Thursday, November 17, 2011

Game Review (Mario Kart!)

Yeah... just doing this because I can and I want to. I'm going to list all of the current Mario Karts in order of how much I liked them - least favorite to most favorite - and give each one a score, this time with percentages, so there aren't three way ties with scores. With Mario Kart 7 coming out in a couple weeks, why not? (Keep in mind I won't be reviewing the two arcade versions of the game.)

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6.) Mario Kart Wii: 79% That's correct. I'm giving the most recent version of Mario Kart a C+ rating. The reason for this is that it seems like in Mario Kart Wii, more-so than any version previous, really helps out n00bs. Essentially, this Mario Kart seems to take the least skill. It's still fun, and there is a pretty great collection of new and old tracks here, but this is the most frustrating Mario Kart of them all, as well as the oddest... the inclusion of mini-bikes sort of confused me, seeing as how the game is called Mario KART. Fortunately, they're out, and hopefully for good, in Mario Kart 7. Since it's been said that Mario Kart 7 is more like Wii than any other game in the series, I'm hesitant to get too excited for it. Time will tell.

5.) Super Mario Kart: 83% I really remember playing this game for the first time when I was about four or five years old at my cousin's house. He didn't seem to want me to play, so I mostly just remember watching, but the bit that I did play, and from what I watched, the game pretty much blew my mind back then. The really cool thing about this game is that, since it was the first Mario Kart, the game was mostly RACING. It seemed like there was less emphasis on the items, and that's what sort of sets this game apart from the others in the series. It's a bit aged now and feels a bit bland, but it remains a classic.

4.) Mario Kart Super Circuit: 84% I had no idea this game even existed until I randomly went in a Target when I was 12 and got it. Super Circuit got ridiculously high reviews on almost every website on the internet, and that surprised me. It's a pretty fun game, and a tiny step above Super Mario Kart to me, but Mario Kart just can't shine like it's supposed to with 2D landscapes, no matter how fun the game may be - it just feels dated, and at times it's nearly impossible to tell where you're going. Still, as with the original Mario Kart, there's no denying this game is fun, even if it's almost entirely in 2D.

3.) Mario Kart: Double Dash!!: 88% Although I owned a GameCube, and have always loved Mario Kart, for whatever reason, I never owned this game. I'm not sure why... I guess I was just a stupid child. Well. StupidER child. Anyway, I feel like Double Dash!! doesn't get the attention it deserves. At the time this game out- and actually even now, realizing it's a GameCube - I thought this was one of the best looking games released. The cartoony, smooth look, and how well the framerate held up was just one of many reasons I enjoyed this game. The whole two players per kart idea was and still is a pretty cool idea. In fact, I wish we had this option in Mario Karts even today - one of the best Karts ever.

2.) Mario Kart DS: 91% The first-time blend of new tracks with new I thought was a brilliant idea. Couple that with online play for the first time in Mario Kart's history, and Mario Kart DS was probably my favorite DS game, period. The game looked good, the frame rate held up, the online racing was surprisingly fun and minimally laggy, and as I brought up a bit ago, the 16-new, 16-old track idea was awesome. An insta-classic right here.

1.) Mario Kart 64: 93% And here I am, the only person in the world, that would ever say Mario Kart 64 was his/her favorite Mario Kart. Compared to Mario Kart DS in terms of gameplay, I should probably give that game the edge, but this game has a certain feel to it, and the nostalgia factor, that makes me give it top honors. It's pretty simple - 16 tracks, and 8 characters, all off the bat - nothing to unlock. No stats to track... but this game didn't need it. I couldn't tell you just how many hours I put into this game as a kid, but I'm sure as hell it was an embarrassingly high amount.

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