Shane
Mario and friends grip the wheel and tear up the track for round seven.
As regular as the seasons Mario Kart has always graced whichever Nintendo console, be-it handheld or home based, with a new derivation of their classic franchise. Unbelievably, it has now upto the seventh installment.
Asides from the obvious and glorious 3D playability, alot of new content and gaming initiatives have been added, including online play.
Upto 16 Mario World characters are on offer or you can choose your own unique Mii avatar (if you have setup) and all Karts are customizable, from selecting the body through to wheels and even a glider canopy.
The selections that you make will affect the way the Kart handles and feels on the tracks.
No area is off limits, while the tracks are linear, you’ll find yourself soaring through the air and ripping up the sand underwater, all the while collecting on track pick-ups to either boost you or enable you to equip weapons to take out your competition.
The 3DS console also allows for the gyroscope controlling of MK 7, but honestly, I still preferred the joystick.
Community is a social hub where like indeed, Mario Kart equipped folk can speak freely and gloat their achievements and also compete.
And Mario fans have taken to the
online aspect like a fat kid with a crème cake.
Racing online is really where it’s at though.
Either Battle or Race is on offer, and once this is selected, you choose your character, vehicle and its subsequent options and track.
Then you wait in queue for the race to start. The system scans the online community to see who is available to race against and I noticed that the track selection that YOU make, you may not necessarily get as it seems to be a majority rules selection.
So don’t practice just one track, hoping to be an online Champion.
Upto eight either local or online players can compete at one go.
Currently there is a AUS/NZ Community growing, if you prefer some local competition – including Nintendo themselves.
New Zealand’s poor excuse for Broadband does hinder, at times, the online racing. With a fairly powerful wireless connection at home I encountered a few Communication Lost Errors in the middle of a race. This was disappointing but in no way reflects on the actual game itself or the playability.
Single Player sees the usual line up of a quick racing mode, a Championship and so on.
Naturally as you progress through the Championship, you are rewarded for you efforts by way of extra characters and vehicle types etc.
Simplistic in play but with maximum enjoyment. Mario Kart has always been superior for a quick play game or an all out racing bonanza.
[jwplayer config=”STG Player” mediaid=”196″]
Genre: Racing
Platform: Nintendo 3DS
Publisher: Nintendo
No. of Players: 1 – 4
