Mario Kart 7 Review

Introduction

Mario Kart 7 is Nintendo’s latest entry in their trademark racing franchise. The game is a 3ds exclusive, and utilizes the 3d capabilities. There is a full lineup of new tracks for players to explore, as well as sixteen tracks from previous games. Before I get into the finer details, I am going to go ahead and say that Mario Kart 7 is really good. If you own a 3ds, this is one of titles you must check out.

Gameplay

If there is one word to describe the gameplay of Mario Kart 7 it is polished. Then again, that is something you should come to expect from the seventh entry in a franchise. All of the mystery cubes and powers ups return, as well as the 50cc, 100cc, and 150cc game modes. Each game mode features the same eight cups but at different difficulties. All in all it is a very smooth and traditional Mario Kart experience. However, there is one complaint I do have with the gameplay. Once you get the lead, the game becomes very formulaic. All you need to do is keep some shells or bananas to protect you and you are as good as gold.

The battle modes are back, and it is now possible to play them without multiplayer. The controls and rules are the same as before, and there a few additional maps along with some maps from previous games.

Nintendo has chosen to include a customization feature. You have the ability to choose your body, wheels, and method of air travel. The goal is to balance speed, acceleration, and handling. While all of this works very well, it lacks the depth of racing legends such as Forza and Gran Turismo. There are usually only a handful of logical builds per character, so personalization is a little lacking.

Kart Customization

The difficulty curve in this game is borderline humorous. You will blast through the 50cc and 100cc campaigns with little effort. The 150cc campaign will prove a bit of a challenge, but only a few of the cups require multiple tries to beat. However, there is usually always one cup that will drive you to no end of insane trying to beat it. The game also rates how you will win a cup, with ratings ranging from one to three stars.

The controls of the game can be a bit troubling. I often found that my hands felt a bit sore after you a few races. This tends to limit the amount of time you can play the game. This probably has more to do with the 3DS than the actual game, but it still detracts from the overall experience.

Presentation

The presentation in this game is very clean. Everything fits very nicely together. The kart and character designs are some of the best the franchise has seen thus far. The courses are are very pretty and continue the traditional art style of the series.

The graphics rival that of the console installments. One could argue that this is the best looking Mario Kart yet. However, it seems that Mario Kart has reached the peak of what it can do visually.

Mario Kart 7’s graphics

The 3D features are very hit or miss. The 3D can be a nice plus for a small amount of time, but after a while you will probably find yourself with a headache. I wouldn’t really recommend using them, since the game functions fine without them.

Creativity

Creativity is really the short coming of this game. There are a few new characters, but none of them are really worth using. Most of the additions are less popular members of the Mario franchise. You can play as your Mii, but that really isn’t an improvement. Then again, Mario games have a tendency to add characters we don’t really care to use. Honestly, you will probably stick to the staple characters like Luigi and Bowser.

Mario Kart 7’s Characters

The kart customization is also lacking in the creative department. There are several types of bodies and wheels, but they are all either taken from karts we saw in previous games or are simply lackluster as a whole. While the kart customization is nice, you will still feel like you are driving the same karts you drove in the previous games.

The track design also borrows from previous generations. While there are sixteen new tracks, only a handful of them felt new. A large chunk of the new tracks were improved versions of tracks seen in previous games. Differentiation between tracks was also an issue. It became very hard to remember which track was which when many of them had similar sections and design. The tracks are still very nice, they just aren’t unique.

One of Mario Kart 7’s many tracks

Lifespan

This really depends on you. The campaign sections will probably take about five to six hours. Afterwards, you can try the battle sections or multiplayer. The multiplayer is where you will find the most enjoyment, but it is unlikely you will get more than twenty hours out of this game. After a while, the tracks get old and the weak variety in the karts will cause your interests to dwindle.