Game Review: Mario Kart 7

I've been a fan of the Mario Kart franchise since the original Super Mario Kart was released on the Super Nintendo back in 1992. Until now, there's never been a numbered Mario Kart, and there's always been a plethora of imitators to try and steal its' thunder. None of those games garnered the success that Mario Kart has, even the few that have been considered better games. Mario Kart Wii, the last game in the series, was a tipping point for me. I found it to be frustrating and more often than not broken since it didn't balance the game for the additional 4 drivers per race the game championed as a feature. So is Mario Kart 7 a better game than Mario Kart Wii? Or for that matter, is it the best Mario Kart game?

Overall, I'd say Mario Kart 7 is a decent, but shallow package. It's something I'd call unoffensive at best, uninspired at worst. Once again, the game features 32 tracks, 16 old and new. There are 8 Grand Prix's with 4 races each across 4 difficulty levels, which again are staples to the franchise. You also have your staple tropes like Red Shells, Green Shells, and of course the bane of any Mario Kart player's existence, the Blue Shell. Mario Kart 7 removes the additional 4 players Mario Kart Wii provided, and while the game is indeed more balanced, fun and playable because of it, it feels like a cheap trick into making me think it's more fun than it really is. The item balance is still the same as it was in Mario Kart Wii, but it's just with less competition.

The game offers two new mechanics this time around to lighten up the mood: Underwater Driving and Gliding. Both of these are interesting mechanics, but I don't feel like they're used to their full potential. Gliding is mainly used for going across gaps and isn't really used for shortcuts like you think it should while underwater driving feels like a means for padding track length. When you look at the full map for some of these tracks, you'll see that they're really pretty short in comparison to something like Maka Wuhu, which is a checkpoint-based track consisting of one lap. This is a type of race that is new to the series that I enjoy thoroughly that I expect more of in the future.

The online of Mario Kart 7 is something of a mixed bag. A bit of it feels revolutionary while some of it feels like a step back. For starters, you can create Communities to play with your friends, but at the same time you have to set up specific item, speed and game type rules. There's no freedom there except to set up a new community with a new set of rules. It feels like a good first step, but poorly thought out for the rest of it. In addition to this, while racing in Mario Kart 7 is excellent, Battle Mode is just terrible, leaving me to wonder if they intended for anyone to actually play it more than once.

Mario Kart 7 is a step up from Mario Kart Wii. However, a step up from the worst game in the series isn't much of a compliment in my personal opinion. It's a fun ride, but once you're done, you'll feel pretty sour on the experience.

Score: 7.5 out of 10

Positives

New Mechanics

Communities

Racing Online

Negatives

Feels rushed

Implementation of Communities

Battle Mode