Mario Kart 7

[TCP]

Reviews are coming in... ranging from an IGN 9 to a Destructoid 5. I don't really see the point in reviewing this game, it's Mario Kart, you either like it or you don't but it doesn't need a big "shake up" like Jim Sterling claims.

So I ask you: what characters would you have liked to have seen in the new Mario Kart?

Personally, since we're still celebrating 25 years of Zelda, and 3D Land had a Zelda level and the boomarangs are, apparently, in tribute to Zelda, I don't see why we can't have some Toon Link in Mario Kart, and maybe have a Lost Woods course?

[excel_excel]

I think putting in Rob in DS kind of opened it up to non-Mario universe characters, I'd like to see other Nintendo franchise tracks like F-Zero and Zelda.

 

That said really, really looking forward to this, especially the improved online, hoping to be playing against all of ye AND trading ghosts between each other!

[UnstableArk]

Hey guys, Frosted has kindly created a Mario Kart Community. Feel free to join anytime. Community code: 19-4519-1006-5391

[FMW]

I want Waluigi back! I would settle for that, I don't even need new or crossover characters

 

Poor Waluigi, if he doesn't have a place in Mario Universe cross over games (sports, kart, party, etc) then he doesn't have any home at all.

[SixTwoSixFour]

Hey, can we make connections for Mario Kart DS in here too? Cause I actually own and like that one. No offense to 7, I haven't played it yet. It can't possibly trump Double Dash anyway.

[TheFlyingGerbil]

Hideki Konno on blue shells in Mario Kart:

 

"I believe that Mario Kart is enjoyed by a wide range of players, including both new and veteran gamers. Ideally, we would like to allow players of different experience levels to play Mario Kart together. We don't want to create a game in which more experienced players will always win; we want to create a game in which when less experienced players are lucky, they can win too sometimes. That's why we use items to add an element of chance to the game. I think it's fun to play Mario Kart as if you were checking your horoscope. Even if your luck isn't good today, it might turn around tomorrow if you keep trying."

 

So what do you think of that? I guess if you're pants it's no fun being last in every race, and you are soon going to lose interest, but is it unfair for a racing game not to be based on skill?

[FMW]

Yes, absolutely. Blue shells are unfair. 100%.

 

But that isn't a bad thing.

 

There is a place in the world for video games that require very little investment and/or skill. Mario Kart is one such game. It really isn't that hard to get a handle on all the mechanics, and skill is not the ultimate determinant of victory. Mario Kart is very popular with people who are not video game enthusiasts. If Blue Shells and AI rubber banding and unfair item distribution were removed from Mario Kart it would be better only for certain audiences. For many Mario Kart players it would be less fun and less accessible.

 

Mario Kart isn't unbalanced by accident. The games are actually very carefully balanced... or rather, the balances are very carefully measured and put out of alignment just so.