Mario Kart 7 Nintendo 3DS

Customer Reviews

As you approach the finish line the sense of satisfaction swells up inside you, then a blue shell approaches and blow it all up. Yes this is still the mario kart we love and hate but with a new obscure title- which is much better than calling it the 'super original' mario kart 3D- also means several new additions to the enduring franchise.

PilotKarts 7
As many are probably aware of you can now soar through the air and go underwater with your amazing 3-in-1 go-kart. It also means your'll be able to litter banana skins underwater and in the air which I know would excite fly-tippers. On a serious note, these section provide a fresh experience to the usual rubbing of tires on tarmac and rainbows. For example underwater sections feels 'floatier'. However the real highlight is the gliding sections which allow you to admire awe-inspiring scenery from high up. Gliding has a surprising amount of control in most cases as skilled manoeuvres will allow you to discover short cuts and pick up speed, whereas rubbish gliding skills means you'll be dropping into the abyss and become Lakitu's fishing target.

Pimp your kart
Another brand new addition to the series is the ability to customize your kart by mixing different parts. These are unlocked randomly as you accumulate enough coins during races on or offline in Grand Prix mode. So if you ever wanted to apply mushroom wheels to a boat-like kart, you can. Though I would not advice random mixing (even if winning a race using a cloud donning a pink umbrella with mushroom wheels does sound epic) since different parts affect things such as weight, speed, handling etc. For instance sponge wheels are light but gets a bit wobbly underwater and a big glider makes you glide longer but reduces your speed. This new addition added an extra purpose to single player as you'll want to keep playing to unlock more parts that you can experiment with.

The cake lovers community
Ever since online play was introduced in Mario Kart DS it has become a stable to the series. Thankfully the speed of which the game finds opponents to battle has greatly increased from that of MKDS. Before, hearing the loading jingle loop over a thousand time for 5 minutes straight was common; in MK7 everything is done in a flash and joining a match is only a click away. A new option is the community option where you can join different communities: be it a community of schoolmates that has a cheesy group name or em... carrot cake lovers. Soon there might even be a Find-Games community- or is there one already?

Regulars
Like every new Mario Kart there are new stages and the selection available here are as creative and a feast for the eye as ever. Whether your driving through a lane of cherry blossoms, a giant piano or on the moon, it all starts to feel like a crazy holiday where you can fly, race, go underwater and throw turtle shells at each other. Oh and is all in mouth watering 3D. In addition the new items (fire 'fireball thrower' flower, Tanooki 'spinning' tail and Lucky 'chaotic slot machine' seven) further adds to the annoy yet fun aspect of mario kart.

Conclusion
Mario Kart has garnered a lot mimics through out the years but this game shows why none of those copies can't beat the original source. New ways to play, better online, 8 player racing, customisable karts, streetpass ghost data, tons of unlockables and a tricky but interesting first-person-motion-controlled-racing are some of the reasons why this is the most wholesome and entertaining mario kart yet. A great end to a somewhat rocky year for the 3DS.