Mario Kart 7

With almost ten years of thrilling races behind them, even the most fine-tuned racing fireballs can show signs of fatigue. But rather than risking a break-down, Nintendo was smart enough to dismantle its Mario Kart core formula in order to correctly refreshen each and every one of its clogs before putting them back together. As an added bonus, the mechanic repainted it nicely and added some of the latest technologies. The end result roars at soon as the engine starts, and promises to run nicely for quite some time thanks to solid online features.

The best Mario Kart game yet with an online platform that'll keep you racing for years.

Mario Kart 7 offers up some StreetPass functionality this time around. You can view stranger's profiles, stats, VR rating, and even acquire ghost data for you to beat.

Nintendo hasn't recreated the wheel with Mario Kart 7, but the time spent in the garage has paid huge dividends. With a console-worthy list of modes and options, brand new gameplay paradigms, the best track roster in series history, and new customization depth to plumb, it certainly makes a case to be the best Mario Kart yet. It doesn't turn kart racing on its end, but it finds a near-perfect medium of similarity and discovery as it walks the fine line of risk and reward without spinning out.

While the game is starting to show its age and display a slight lack of imagination, it's safe to say that there aren't too many Nintendo 3DS games that can match the enjoyment derived from Mario Kart 7.

Quotation forthcoming.

As derivative as a game can get, and while we pour scorn on so many other games for rehashing themselves, something tells me this will get a free pass from many critics and gamers. That strikes me as ironic since Mario Kart 7 is the one game I'd hold up as the least deserving of any kind of leniency. It being an unadventurous and predictable retread, however, is only half of Mario Kart 7's problem. The other half is the fact that it's a lethargic and mundane game, easily outpaced by games that could be considered knock-offs of the formula Nintendo itself perfected.

Please just go play this for your selves. This game is so fun you just have to try it

Mario Kart 7 out of 10 is nowhere near as good as its predecessors. I shouldn't be surprised as most early 3DS titles weren't exactly top tier stuff. The content isn't as interesting as on DS (additional modes are non-existent it seems), and I'd just continue playing MKWii if it was 2011. This was also when the character selection went a bit crazy.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Meh... Single player is too random for me to enjoy. Feels like you constantly need to focus on item management and when to switch positions with someone else. If you immerse yourself to the actual race (like I want to do when playing a racing game) you'll end up losing at the finishing line because of some shell hitting you. And winning because of a finding a good item at the last moment doesn't feel fulfilling either. Multiplayer with strangers is harder but feels more balanced and less random than when playing single player though. Unless you have someone hacking but even then they usually just stay at first place and you can quite often ignore them.

Mario Kart 7 was one of Nintendo's big chance to be recognized, and they failed. Horribly. Mario Kart 7 has good game-play, and customization is fine, its that the character roster is very small, only compromises of 12 characters. Online mode is hacked at times, leaving a player vulnerable to being hacked, or meeting hacker on a race, and leaving servers down for maintenance Speaking of "leaving", Nintendo left some things out. What happened to quick race?! Or what about the beloved missions from Mario Kart DS?!? They decided not to add those. That isn't all, the whole game is one big glitch. Maka Wuhu has a glitch that can skip three quarters of the whole track. What promises to be a revolutionary game would've been one if they fixed everything and added what the players wanted. I would give this game a skip.