Arcade Games To Play

It's Mario Kart and its back! Powered by more features, new additions, excellent level design, the inclusion of motorcycles and mid air stunts, this Mario game is a masterpiece, much like the new Smash Brawl.

Starting with what the game has to offer, we have the Grand Prix mode on our hands. It pits you against 11 AI players in a four course event. The total number of courses comes out to be 32, including all the variations. This is a combination of new and fresh courses and some classic stages from the older games. The level design is awesome, but the inclusion of old courses brings in a few flaws into the game.

With the new maps, you can effectively use the mid air stunt system, which comes into play when you launch yourself in the air through ramps or pits and move around the remote to execute certain stunts like 360 spin, or a jump-off. These give you points as well as a speed boost upon landing. The levels have been designed keeping the new feature in mind and you would frequently find platforms, ramps and pits littered around the level for supporting these stunts. But this brings about the risk of crashing into various hazards, more like an increased probability. The classis courses are a burden on the game, with nothing decent to write home about. The design is bland and not much has been done to cater to the new stunt system.

The items which the game includes have been retained from the previous versions, in addition to some new ones. Thunder block, POW block and mega mushroom are a few to name. While they are fun to use, the repetitive spawning takes the fun out of the game, with the guy at first position getting hit by them frequently. To some extent, it takes the balance away from what could have been a well balanced game.

Apart from Grand Prix, we have Balloon Battle and Coin Runners battle modes which are limited to two team events. New levels have been designed for these, providing real fun and entertainment whenever you get bored of regular racing. You can also play these modes online, with a maximum of 12 players in a channel.

For the balance and variety in the game, each character can choose from a number of motorcycles and karts available. In total, there are 25 characters in the game, some of which need to be unlocked. 12 options in terms of karts or motorcycles are available to them, each having their own stat and rating of strength.

Graphics and music have nothing special, but they do not lack the quality expected of recent games. They deliver, yes, but are not top notch in comparison to other games. Overall, this is another Mario game which should be tried definitely, and a guaranteed hit owing to the customization, variety and balance is on our hands.