Mario Kart World (Switch 2)

 

This will not help with the tour.

So like everyone else there is basically one new game for the Switch 2 at launch and as stated, I got it at the launch bundle with my Switch 2. And it's Mario Kart. I drove through the coursers and unlocked the final Grand Prix with Rainbow Road in it. I gathered it was an unlockable course since Mario Kart needs a Rainbow Road as the final. 

Overall, it's Mario Kart and it looks and sound great. I'm not a competitive player or plays online so I don't get as much out of it. My first Mario Kart was Mario Kart 64 and I think the most enjoyment was playing with friends and my sisters. Took years until I managed to unlock mirror mode since we played it more as battle mode or two. Dubble Dash for the GameCube was better that way since we could all four play in the Grand Prix. But what I did when I played on my own was driving around the coursers looking around. The train level I followed the tracks into the tunnel or found Peaches castle at the Mario Circuit level so when this game introduced the Free Roam mode, I would have loved it as a kid. I even got vibes of Diddy Kong Racing and the adventure mode. You got to collect Peach coins, ?-panels and find missions to solve. Meanwhile you can find food that unlocks new costumes for your characters. 

As a kid I would have loved it, as an adult that have a gigantic backlog it's busy work I don't really feel like going through. Meanwhile there isn't anything else to play beside older games and such so what else are you gonna do. I got it was a mirror mode you can unlock as well, but then you have to collect ten off everything in free roam and then beat all coursers in 150cc I think. Maybe I will someday, but we will see. A thing I would have wished they added from Diddy Kong Racing was a plane mode to fly around the stages instead of just gliding. 

Online I gather there is some controversy regarding the intermission tracks, instead of standard 3 laps coursers they put in Intermission tracks where you travel around the world. In one way it showcases the free roam mode, but I get it for those that want to learn the coursers since you need the repeating tracks to do it since the tracks gets long in intermission mode. Especially irritated for people was that there was a workaround, but after a patch people couldn't get past that in the same way I gathered. I can understand peoples irritation over it and maybe this is one of the times when Nintendo maybe should give the people what they want? Then on the other hand, people doesn't always know what they want or what they need? Then again I don't really care since I don't play online.

Mario Kart 8

 

I usually try to write about games that I finished, but it's rather hard when you have a game like Mario Kart 8 which technically has no end since it's supposed to be a multiplayer experience. Well, good enough they do have a end credit scene when you unlock all stages and win on them. Which I've done on the 50cc. As most current Nintendo games it looks fantastic and fun music. The gimmick for this game is the gravitation mechanic so at certain points you can go up in the ceiling or walls. Since I missed out on the 7th game driving under water and flying with a glider or parachute is new as well. The flying mechanic took me until the very last stage I played to figure out since I tend to push forward all the time on my controller when driver to placebo myself into thinking I'm driving faster. This makes the flying portions diving right into the ground. I didn't think it was something wrong until I missed the jump at the airport every single time... as Toad... one of the lightest characters in the game. I figured something was fishy so the following stage I just pushed it backwards when flying and what do you know... I actually flew a bit. That's neat. Maybe should have read the instructions.

Still, maybe it's the fact that I'm playing on my own, I find it kinda boring at times. Maybe it's me playing on easy since the AI isn't up to the challenge so I should probably play with something more tougher. With other real players it gets more intense, this I know since I played all the retro stages with one of my sisters. And that was fun... mostly since I reigned supreme on most courses, all though we very often switched first plays with each other.

Then we have the DLC. First we have the Mercedes cars. I have it, but don't bother with it and isn't probably bothered with it either. The other ones though that doesn't come out until November and May I preordered for some reason. Why I don't know since I'm not that huge of player when it comes to this game. Maybe if I had a social life worth talking about it might be a reason, but I prefer playing alone. Might have been the Blue Falcon's cooler design and Link as a playable character. And mentioning Blue Falcon. I've only played one F-Zero game, the first one for Game boy advance and I can say, I don't play that well. Maybe the Kart rules will make me able to appreciate it more... and actually finishing courses without being blown up.