The Great Gaymathon Review #51: Mario Kart 7 (3DS)

Game: Mario Kart 7

Genre: Racing

Developer: Nintendo, Retro Studios

Publisher: Nintendo

System: 3DS

Release date: 2011

Is the seventh Mario Kart game the best one yet? Hoo, boy, that's quite a question. My knee-jerk reaction is to say no, it isn't, but the only predecessor that can compete with and possibly surpass it--in my opinion, obviously--is Mario Kart Wii. (Note: I've played and enjoyed every Mario Kart game in existence except Double Dash!!) As such, I'm thinking I should compare and contrast the innovations each of these titles brings to the series in order to come to a conclusion as to which one earns top billing on this blog. Starting with Mario Kart Wii: It has more items (19 vs. 18, three of which are new), more racers (24 vs. 16) and more vehicles with which to race--including motorbikes, which I thought were kind of cool. It also allows for "waggle" control, which is especially fun if you use the steering-wheel accessory, and online races of up to 12 players. Mario Kart 7, on the other hand, adds coins (last seen in Mario Kart: Super Circuit) back into the mix, allows players to customize their karts in a multitude of ways, introduces gliders that aid airborne vehicles, includes SpotPass and StreetPass functionality and offers up an alternate control scheme that enables players to steer by tilting their 3DS systems. Both games feature the same number of tracks (32, 16 of which are new and 16 of which are pulled from previous entries) and similar-enough gameplay, graphics, music and modes. Given all of that, I'm ... not any closer to being able to choose a "winner" than I was at the beginning of this write-up. If possible, I'd suggest getting them both, as I consider both of them to be top-of-the-heap Mario Kart games. (Don't worry, that's a good thing.) If you can only choose one, though, I'd probably go for the Wii iteration, as I find it a bit easier to control and I prefer its course and kart selection.

See also: Previous 'Great Gaymathon' posts

I just canceled my Super Mario All-Stars: Limited Edition pre-order because of this

When the folks at Amazon.com added Super Mario All-Stars: Limited Edition to their site a few days ago, I immediately pre-ordered it--despite the fact that I'm not a fan of Nintendo's 16-bit remakes of its NES Super Mario Bros. titles.

I canceled that pre-order this morning, in part because of this trailer (for Donkey Kong Country Returns, which will be released in North America on Nov. 21):



The highlight of this particular trailer, in my opinion, is the misty/smoky level shown at the 56-second mark. Oh, and the fire/lava level shown at the 1:05 mark.

See also: 'I've gotta say, this looks great'

I've gotta say, this looks great

When Nintendo of America announced the release of Donkey Kong Country Returns a few months ago, I think I reacted with a shrug and an "eh." (Or maybe it was a "meh.")

Anyway, I wasn't all that interested or impressed, despite the fact that I very much enjoyed the three Donkey Kong Country titles that were released for the SNES way back when.

That said, my cynical attitude toward the game faded somewhat after watching the following trailer:



Actually, it may be more accurate to say my attitude went from "eh" to "hmmm" after watching the trailer above. (I'm an exceptionally emotional person, aren't I?)

It wasn't until I watched the following preview, courtesy of IGN, that the game had my full attention.



Pre-order: Donkey Kong Country Returns

Calling all Donkey Kong Country fans

Although I was a big fan of the 16-bit Donkey Kong Country titles, the soon-to-be-released Wii sequel--called, imaginatively enough, Donkey Kong Country Returns--has yet to intrigue me. (Aside from the following screenshot, I mean.)



That said, I imagine many Wii owners--North American and otherwise--are salivating over this Retro Studios-developed platformer, which will hit store shelves in the States on Nov. 21. (It has yet to receive a release date in other territories.)

Those gamers should get quite a kick out of this recently released teaser trailer, which shines the spotlight on one of the series' returning "animal buddies," Rambi.

Pre-order: Donkey Kong Country Returns