Robdeprop (2011-12-13 23:43:34)

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You may be wondering: There already is a Mario Kart 7 review, right?

True. But I would really like to review this game myself anyways, and go a little deeper in detail.

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3D. 120 fps offline / 60 fps online. Kart costumization. -like Graphics. Gyro sensor for steering.

Any game fan that read those words above must have gotten a watery mouth now. Especially when I say it's the new Mario Kart game.



Even though there are so many good developers, Nintendo still produces the best appealing games themselves, like the whole Zelda and the Mario franchise. However, Nintendo got help from a second party studio during the making of Mario Kart 7. And (read: Brain of Nintendo) was even against some of the features that are in the final game. Do we have to get worried?

The answer is no. Mario Kart dominated on each platform, and the 3DS is no exception. Although they changed the Mario Kart formula a little bit, by adding features such as Flying, Diving and Costumizing karts, Nintendo managed to recreate the true joy of the Mario Kart series.

Let's start off with the gameplay. This was always a very strong aspect in every Mario Kart game, and so is it in Mario Kart 7. The gameplay is just amazing. Not only drifting, using turbo's and using shells feel right (and familiar!), I also give a warm welcome to the new ways of travelling distance in Mario Kart 7; Flying/ floating and diving. It really adds new fun to the game. Flying over another player or diving in the water to get an item box are new experiences that really add a new dimension to the game. You now also have the option to play in first-person (Like you actually sit in the kart), and use the gyro sensor (tilting your 3DS) to steer, like on the wii. This option is pretty hard though, and not that recommended in 3D-mode, but a nice addition for advanced players.




On to the graphics. If you've played Mario Kart Wii before, you will probably notice the graphics look alike. And that is a good thing. I haven't seen much better on the 3DS yet. The only 3DS games that may compete with Mario Kart 7 on graphical level are Pilotwings Resort and Dead or Alive: Dimensions. And that combined with 120 fps! (offline) Nintendo sure showed the 3DS' power here. Sony fanboys won't be liking this.



Moving on to the next great thing about Mario Kart 7: Online playing.
This is where you see how much the Nintendo network has improved since a few years ago. The first great thing about it is that it is very fast, having a juicy speed of 60 fps (!), and connection errors are now very less likely to occur.
The second great part are the communities. Yes, you heard that right. The Mario Kart 7 steak is served with community sauce, just when we were so hungry! Players are enabled to create up to eight communities, and of course join each others communities, which makes it much easier to find races against people you know. Add the new join game directly from friendlist feature to this and this is just perfect for friend groups, gaming clans, and of course for . (Yes, 3DSPlaza has a clan too, it currently is in my signature). If you are the creator of a community, you are able to set the settings for the community, such as it's name, how many CC, and which items are allowed. But watch out, since you won't be able to change this once you set it!

The 3D effect the third great thing about this game. The 3D effect is almost as good as in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, and you know what that means. Especially when you are flying through the sky and viewing the landscape in full 3D mode... It makes you high. Flying + 3D turn out to be a great combo. This game just needs to be played in 3D.

Mario Kart 7 now also makes use of streetpass and spotpass. Although I haven't experienced it myself yet, Nintendo says that the Mii's of people you met via streetpass (and own Mario Kart 7) may sometimes pop up in your single player races, and they actually have their driving style. (You also may spot your own Mii's in the public simetimes, this happened to me once).
Via spotpass you receive ghost data from other players and recommendations for new communities. I like the ghost data feature, since you receive seven or more ghosts per race at the same time, and you are able to race against all seven at the same time.

Next to regular racing we also have battles again: Coin battles and balloon battles. There is not really much to say about them. They are fun, and also playable online, but in my opinion they don't form the core experience of Mario Kart 7, but are more like a bonus.

Speaking of coins; Nintendo revived them. You have to collect shattered coins in races to unlock new Kart wheels, body parts and gliders. A nice addition, but like said: "It can be fun to win money for racing and use it to buy parts and such, but I didn’t think that had much to do with the core fun of the series."





The only "bad" sides of this game I have experienced so far is that they haven't put much work in the finishing touches. Some things that I'd like to see different:
- When you start the game, you immediately land on the game type select screen. What ever happened to the good old "Press the start button" screens?
- They left out the missions! I think that's a shame, since these were quite challenging and enjoyable
- The quick race option is also left out... You either have to do a full cup, or you have to do a time trial. This is kind of weird, since the 3DS is a portable system, we should be able to do a quick race, right?
- Those few times you do get a connection error, you will have to wait for decades for a "Please wait a moment..." to go away and to go back to the title screen, which can be a pain
- At some moments, you can not go back to your 3DS Home menu (during online play), this probably won't bother too much, but they still could have paid some more attention to that



Conclusion
This is defenitely a must have for every 3DS owner. Just like Mario Kart DS was a must have for the Nintendo DS, and Mario Kart Wii was for the Wii. Even though things are done a little different this time, this game stands out with it's triforce of epicness:

[IMG]http://i43.tinypic.com/35lbxoh.png[/IMG]
Gameplay, online, and graphics/ 3D effect

Mario Kart 7 is an excellent game, and with it's great formula it is well worth a 9.0, that could be a 9.5 if Nintendo had spent some more effort in the finishing touches

A gameplay video, for PC users:

This post has been edited one or more times, the last time was:
2011-12-14 20:33:25

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pikarceus (2011-12-14 03:11:12)

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Awsome review. Gah...I wish my parents weren't over protective, then I could use a PC to make my reviews.

This post has been edited one or more times, the last time was:
2011-12-14 03:11:46

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pikarceus (2011-12-14 22:33:23)

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Robdeprop just put all us newsposters to shame.
Curse the 3DS's crappy browser!

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Dragnet (2011-12-14 23:10:30)

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Wow! Rob pulls a review out of his...er, head...and it instantly stuns the flabbergasted newsposters! Great review, Rob!

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pikarceus (2011-12-15 01:11:24)

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lol, thanks for the encouragement pooface.

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Dragnet (2011-12-15 22:28:10)

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Yes, Zoomer. FLABBERGASTED.

Is that word too OLD SCHOOL for you?

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shadowfan224 (2012-01-04 05:14:23)

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should be a 10

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Robdeprop (2012-01-04 11:30:26)

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No game deserves a ten... A ten means that the game is perfect (couldn't be better), well, NOTHING is perfect... 9.0 is a very high rating.

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BioMan8 (2012-01-09 01:26:27)

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I think the characters are less popular than the wii version so I give it a 8.7

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Ron1212 (2012-02-18 17:18:50)

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Lol, you make the neatest reviews.

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diazbro9 (2012-08-03 14:58:55)

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Resident Evil Revelations FTW!

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SuperShadic76 (2013-08-14 02:39:58)

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Nice Awsome lolz suprisee the news letters!

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