E3 2011: Mario Kart Hands-On (3DS)
I’m a bit hard pressed to think of what to say about Mario Kart on the 3DS. I mean… it’s Mario Kart. Based on what I played, Nintendo hasn’t strayed too far from the DS and Wii versions with this, which is probably for the better. That’s not to say there isn’t anything new, just that what is new may not matter that much in the grand scheme of things.
Three courses were available in the demo. The first was a course that starts out on a cliff side, goes through a mountain cave, and then exits into a forest before looping. The second was a lake stage that also had a cave passage. The last course was themed after Donkey Kong Country Returns featuring, scenery, obstacles and enemies from the game, and… a cave passage. Okay technically it was a temple, but still what’s with all the caves?
One of the game’s new features is a hang glider mode and submarine mode. These automatically deploy whenever you launch into the air or go into the water respectively. Gliding in the air was a little like using the hang glider in Pilotwings Resort. You also have to be careful of your landing or else you’ll crash out. As for the submarine mode, there didn’t seem to be a whole lot different here in terms of operation. It was just a little slower.
The game also features a kart customization system. I’m not sure what was unique about the body type I picked, but I made sure to grab the ridiculously enormous wheels just because I could. You can also customize the submarine and hang glider attributes of the kart, although I am unsure if this has any effect or is merely cosmetic; only one of each was available. To be honest, it would have been nice to be able to change out equipment between courses to see how different items affected performance.
A couple other things I noticed. The game has coins on the courses again, which I don’t believe has been an element since the original Mario Kart. I am not sure what use they have; it’s possible that they slightly speed you up like before. However, I didn’t lose any coins when crashing out. It may just be that their function wasn’t completely established yet. Also, I don’t recall seeing the infamous blue shell item at all in the item roulette. I may simply have missed it, but a couple friends I spoke with were fairly certain they didn’t notice it either. Don’t take my word for it, but I would be pretty happy if they pulled the blue shell.
And that’s really it. Again, I think it’s safe to say that if you’re into Mario Kart and craving another helping, then the upcoming 3DS version is a safe bet for you. So far as I can tell, the new features are merely trim on the otherwise unchanged but solid mechanics the games are known for. You can expect to pick up Mario Kart, which will hopefully have a variated named, this holiday season. Geez Nintendo, you really are loading up the holidays this year.
Tags: 3DS, E3 2011, hands-on impressions, Mario Kart, Nintendo, preview, racing, Retro Studios
This entry was posted on Thursday, June 16th, 2011 at 9:00 am and is filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
June 16th, 2011 at 10:53 am
LBD "Nytetrayn" says:Oh, the blue shell is there. I’m sure I saw it in the roulette, though I never got it, nor was I ever hit by one.
I don’t think you can pick the propeller, though; I didn’t see it in the options, just the hang glider. I think it’s standard for all karts.
If I had to guess, the chassis might affect weight? Hard to say at this point.
The glider and sub stuff are neat, but I think they could have been put to better use than just varying up the track; imagine falling off the track into the water, but instead of Lakitu fishing you out, you fall down into another part of the track and keep going until you drive out?
Sadly, there didn’t seem to be much evidence of such thought in the demo.
June 16th, 2011 at 3:00 pm
Jonah "spambot" Gregory says:I’m hoping it goes back to the fun of the DS one and not the horrible frustration and randomized winning of the Wii version.
June 16th, 2011 at 3:09 pm
Jesse "Main Finger" Gregory says:Gotta admit, though, the bikes in the Wii version were pretty sweet. Also it had a huge roster of characters.
July 17th, 2011 at 1:47 am
David "Trigger" Helton says:To this day, MarioKart Wii is the only MarioKart title in which I have ever lost interest halfway through. Every other title I’ve beaten 100%, but I refuse to complete MK Wii for the reasons given above by Jonah.