Mario Kart 7

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Retro Studios

Mario Kart 7 introduced a new aspect to the Mario Kart formula in an effort to change things up a little…and it honestly didn’t really do much for me. That change to the formula was adding a glider to the kart, so on some of the new tracks, you’d find yourself driving off of a high ledge or up a ramp, forcing a glider to pop out of the kart, allowing you to glide your way down towards the track the until you land and return to normal racing. Mario Kart 7 is okay and all, don’t get me wrong, but it felt like the addition of gliders was simply made to distract players from the fact that not a lot had changed from the previous game to this one. The new tracks aren’t any more fun than the classic tracks…and the classic tracks aren’t remodeled to make no use of the gliders, so there are a lot of courses in this game that don’t really make use of gliders. And the ones that do, don’t make use of it in a way to make you feel like it was a great, much-needed addition to the gameplay. Man, it sounds like I hate gliders, doesn’t it? And another thing!! Those gliders are ruining this country of ours! With their fancy aerodynamics…and other glider things and attributes…they’re a bad influence!! Anyway, gliders or no gliders, Mario Kart 7 is still Mario Kart. It’s still fun. You’ll still likely lose hours to playing it…But I, personally, think this is towards the bottom in terms of the Mario Kart franchise…but considering most games in the series are very good, being towards the bottom still means being better than just about any other non-Mario-related kart game out there.

Review added: 06/19/2020

Mario Sports Superstars

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Camelot Software Planning

Mario Sports Superstars is a bit of a head-scratcher of a game in my eyes…Basically, it’s five sports games in one, which sounds great when you hear it…But these games are basically just shells of what they could be, and two of the five sports games included already have their own series – Mario Golf and Mario Tennis…So including a bare-bones version of both games seems like a bit of an odd choice. The other three games are okay, but still feel like they’re lacking needed content. Baseball is much like how the Mario Baseball games were – solid, but not enough content. Soccer is the same way, it’s fine for what it is, but there just isn’t enough content to keep you coming back for more. The last game, horse racing, is the weakest game in the bunch. It’s interesting because it’s a sport so different from the others, but it’s just not nearly as fun as the others…plus, there’s a lack of content (I feel like a broken record) to prevent it from being any more than what it is. That lack of content stains all sports in this game – even if you enjoy one of the sports, there simply isn’t enough here to keep you coming back for more. Overall, Mario Sports Superstars is an okay game if you have OCD and you want a variety of bare-bones sports games in a single package to switch to on a whim. If you want any sort of substance to go with your sports, then you’re better off looking elsewhere…or in the case of Tennis and Golf, get Mario Golf and/or Mario Tennis instead.

Review added: 01/04/2021