The 3D is a treat, benefiting from the technology's more comfortable application in games that travel into the screen rather than across it. Likewise, Mario Kart 7 is a handheld technical marvel, going toe-to-toe with the Wii title for graphical vibrancy, texture and detail.
Above all, there's a constant focus on the series' fundamental strengths: narrower courses and a lower number of on-track competitors place renewed importance on precision racing. Meanwhile, the glider, rebalanced power-ups and exuberant new tracks filled with short cuts and secrets ensure that the light-hearted side to the series is maintained. The additions that are here may look significant, but in reality they are sympathetic, while the subtractions from recent games move the game back to its glory days.
"The core of Mario Kart is pretty solid at this point and I think it's safe to have it evolve in a pretty staid and traditional manner," Miyamoto said recently. Mario Kart 7 reflects that, in its title and in its design: it's robust, but it lacks some creative effort on Nintendo's part. Newcomers will love it, while series stalwarts will find its novelties welcome, if largely inconsequential. But it's nevertheless one of the stronger entries in the series, balancing the orthodox precision of the original with the playful silliness of the more recent iterations more successfully than ever.
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