Mario Kart 7 back to the drawing board?

[nakamura]

I don't get it. What game could Mario Kart 7 have been? I have no major issues with it bar the blue shell. It is masses of fun, looks stunning and crisp with 60fps 3D. It is a great overall package and Nintendo will be patching it this month to remove the glitches.

For the record though AmigaJay. We were discussing the game today and we would like to see the blue shells toned down. Perhaps it clings to the middle of the track taking anything out until it passes the leader and than vanished without actually locking on to the leader. That was it is possible to avoid but still very dangerous. Also would love to see a moment of invulnerability when you get hit.

[AmigaJay]

I don't get it. What game could Mario Kart 7 have been? I have no major issues with it bar the blue shell. It is masses of fun, looks stunning and crisp with 60fps 3D. It is a great overall package and Nintendo will be patching it this month to remove the glitches.

For the record though AmigaJay. We were discussing the game today and we would like to see the blue shells toned down. Perhaps it clings to the middle of the track taking anything out until it passes the leader and than vanished without actually locking on to the leader. That was it is possible to avoid but still very dangerous. Also would love to see a moment of invulnerability when you get hit.

I'm not knocking the game mechanics, I'm knocking Nintendos decision to base it on the worse Wii version instead of the highly acclaimed and perfect for handheld DS version, it has less features as stated in my first post...if u haven't played a MK game before or since the Wii then yes it's great, but IMO its lacking the basics what could have made it the definite version with the nice added extras.

[nakamura]

Perhaps I need to have a look at the DS version again. I have it somewhere!

[trip2themoon]

Could some please answer this: Have those annoying blue shells been removed from Mario Kart on the 3DS?

I found the introduction of the blue shell ruined Mario Kart. Nothing worse than being first on the home straight and whoever is 7th or 8th's blue shell screwing you out of the win.

After Super Mario Kart I found the games became too weapon orientated and a win depended on luck with the weapons. I loved how with SMK that if you tool the proper racing lines you would win the races. SMK to me is the only one which is a proper racing game.

[DreamcastRIP]

... and Nintendo will be patching it this month to remove the glitches.

I missed seeing that first time 'round.

So after years of vocal Ninty fans (including on this forum) acting all smug by ridiculing PS360 and PC for games being released which require patching soon after release it would now appear Ninty's quality control standards are on the wane too.

[killbot]

... and Nintendo will be patching it this month to remove the glitches.

I missed seeing that first time 'round.

So after years of vocal Ninty fans (including on this forum) acting all smug by ridiculing PS360 and PC for games being released which require patching soon after release it would now appear Ninty's quality control standards are on the wane too.

Well, we're talking about one title which apparently only has a couple of very minor glitches (most people on forums I've looked at - on being told of the patch - admitted to never having noticed there was a problem). Nintendo have also released the patch as a QR code which is a brilliant idea - not sure if it's been done before by anyone but I like that. We certainly aren't talking anything like the game-breaking bugs and glitches that often appear in Xbox/PlayStation and particularly PC titles and which often require enormous patches downloading before they will even work properly.

All that said... yes, it is a worrying development and I hope it's a one-off and not indicative of Nintendo beginning to follow the rest of the industry. One thing I've always respected about Nintendo is their 'when it's done' attitude - I know a lot of people were really annoyed at the astonishingly long wait for Skyward Sword, but I'd rather get it when it's 100% finished than get it six months sooner in a broken and unplayable state and rely on a constant stream of patches to make it work. I'll be worried if this starts to become the norm rather than the exception.

[DreamcastRIP]

... All that said... yes, it is a worrying development and I hope it's a one-off and not indicative of Nintendo beginning to follow the rest of the industry... I'll be worried if this starts to become the norm rather than the exception.

In total agreement with you there. Love them or loathe them, one thing Ninty have long been renowned for (although not exclusively so of course) has been their games, even more so their first party games, were thoroughly play tested before release in order to identify and subsequently eradicate bugs and/or major glitches.

Having said that, a quick Google search revealed,

* The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
http://zelda.wikia.com/wiki/The_Legend_ ... s_Glitches

* The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/121/1214853p1.html

* The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
http://www.3dsbuzz.com/ocarina-of-time- ... -round-up/

So it would seem the quality control issues with Mario Kart 7 are far from being a one-off. Quite sad really, given Ninty's proud history.

[speedlolita]

Nintendo still make games?

[DreamcastRIP]

Nintendo still make games?

Yep. In fact I saw their HQ signposted near me only yesterday...

[nakamura]

... and Nintendo will be patching it this month to remove the glitches.

I missed seeing that first time 'round.

So after years of vocal Ninty fans (including on this forum) acting all smug by ridiculing PS360 and PC for games being released which require patching soon after release it would now appear Ninty's quality control standards are on the wane too.

Thing is though, the patches are more exploits then major problems. I played the game loads before the update and never experienced one of them myself, neither did any of my friends.

I'm not excusing the glitches at all, but MK7 is far more polished than so many Xbox and PS3 games.

Oh and thank god Nintendo still make games. I would rather have another MK or Metroid than another CoDmundaneFPS.

[Rayne]

Finally got the chance to try this today, the 3D is absolutely superb, as are the graphics. Absolutely beautiful game!!

The gameplay itself? The elastic banding is absolutely shameless, more so than the other MK games I've played recently, on top of that the game feels really...slow. Is that just me?

[nakamura]

Are you playing on 50cc Rayne? I am on 150 and it feels ok. Felt a touch slow at first but with good drifting it generally moves along at a fair pace.

Regarding the rubber banding, I can get pretty far in front when on form and not be caught, even on 150 cc but as we all know with MK one badly placed item can screw it all up.

[AmigaJay]

Finally got the chance to try this today, the 3D is absolutely superb, as are the graphics. Absolutely beautiful game!!

The gameplay itself? The elastic banding is absolutely shameless, more so than the other MK games I've played recently, on top of that the game feels really...slow. Is that just me?

No it does feel slow....Nintendo rabbit on about 60fps, but to me and others it feels slower than other MarioKarts, must be the graphical style or road textures not portraying better speed like other versions...

[Rayne]

Finally got the chance to try this today, the 3D is absolutely superb, as are the graphics. Absolutely beautiful game!!

The gameplay itself? The elastic banding is absolutely shameless, more so than the other MK games I've played recently, on top of that the game feels really...slow. Is that just me?

No it does feel slow....Nintendo rabbit on about 60fps, but to me and others it feels slower than other MarioKarts, must be the graphical style or road textures not portraying better speed like other versions...

Yeah, I tried 150cc and the rubber banding infuriated me so I tend to stick to 100 cc. On both settings it just seems slow..maybe because the courses are much wider?

[nakamura]

Are you tricking every jump and drifting every turn? With practise, it moves a fair old lick and with skill you can get very far ahead on 150cc. While it does have rubber banding, a huge part of it is that the computer can do all of the boosting skills.