MARIO KART 7 Company: Nintendo Release: December 4, 2011 ESRB: E (Comic Mischief) December 7, 2011 How fitting to write a review about Mario Kart 7 on December 7. Well, anyway, if you like previous installments of the Mario Kart series, you'll be right at home with this one. There are a few changes, though: First, the coins are back. You can only have a maximum of ten per race. And they can unlock other karts and stuff. Second: Some of the game's tracks lend you to glide down with a parasail. That's right, each kart is equipped with one and automatically opens whenever it needs to. For me this can be annoying, but there are those who will probably find it cool. Third, no more timer. That's right. In Grand Prix mode, there is no keeping track of time, so you don't know how long you've been playing a certain track. Fourth: You have to unlock the Flower Cup even. No more days of getting more than one track to start with. Which goes to this part of the review: The game's difficulty is the same as in previous installments. Beginners is still 50cc, and I played this and came in first every time in Mushroom and Flower cups at 50cc. And what's cool is that if you unlock tracks in 50cc, they are available to pick from in 100 & 150cc! And also, the retro tracks are back, featuring previous tracks from the 6 other Mario Kart games. So all-in-all, a Mario Kart fan's dream, there is finally a reason for the 3DS to exist. Rating: 9/10