Review: Mario Kart 7

Mario and friends are back on the track for another entry in their ever popular go-karting series. If you’re a Mario Kart fan like myself and have been playing since the SNES, then you’ll immediately notice that Mario Kart 3DS has been labeled with the number 7. None of the other Mario Kart tiles have ever had a number behind it and normally were given a name relating to the platform, for example Mario Kart Wii.  Nintendo have stated the number 7 means it’s lucky, but has their luck ran out, or does it head straight to first place? Find out in this review.

The Mario Kart gameplay still follows the traditional styling of previous titles, keeping a lot of the same features seen before, but this time there are a number of newly added gameplay mechanics. This includes several new playable characters such as; Wiggler, Queen Bee, Lakitu and Metal Mario, and even the ability to play as your Mii. It’s a weird choice of added characters in my opinion, and it’s a shame that a lot of the other characters have disappeared. Character such as Bowser JR, Dry Bones, Toadette, Funky, Dry Bowers and Waluigi are nowhere to be found. It’s not a big issue for me, but if they had included these characters, alongside the new additions, the roster would’ve been even greater than ever before. With the new characters comes a big new customisation feature, allowing you to modify your kart before each cup/online race. You can choose from different vehicle bodies, tyres, hang-gliders and parachutes. When selecting between bodies and tyres, the choice you make will affect the kart stats, including handling on certain surfaces, acceleration and other aspects that can affect your race. With the new added hang-gliders and parachutes, it now possible for players to glide through the air after hitting certain ramps, collecting coins in flight or finding new routes that can only be reached while airnourne. You can now also dive underwater for the first time in the series, opening up alternative routes on a number of the race tracks.

Just like any other Mario Kart title, you’ll have to participate in multiple different cups to unlock more race tracks and characters. There are 32 courses to progress through, including many fan favourites from previous games.

During each race, you’ll come across items that can be used to your advantage. While the item boxes may appear to be random, they are infact influenced by what position you are in. If you’re in last place, you will often gain items that will help you boost or progress back up the field, these can include mushrooms or, more drasically, a blue shell, allowing you to hit the player in first place. The reverse occurs when you’re further up the field. For exmaple, if you’re in first place, you will often be given defensive items such as bananas, and you can use these to hold your place at the head of the pack. This hasn’t changed since the previous titles, and still remains as a good formula, but for me, the Blue Shell can become a little tiresome, especially on the last lap of a race which you may have been leading for some time.

While Mario Kart 7′s gameplay won’t be suprisingly to long time fans since it hasn’t changed dramatically, in my opinion it doesn’t really need to. The 3DS version does however implement some new features which utilise the system itself. For a start, the 3D effect does make the experience a little more interesting, and I noticed the best use of this while drifting round corners or gliding. If driving in 3rd person isn’t ideal, you can now opt for a first person view, a first for the series. This also gives you the opportunity to use the 3DS as a steering wheel, working surprisingly well with the gyroscope functionality, however when playing with the 3D turned on it does cause a lot of issues and makes it very hard to play due to the 3D being all over the place.  The controls overall are tight. The gameplay may looks simple, but it’s had some extra depth added to it. These new additions are quite varied, but a couple of noticeable ones include the ability to drag items behind you to use as shields, and also you can tap the right bumper mid air to gain extra speed when you land. Overall though, it does feel quite similar to the previous 2005 Mario Kart DS, but this time with upgraded visuals and 3D.

The multiplayer is back but it seems that Nintendo haven’t changed much of what was already there in previous titles. You still can’t speak online or even write messages to your friends in lobbies. This won’t be a big issue for some, but I personally like to communicate with friends or other players during the races as it makes it more of a social gaming experience instead of more of a competitive one. Again, it’s not a major issue just something I am quite picky about.

If you get bored of just racing online then you’ll be happy to know that Nintendo have brought the Battle Mode from the Wii version into Mario Kart 7. The areas are very similar, featuring big open maps, giving you the opportunity to take on your friends and take them down. The life/balloon system has changed however. Oringially players were only allowed 3 balloons before being knocked out of the race, but this is now different as everyone gets to play for the entire match. This has changed the mode quite drasitically, as it’s now more of a point scoring system than a survival game mode. It’s a good change though and works well, but I would of liked the option to choose between either gameplay variant. Coin Runners is another battle mode in the arena, reminding me of something similar in the previous Wii title.  The aim is to race around the battlefield collecting coins, but be careful, as they can also be lost if you are hit by other players, and the winner is determined by the number of coins collected.

 

Overall

Mario Kart 7 is a great addition to the series, as it’s one of the best Mario Kart titles out there even with its few flaws. I found the change of characters fresh, but a bigger roster would have been nice. The 3D effect works really well when using the standard controls, but as seen in other games, when using the gyroscope, it can break the 3D effect somewhat. What I liked most about the title was the number and overall variety of race tracks. The customisation is great and hopefully will return in future releases, though I am sure the multiplayer will keep players busy until then, especially given the replay value that this title offers to 3DS owners.