless your friend has a DS, then you can’t play with them at all. Mario Kart DS takes advantage from its map screen, mission mode, and well designed tracks, but includes faults such as the somewhat poor controls and visuals, as well as the multiplayer and online. Don’t get me wrong, in some ways, Mario Kart DS is the best Mario Kart but I’ll never enjoy a handheld racer as much as a home console one.

Mario Kart Wii: 9.3

Being that Mario Kart Wii is one of the most refined Mario Kart titles, it makes sense that my score is one of the highest. Mario Kart Wii introduced some new elements to the Mario Kart mix while not as many as others, Mario Kart Wii continued the new tradition of offering online play and returning tracks that was set into place with Mario Kart DS, and also introduced new elements such as bikes and tricks. Most of Mario Kart Wii works to expectations or even better, but I wish the battle mode was better, and the tracks didn’t seam to be quite as well designed as in most other Mario Karts. Most of the new items were terrible ideas and were taken from the series before Mario Kart 7 was released (including the POW block and thundercloud). The online play makes Mario Kart Wii a keeper as it is still in my opinion the best in the series. The multiplayer is fun as always and the challenges presented through the Mario Kart channel help add endless replay value to the racer and mirror the mission mode from Mario Kart DS. Mario Kart Wii is without a doubt one of the finest Mario Kart racers to date, and some of its weaker aspects have been removed in Mario Kart 7.

Mario Kart 7: 9.3

The most recent Mario Kart put things into high gear and delivered a fantastic racer and certainly the best handheld Mario Kart to date. The game really stuck out when it came to graphics and innovation. The 3D visuals were beautiful and the game maintained 60 FPS consistently, and the music that accompanied the tracks sounded beautiful and modern. The traditional gameplay was enhanced thanks to hangliding and underwater sections, coin collection, a customization system, 1^st person mode, and more. The track designs in Mario Kart 7 are unbelievable and are undoubtedly the best designs in the series’ ever-growing history. The game controls extremely smooth and overall the controls (with the exception of motion) worked perfectly. Of course, I did have a few minor quibbles here and there including the smaller than usual character roster, and I think it’s about time the series starts including more total tracks, but for the most part Mario Kart 7 was a blast to play, and let’s not forget the amazing online mode. For my full Mario Kart 7 review check it out on this site.

            The Mario Kart series has had seven installments now, most of which have proven to be outstanding multiplayer adventures. Check back later this week for my list of my Top 7 Mario Kart tracks, items, games, and more. I also averaged every Mario Kart game review and this is the total average for the Mario Kart series below.

Mario Kart Series Average: 8.7

GBA Ambassador Games Reviews

For Nintendo 3DS eShop

These are my scores for the 10 free GBA Ambassador Games on 3DS. They are listed from highest to lowest scores and there is a chart listing all of the scores at the bottom. The average review score is also listed at the bottom of the article. Enjoy!

Metroid Fusion: 9.0

Just like with Minish Cap, I wasn’t able to play much of this game before the review so I will post a full review of the game when I have a chance to fully play it, but what I saw from what I did play was quite memorable. The game’s visuals are fantastic, easily the best on the system in my own opinion. I also loved the music and the story felt pretty strong to me told through typical GBA cut-scenes. The gameplay is leagues better than that of most 2D Metroid games, and although I’ve heard the main quest isn’t long, I don’t think that’s exactly necessary thanks to the game’s other outstanding aspects.

TLOZ: The Minish Cap: 9.0

I’m not usually a big advocate of 2-D Zelda adventures, only ever enjoying Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks for Nintendo DS, so it surprised me how much I actually enjoyed Minish Cap. Because of the surplus of games this Holiday season, I wasn’t able to play much of the game in time for this review, but from what I have played I’ve most certainly enjoyed. The game appears to have a good story, characterization (based on the opening), and the music and visuals are fantastic as always with Zelda. The gameplay seems fairly traditional for Zelda with the exception of course of shrinking your size down and some new items. I’m sure the main quest is quite lengthy and intriguing as well. Of course, all of this is mainly speculation so after I’ve finished the game, I’ll likely do a full review on the game and a possible change in score.

Super Mario Advance 3 Yoshi’s Island: 8.5

Although it is not among my favorite Mario games, Yoshi’s Island still impressed me in a lot of ways. Sure, the game doesn’t feel much like a Mario game thanks to the absence of goombas, mushrooms, question blocks instead replaced by egg throwing Yoshi fun. Some of the changes took me a while to get used to especially the fact that you can’t die unless you leave Baby Mario behind for too long, which was especially unique. The level designs aren’t exactly amazing as they are in most Mario platformers, but some other factors make up for it. The visuals look really nice, the music is pure Yoshi, and of course the game itself is still a lot of fun. And although some of the differences from the traditional Mario game are not necessarily good they at least add some variety to the Mario franchise.

Wario Ware Inc. Mega Microgames: 8.0

Although I could do with a bit less mandatory cut-scenes, the core of this game is a heck of a lot of fun. The addictive main gameplay is pure fun though some may not enjoy it because of its quick pace, and each microgame is uniquely designed with fun in mind. There’s a good amount of content included thanks to two-player modes and other bonus games. With crazy levels of oddity and tons of creativity, Wario Ware Mega Microgames is a definite keeper.

Wario Land 4: 8.0

Wario Land 4 keeps with the Wario theme by maintaining its very unusual settings, characters, and gameplay. The game’s visuals and music are adequate and although the gameplay and setting is fairly repetitive it’s all still fairly fun. I love the variety of moves Wario can perform but I found myself forgetting how to accomplish some of them after a while (I forgot the controls) and I also was confused when Wario would catch on fire but not get hurt (I guess it’s a power-up?). Overall Wario Land 4 was a fun enough game that could use some lessons from Mario, but is a fun alternative nonetheless.

Mario Kart Super Circuit: 7.5

Being that this Mario Kart game has aged the worst since its release, it’s no surprise that I didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as other Mario Kart titles. The visuals are terribly outdated, the soundtrack is relatively antique, the controls are cumbersome and sent me crashing a handful of times, and the multiplayer is practically nonexistent. I do appreciate that there are many more tracks than in most Mario Kart games as that is a problem I have had with modern Mario Kart games, and the tracks are fairly well designed for a game ten years old.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong: 7.0

Puzzle games have never pulled me in like other games and this stays the same with Mario vs. Donkey Kong, it’s a good game just not a great one. The puzzles are plentiful and new abilities and obstacles throw in nice variety, but the graphics, music, and story all appear a bit ordinary, and the controls don’t work that well. Plus, I don’t find the game to be all that interesting enough for me to want to play it, and I’d rather assume play Pushmo.

F-Zero Maximum Valocity: 7.0

Honestly I have nothing against F-Zero, but I’ve never found anything to love about the franchise either. As always, the visuals look great and the music is nice and modern, but the thing that has always bothered me about F-Zero is the difficult racing. I drive off the track so often that it’s simply ridiculous. I like the game, but I just wish I was a little bit better at it.

Kirby and the Amazing Mirror: 6.0

Kirby games have never really captured my heart and the same can be said about Kirby’s GBA offering. The visuals are nice and I’m sure there are tons of fans who love the game, but I found my unfamiliarity with Kirby games to be getting in the way of my enjoyment of the game. I constantly became lost and the whole mirror concept confused me and made me feel like I was playing Super Smash Bros. Brawl Subspace Emissary again. Plus the controls just felt off.

Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn: 5.0

I’ve never been a fan of a Japanese style turn-based strategy game, but I honestly didn’t find much to enjoy with Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn. Perhaps the gameplay was ok, but I never really had a chance to find out because of the game’s lackluster visuals, music, overly-complex story, and an incredibly massive amount of text. If the gameplay was good then I’m sorry I never got to experience it.

Scores from worst to best:

Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn	5.0
Kirby and the Amazing Mirror	6.0
F-Zero Maximum Velocity	7.0
Mario vs. Donkey Kong	7.0
Mario Kart Super Circuit	7.5
Wario Land 4	8.0
Wario Ware Inc. Mega Microgames	8.0
Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi’s Island	8.5
TLOZ: The Minish Cap	9.0
Metroid Fusion	9.0

Total Average of all 10 GBA Ambassador Games: 7.2

Note: Although the average NES Ambassador Games review score is a 7.5 and is higher than the GBA Ambassador average, do not think the NES ones are better. Overall they are better but the GBA lineup has some awesome games such as Metroid Fusion, Minish Cap, and Yoshi’s Island and honestly all ten games are good with the exception of Fire Emblem. I may have been a little harsh with these reviews but after playing games like Skyward Sword and Super Mario 3D Land, it seems like every game is below average.

New Reviews Now Online!

   Merry Christmas everyone!!! Just posted are three new reviews for three games I've recently played. "3D Classics: Xevious" received a fairly descent 7.0 score praised only for its great 3D effects while criticizing its difficulty. "Fluidity" for Wii got an 8.5 score and is a game with great creativity and design but flawed thanks to its controls and music. The final review is for "Pushmo", a just released game for the Nintendo eShop and it received a 9.0 score for its amazing puzzle designs and charming visuals. Make sure to check out these reviews on the site!

   Also on New Years Eve I'll be reviewing all of the ambassador games and announcing my plans for the new year (including the Mario Kart Marathon which keeps getting pushed back thanks to all of these great new games) so check back then! Until then have a Merry Christmas and a great rest of the holidays!

"Pushmo" Review

For Nintendo eShop

Pros:	Cons:
Brilliant art style and 3D effects	Re-used backgrounds and music
Tons of puzzles and you can create your own	Weird platforming gameplay
Basic gameplay and controls works well

            Pushmo marks the first time that I purchased a game based on its review score. Before now I have always predetermined buying a game because it was a part of my favorite game franchises or I have received it as a gift. I’ve seen on many gaming sites reviews for Pushmo and they all seemed to point me the same direction: so I dropped everything and downloaded the game the other day, and I sure was pleased.

            Similar to other Nintendo games, Pushmo’s visuals look childish, cartoony, juvenile, and colorful. To some the game may appear like a kid’s game, then I guess it’s a good day to be a kid. Pushmo’s graphics are for all ages and I was pleased by the game’s art style. Mallow, the main character, looks fantastic and I love the animation of him walking across the playfield. The blocks themselves are colorful and varied in shape and size, and the touch screen relays a map of the puzzle (which sometimes the icons on the map are so small you can hardy make out what they are). The 3D effect is great: at first it appears as a nice visual touch until you try turning the 3D off in which the game looks terrible. The point is that you absolutely cannot play this game with the 3D off, it’s impossible as you often cannot tell what layer a block is pulled into. My only real complaint about the visuals is the fact that the background on each stage is the same. Why not include various themed stages like one in a cave, one with the sunset, one at night, one in a jungle, etc. The same background eventually becomes old and more variety would’ve been nice.

            The game doesn’t exactly stand out when It comes to audio, nor should it. The sound effects are basic and actually sound nice and cheery and set the mood well. There isn’t much variety when it comes to the music in the game as there are only a handful of themes and they all sound pretty much the same. More music tracks and a better variety of them would have been appreciated although the game sounds good enough without them. Perhaps a spooky sounding theme to compliment a cave background for a puzzle?

            The game’s concept and execution are solid and the main gameplay is a perfect fit for 3D. Nearly all the puzzles are well designed including the cool murals which helps to add some variety. The game jumps back and forth in difficulty sometimes throwing easy puzzles at you just to throw an extremely difficult puzzle at you next. The ability to skip a puzzle is nice but if you keep your mind to the task you’ll eventually solve the puzzle and it always feels satisfactory to finally get to the goal. A hint system for the more challenging puzzles would have been appreciated and would’ve kept many headaches of mine away. The game’s rewind button is a fantastic addition and is fun to use I only wish it rewinded faster as sometimes it takes a while to rewind. While I like the use of platforming in this game there were some instances in which I felt like I was cheating by using a certain kind of jump, and there were others where I kept trying to reach a spot that apparently was impossible to reach by jumping. Some of the platforming areas seemed like they distracted me from the puzzle itself. Creating puzzles works well enough and the touch screen is a perfect home for such a task. You can easily test your puzzle and assign it a difficult rating as you see fit. Sharing your puzzle via a QR code is simple and like always the 3DS has no difficult reading the code. The puzzle-platforming hybrid of gameplay is fun albeit with some faults here and there as with the rest of the game.

            The game includes tons of puzzles to play and solve, plus you can create your own with the custom puzzle builder. As far as sharing abilities go, QR codes is a nice ability, but I would have liked to download new puzzle via SpotPass and StreetPass support would’ve been nice as well. The game will last an adequate amount of time nonetheless but some additional sharing options would have been nice.

            The controls are as you would imagine pretty much flawless. The circle pad moves Mallow as it should, but I sometimes felt that he moves kind of on the slow side. The actions such as rewinding, pulling, pushing, and jumping all work well too. Not really too much to say about the controls in a game like this.

Pushmo is a fun puzzle game that will pull you in with its cute graphics, its innovative gameplay, and its plentiful challenges. Although I can’t say it’s perfect: there are some problems after all, I can say that it is one of the best puzzle games I’ve ever played. I’m not a huge puzzle-genre fan so maybe I didn’t enjoy this as much as others, but I don’t think it’s an amazing game just a good one. I didn’t find Pushmo to be as good as my expectations based on online reviews, but I was nonetheless happy I purchased this game anyways. For puzzle game fans I recommend this game fully, otherwise choose carefully.

Graphics: Impressive 3D effects, great character models, more backgrounds needed            9.5

Audio: Minimal sound effects and music variety but not exactly needed either                        8.5

Gameplay: Great puzzle designs work well with 3D, platforming segments are unusual        9.0

Gameplay Amount: Tons of puzzles plus make your own and share via QR, no SpotPass    9.0

Controls: Circle pad controls Mallo well, rewind, jump, and pull buttons work well                9.5

Overall: Good concept and execution make for a recommendable puzzle game                     9.0

"Fluidity" Review

For Nintendo WiiWare Service

Pros:	Cons:
Charming art style and tons of content	Music is repetitive and plain
Realistic water effect is unique idea	Some control issues and lack of variety
Some amazing ideas and levels	Hidden areas are sometimes painfully hidden

            Fluidity is a water-based puzzle-platformer that has a lot of outstanding qualities mirrored by a lot of bad qualities. I mostly enjoyed my playthrough of Fluidity but was often maddened by the design choices that were displayed. Fluidity is a great game that I had a blast playing, but I only wish it’s poor aspects had been noticed during development.

            Fluidity’s visuals are storybook like and are pleasant to look at for the most part. Although I feel the visuals could have been enhanced to look something like a Paper Mario game, I felt that the game looked good enough with the exception of some low-resolution objects and lack of visual variety. The water physics work well and perform realistically which is a very important quality in a game where water is the star, but I could do without the stereotypical cloud design. There aren’t many enemies in the game and the few that are present feel pretty undetailed and boring, and I often found myself wondering what certain objects were as the art design in the game wasn’t exactly great.

            The sounds that enhance the water splashing compliment it greatly and for that matter most of the game’s sound effects sound good and help the game feel more real. The music on the other hand is pretty basic only going as far as to provide gentle music that one can tap their foot to. There really isn’t any themed songs and most of the songs aren’t even notable with the exception of the Chapter 3 theme which I thought was great. In a game like this music isn’t too important so this isn’t a huge ordeal, but better tunes should’ve been included.

            The main gameplay of Fluidity is incredibly unique and works relatively well. The water physics gives the opportunity for tons of upgrades as you can later freeze or evaporate the water to take on different forms. The level designs are well-done and utilize creative ideas however I wish the ideas weren’t re-used quite so often (ex. Carrying gears with water, transporting fish to their fish bowl, etc.). The game pulls you in and makes you want to accomplish your goal of collecting every last rainbow drop which can be quite a difficult task thanks to painfully hard to find hidden passages and rooms. I wish some of the rainbow drop locations and rainbow flowers were in more obvious locations as I was forced to find their locations online. Another issue I had was when collecting a rainbow drop it remains at the same spot for the duration of the game, but clear. This means you can still accidentally collect it and therefore it becomes an annoying obstacle for players because of its tendency to exit you out of the stage. There are some areas and segments of the game that are annoyingly difficult and tedious to play and made my liking of the game drop, but these are minute in comparison to the game’s high points. For the most part the game is unique and contains some addictive gameplay that I’ve had a great job enjoying.

            With four chapters total, you might think this game is light on content, but that’s not really true. Sure, I would’ve enjoyed a fifth chapter but with around 20 rainbow drops per chapter there’s enough to last you a good deal of time. Plus throw in collectible puzzle pieces that unlock minigames and you’ve got a complete package of long-lasting fun.

            Probably the worst aspect of the game is the controls, unsurprisingly. The basic way of tilting the controller to move the water works well enough as well as the other most basic controls with the exception of jumping which is done by shaking the remote and can become extremely tedious. The main problem that I had with the controls came later in the game when new abilities became unlocked, some of these issues included controlling the cloud form, sticking to walls as ice, and holding “1” to bring the water together, but this resulted in an unexpected explosion that sent my water hurdling in opposing directions. All of these control issues can become extremely frustrating especially later in the game and detract from my overall happiness of the game. In other words, the basic controls work well while the more advanced controls do not.

            Fluidity offers plenty of fun and addictive gameplay for a really good value which makes it a definite recommendation. The moderately charming visuals and adequate sound make for a presentation that is nothing special but the unique gameplay when it’s not annoying can be a blast to play around with. For a downloadable title Fluidity offers quite a lot of fun and even more so than a lot of $50 games ever do. I full-heartedly recommend you purchasing Fluidity if you can put aside its many flaws, and if you can I’m sure you’ll be pleased with one of the greatest downloadable games available.

Graphics: Charming art style, but with lack of visual variety, great water animation               8.5

Audio: Descent sound effects but relatively boring music, suitable for this type of game       8.0

Gameplay: Fun and intuitive gameplay with realistic water effects, some annoying areas    8.5

Gameplay Amount: For a downloadable game tons of content, minigames extend game   9.5

Controls: Basic controls work well but jumping and advanced controls do not                         7.0

Overall: A great game with fresh concepts and a unique idea, great art style, bad controls   8.5

"3D Classics: Xevious" Review

For Nintendo eShop

Pros:	Cons:
Fantastic use of 3D effects	Terrible audio and repeating music
Dual layered gameplay is fun	Obnoxious difficulty level is borderline crazy

     The second 3D Classics game doesn’t feature as great as gameplay as Excitebike did, but the 3D enhancement saves this game from being a total fail, and instead provides nice eye candy for 8-bit fans while providing ear aches for modern day crowds.

    The selling point for 3D Classics: Xevious is the brilliant 3D effects. The regular 2D graphics are pretty good for old NES games with the exception of the tiny near impossible to see bullets. The 3D however, creates a near holographic feel in which ships come out of the screen, and the area that you bomb remains inside the screen deep down. This amazing effect is honestly the only good thing about the game as everything else is fairly mediocre.

      The sound effects are not that great themselves, but the music in the game is absolutely awful. All it does is repeat the same atrocious theme over and over and I cannot stress how bad it really is. You’ve got to hear it to believe it.

     The gameplay itself is actually really fun and utilizes a revolutionary (at the time) dual-layered gameplay which fits the 3D well. Shooting ships is fun, and it is always satisfactory to bomb targets below. The only problem I had (which this is a massive problem) was the difficulty of the game: I never could pass the first level. I wish the difficulty wasn’t so high as it seems that bullets begin coming out of nowhere and hit me when I never expect it. Maybe this game gets better after the first stage, but thanks to the terrible difficulty levels I never had the chance to find out.

    The controls work as one might imagine: moving around the screen with the D-pad, shooting enemies, and bombing targets works well enough to be satisfactory, but there is always room for improvement. But the controls work well enough for an 8-bit shooter.

   I can see why Nintendo chose to give Xevious the 3D treatment: it looks beautiful in stereoscopic 3D, but the game itself really isn’t all that great. While I did give the game a 7.0, keep in mind that this is for the 3D version as the original would’ve likely received a 5.0-6.0 or so. So, if you’re not into playing the game in 3D, I definitely recommend avoiding this at all costs, and if you do like 3D then prepare to feast your eyes on a beautiful looking terrible game.

Graphics: 3D effect is unbelievably brilliant, 2D visuals are ok but bullets are hard to see     9.5

Audio: Terrible, awful repeating music and bad sound effects, yes, it really is that bad           2.0

Gameplay: Dual-layered gameplay is fun, but game is so difficult all the fun is sucked out    7.0

Controls: Moving around the screen, shooting enemies, and bombing works well enough   8.0

Overall: While the 3D is insanely awesome, the awful audio and difficult levels makes this only moderately playable  7.0

"Mario Kart 7" Review

For Nintendo 3DS

Pros:	Cons:
60 FPS even when online and 3D turned on	More tracks and characters would be nice
Tons of Replayability and a great online mode	Gyroscope controls don’t mesh well with 3D
New underwater and Hangliding are great	Customization welcomed, but poorly executed
Tracks are well designed, new 1st person mode

            A new entry in the Mario Kart series has almost always accompanied a Nintendo system with the exception of the NES and Game Boy, but it’s ironic that a Mario Kart has never been released at the system launch instead coming out at least 6 months later. Although the game didn’t have the impact that I had hoped for, I still found myself enjoying every last minute of Mario Kart 7 and I won’t hesitate in saying that its one of my favorite Mario Kart games to date.

            The graphics are for the most part pretty solid with well designed characters, karts, and tracks. The only real exception I found was in the Donkey Kong Country course if you pay attention the trees on the sides of the tracks are not 3D objects, but rather a 2D texture applied to a wall of the level, I notice things like this and they do detract from the score. My favorite aspect of the game’s visuals is that it stays at a consistent 60 frames per second the entire time even with 3D on or when playing online, this is quite a feat by Nintendo so kudos for managing to accomplish it. Finally, the 3D in the game while not nearly as stunning as Super Mario 3D Land, makes driving a bit easier and adds minimal depth to the experience. Some highlights of the 3D include the start of the race when Lakitu counts down the race starting, as well as the bullets in the DS airship stage. On the other hand nothing really sticks out as being awesome and the game doesn’t lose that much from having the 3D turned off. Overall it’s not an all that impressive showcase of 3D but it’s not all that bad either.

            As always with Mario Kart the sound effects are wacky, crazy, and unordinary, and they still are. The eight characters on the course constantly yell, scream, (and I think Wiggler may have cursed in worm language), and make other crazy noises and it sounds better than ever. The sounds of the items also sound good as well as the kart motors. The music that accompanies the tracks are all very well composed and some of them are the best themes in the Mario Kart series, but it’s no Legend of Zelda.

            The traditional gameplay of Mario Kart 7 is still identical to how it’s always been with only a few major exceptions: the hangliding sections of the courses are phenomenal, adding a possible short-cut, a cool visual effect, variety to the normal course, and a bit of strategy as to where to land, and how far you want to stretch your flight. Overall the hangliding segments are the single best improvement this game has, let’s hope they’ll be back again in future installments. While not as cool as flying, driving underwater also helped add some variety to the courses and was well appreciated by myself. The underwater segments aren’t much different than above ground besides a visual tweak and slightly less control over handling but I enjoyed them nonetheless. Another addition is the new first person mode which can be combined with the motion control mode, or the traditional circle pad mode. I never stayed in 1^st person for long as I found it hard to know what was going on around you and it was much more difficult to drive when using this viewpoint, but it was a nice option and it made the 3D stick out that much more. At first, I wasn’t a big advocate for the return of coins, but after a few hours with the game I began appreciating the coins for what they’re worth (see what I did there?). It adds variety, change of pace, and gives you the option to try to go for collecting them or avoid them altogether, I do wish you didn’t have a ten coin limit to each course though. The customization of karts is also a nice addition overall, albeit with a few issues I encountered. First of all, instead of allowing me to purchase new pieces they are randomly unlocked whenever you collect enough coins, and even when you do get your kart pieces there isn’t a very simple way to compare stats without memorizing them in your head. While a good idea on paper, I’m afraid the customization process didn’t quite live up to expectations. With all these improvements it seems Nintendo took some elements of the Mario Kart franchise out of the equation, and actually they did. Gone are bikes from Mario Kart Wii which honestly I never missed them (even though I use them 100% of the time in MKWii), the balloon battle mode has changed (which I never play battles very often so not a huge deal), say good bye to the mission mode from Mario Kart DS (this is a huge downfall as this mode should have stuck with the series ever since MKDS), and say bye-bye to fake item boxes and thunder clouds (the former of which is a shame). Replacing those missing items are the Fire Flower, which is a close combat attack that is both fun to use and gets instant results, the Tanooki Tail, which isn’t all that useful but gives 1^st place players another option besides bananas and green koopa shells, and the Lucky Seven. I’m not sure where to stand regarding the Lucky Seven, it gives you seven items at the same time and should be a good thing, but my issue was that I got so overwhelmed with the seven items that I ended up wasting half the items or driving myself off the track. When using the item correctly however, it was more than enough to return me to first place. Finally, my absolute favorite part of MK7 is the new tracks. Nearly every last track is extremely well designed and an absolute blast to race on, explore, and crash on hundreds of times. I love the 1-lap style of the Wuhu Island courses and Rainbow Road, and I also enjoyed the new Bowser’s Castle (which looked a lot like world 8 from Donkey Kong Country Returns, gee I wonder why?). One of my favorites would be Rock Rock Mountain with the exception of the terrible camera angle when ascending its mountainside with boulders rolling down. For the most part the tracks are well designed and this is definitely the best Mario Kart ever in terms of gameplay. One more note: I’ve been upset with the Kart designs now ever since Mario Kart Double Dash, I want karts that are designed off of the characters again, not some cheesy pipe car or soda jet.

            Obviously the amount of gameplay in Mario Kart is infinitely high thanks to immense Replayability. I was quite a bit let down by the small character roster which should have been quite a bit bigger and should’ve included Waluigi, Birdo, and Baby Bowser. Also, I think it’s about time the Mario Kart franchise starts having more tracks than just 16 new and 16 old. I want to start having 32 new tracks each installment and I hardly care how many old are included, I’m pretty sure new tracks are better than old. The online mode makes up for this though thanks to its addictive and competitive nature. The new community options are fun by I still just assume play worldwide. I’m sure Mario Kart 7 will end up being my most played game on the 3DS, so I can’t complain much, but once again I do wish there were more characters and tracks included.

            The controls in the game are overall good. The normal controls work relatively well with no noticeable problems. The circle pad feels good, the drifting has been changed from past installments and does take a little while to get accustomed to but makes snaking a bit more difficult although it can still be done. The gyroscope controls for 1^st person are not good. They don’t work well in the first place but not only that, but they don’t mesh well with 3D, it’s one or the other, and I’d much prefer the 3D over the motion controls. Plus, it is immensely difficult to drift while driving.

            So another Mario Kart game has come and gone which signals yet another new system in Nintendo’s ever-growing library. This Mario Kart racer takes the series to new heights thanks to the amazing new ways of driving, and other new additions to the formula. Some of them I can hope for a return while others I’m hoping to be left in the dust (no pun intended). Let’s hope that Mario Kart for Wii U will break the tradition and finally become a launch title.

Graphics: Smooth character models and tracks, good use of 3D, 60 FPS online and off          9.5

Audio: Some of the best music in the series, great sound effects, but it’s no Zelda                  9.0

Gameplay: New modes are all appreciated, fantastic track designs and new items                9.5

Gameplay Amount: Fantastic online mode, more tracks and characters needed                  9.5

Controls: Normal controls work relatively well, gyroscope controls don’t work well with 3D9.5

Overall: One of the finest Mario Karts yet, superb online, great new ways of driving             9.3