Land, water and air are going to offer no obstacles to racing fans this December as Mario Kart 7 for the Nintendo 3DS system gets set to roll into Europe in a couple of days. Among the key highlights of this launch are the fresh kart customization options, online play, new race modes and reworked retro courses.
Apart from the aforesaid introductions, the forthcoming racer will pull in four new characters spanning Metal Mario, Lakitu, Honey Queen and the caterpillar-like Wiggler. For those who still remember, the first character made his debut in Super Mario 64, while the queen bee comes from the Super Mario Galaxy Wii series. Of course, this does not mean all the old characters are being shown the door. Gamers can still choose to get under the skin of Daisy, Rosalina and even Mario’s rival Wario. Players also have the option to plant their own Mii character into a kart and start racing away to glory.
No less than 16 courses have been added to the mix and these cover Wario’s Galleon, Koopa City, Piranha Plant Pipeway and Wuhu Mountain Loop. And with Mushroom Gorge, Luigi’s Mansion and other retro routes, the total count comes up to 32 courses. There’s the inevitable task of collecting coins for unlocking parts for the kart along the way and players can build one from a blend of a frame, wheels as well as a glider. Pipe Frame, Growlster, Cact-X, Tiny Tug and Barrel Train are all part of the pickings.
And the list of introductions to Mario Kart 7 just keeps getting longer with the Lucky Seven power-up, the Fire Flower and the Super Leaf. Another thing to watch out for is the SpotPass functionality which should allow players to receive ghost data that will permit a proper eight-player race between the gamer and the ghost data. The last mentioned will be made available to StreetPass and SpotPass users through the Mario Kart Channel from right within the game.
Mario Kart 7 for Nintendo 3DS systems will be released in Europe on December 2.