Mario Kart Tour: A Mobile Gaming Experience

As I sat down to play Mario Kart Tour on my mobile device, I was eager to see how this game would fare compared to its console counterparts. The game's developer, Nintendo, has certainly made an effort to bring the Mario Kart experience to mobile devices, and for the most part, it succeeds.

Upon launching the game, I was greeted by a colorful and lively interface that immediately conveyed the fun and lighthearted nature of the game. The game's logo, which features Mario and Luigi holding onto their iconic karts, is prominently displayed on the main screen, and from there, I was able to dive into the game's various modes.

The first mode I encountered was the Grand Prix mode, where players compete against each other in a series of races. As I progressed through the levels, I found myself facing off against AI opponents, which were surprisingly challenging, if not quite on par with the real deal. However, this was tempered by the fact that there are no real multiplayer competitors - just a bunch of named bots, which didn't add much to the overall experience.

That being said, I did appreciate the inclusion of tracks from some of Nintendo's classic games, such as Mario Kart and Super Glide. These familiar courses added a nice touch of nostalgia to the game, and it was great to relive some of my favorite childhood memories. The graphics were also top-notch, with beautifully rendered tracks and characters that brought back memories of my time playing on Nintendo consoles.

One of the most interesting aspects of Mario Kart Tour is its handling system. Instead of using a traditional controller or joystick, players use their thumbs to steer and accelerate. This means that players must master a unique control scheme that involves swiping their thumb left and right to turn, and then releasing it to maintain speed. While this might seem tricky at first, it's actually quite intuitive once you get the hang of it.

The game also features a variety of power-ups and items, which are automatically selected for players as they progress through the levels. These include items like mushrooms, shells, and bananas, which can be used to gain an advantage over opponents or defend against incoming attacks. While these power-ups are automatic, players can still choose to release their item earlier or later to affect its behavior.

As I continued to play, I began to realize that Mario Kart Tour is a game that relies heavily on luck and chance rather than skill and strategy. The game's AI opponents are relatively weak, and the tracks are designed in such a way that players can easily avoid obstacles and maintain speed. While this might make the game feel more like a simulation of racing rather than an actual challenge, it also means that players don't have to worry too much about mastering complex driving techniques.

One of the most surprising aspects of Mario Kart Tour is its handling of in-game currency and progression systems. The game awards players with gems for completing levels, which can be used to purchase new characters, tracks, and other items from the shop. However, this system feels somewhat confusing, with a complex web of rubies and stars that are used to unlock new content. While it's understandable that Nintendo might want to monetize its mobile game through microtransactions, I couldn't help but feel that these systems added an unnecessary layer of complexity to what should be a straightforward racing experience.

Despite some minor quibbles with the game's progression system, I found Mario Kart Tour to be a fun and engaging mobile gaming experience. The game's production values are top-notch, with beautifully rendered tracks and characters that bring back memories of my time playing on Nintendo consoles. While it might not offer the same level of challenge or strategy as its console counterparts, Mario Kart Tour is still a great option for players looking for a lighthearted racing experience on the go.

As I continued to play, I stumbled upon a feature called "Tour" mode, which allows players to compete in special events and tournaments. This mode was actually quite engaging, with a variety of challenges and objectives that required me to use my skills and strategy to succeed. While it's not as polished or refined as the Grand Prix mode, Tour mode offered a welcome change of pace and added a new layer of depth to the game.

Finally, I found myself accessing the game's store, where players can purchase in-game currency, characters, tracks, and other items. The store is easy to navigate, with clear descriptions and screenshots for each item available for purchase. However, the prices of some of these items are a bit steep, especially considering that you can spend $69.99 on a premium membership.

In conclusion, Mario Kart Tour is a fun and engaging mobile gaming experience that offers a unique take on the classic Mario Kart formula. While it might not offer the same level of challenge or strategy as its console counterparts, the game still has plenty to offer players looking for a lighthearted racing experience on the go. With its beautifully rendered graphics, fun gameplay, and engaging Tour mode, I would definitely recommend giving Mario Kart Tour a try if you're a fan of racing games or just looking for something new to play on your mobile device.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhow's it going everyone I'm Jeff Bakalar and I'm checking out Mario Kart tour on a telephone and if you want to know how this game is it's just fine and it controls real weird and there's so much currency and so much other nonsense going on it's like playing one of those Las Vegas digital slot machines you know the ones are all like the crazy tree branch lines and you're just like what did I whip that I win it's like no it's $10 a spin and you don't even know if you won you just have to trust the computer if you want well that's not exactly what's going on here but it's just as god confusing let me show you so first I'm gonna show you all of the screens and look I get it Mario Kart is not just for like kids it's for people my age you grew up playing Mario Kart but if I'm like 10 years old honors then what the hell is going on in this game you got like 30 different kinds of currencies each game you'll where you're awarded all this xp for all these different types of things it's like I don't even understand what I'm supposed to do the only thing that makes any sense is when you actually get into a Mario Kart game and I'm not saying this is bad it's just a little confusing for the average player and I don't play a lot of mobile games so maybe this is par for the course for people who do that and they understand what it's like to have eleven different currencies inside of a videogame but for me the mario kart purist I simply have no idea what's going on on the back end of this game the way it's set up there's these different tours right and the first tour you're on is a mario kart tour and the game says well we're gonna change this up every week so that sounds fine let me jump you right in to the first track of the New York City Mario Kart tour and I'll show you a little bit of gameplay you can't always choose your player you unlock players as you put as you progress and then you unlock some of their other special features let me show you so I'm gonna unlock this character play with this cart and then use this hang-glider this new speed is available so let's let's go with that let's unlock the faster version and let's race this implies that there are multiplayer competitors but no it's just you against a bunch of named bots it's cool some of these tracks are from some of the games that you might have played on Nintendo console so that's really fun and let me show you how this works okay there's a Super Glide here you can hold that that rocket start down alright there you go now I'm tum basically just swiping my thumb left to right to turn and it's it's fine it's you know it's it's serviceable now check it out I let go I just let go and this game is basically driving for me right now you there's no real way to go off the rails because everything sort of seems like it has an invisible fence on each track so is there a lot of skill involved here marginally you always do tricks off jumps and you get that speed boost after which if you play a lot of Mario Kart you're well aware of you know for people who want to play this game and be competitive they know all about those those drifting moves you can do when you when you turn left and right and that's sort of where all the strategy of this game comes into play the items are almost automatically selected for you and you kind of just have to tap in front or behind the car if you want it depending on the direction you want the the item to go how you want to use it like I said it's really kind of on autopilot in a way that even feels more autopilot II than the console versions which is like a thing people complain about so I barely did a thing and I got second place magically okay it's fine this games just fine it's gonna pass the time for you while you're waiting for you know the dentist to call you into the office now here's where things get a little nutty okay I just got all that XP points for my character my car and my glider okay now I move on and I'm awarded more points that I don't know relate to stars in some capacity and the stars are what you need to progress into the next Grand Prix again I've only been playing for a few hours but you can understand where I'm coming from where there seems to be just a lot of confusing numbers and currency if you love Nintendo for its simplicity and its pickup and playability it's a little more than that on the mobile version and again this is iOS and Android okay let me let me let me bump you up to another tour this is the Donkey Kong cup I already finished the Mario Cup so there's the Donkey Kong cup I'm gonna play rock rock Mountain and before I do that I just want to bring you through like a lot of the other screens so here is your player level where it explains how you progress and how you were able to unlock the new race modes okay you're awarded gems for certain leveling ups oh man there's a whole coin thing then I haven't even wrapped my head around and then there's the whole notion of these rubies and you can purchase rubies if you want and that should allow you to unlock new characters and I'm not joking ladies and gentlemen this game will let you give it $69.99 if you want to right now you could pull out that credit card and say Mario Kart or you've won me over with your intriguing charm here's my credit card for $70 all right let's play a rock rock mountain I'm gonna choose a peach for this one I don't think I can see I'm trying to select this car but it tells me I need to check the daily selects in the shop I assume that's attached to some sort of purchase so we're not gonna do that and okay let's let's enter this race this course is from the 3ds version of Mario Kart rock rock Mountain the game looks great everything looks a fantastic production value wise this thing is mah spot-on here we go oh I forgot to do the rocket launch that's gonna be a bummer okay this this track is a real good indication of just maybe how not fun it is to control the the steering so all those left and rights for me if I had a controller I'd be able to you know knock those out but because this is touch you're sort of left with this like sliding your finger across and you're definitely going to just ride that invisible law as you try and make your way through the track it's not the best but again it's not the worst Mario Kart it's just fine hey so there you have it Mario Kart Tour it's fun I'm not gonna lie it's definitely a fun game it's free once you get into the purchasing things get a little more confusing and dicey but you can't really argue with free to start ios/android there you have it go check it out let me know what you think thank you so much for watchinghow's it going everyone I'm Jeff Bakalar and I'm checking out Mario Kart tour on a telephone and if you want to know how this game is it's just fine and it controls real weird and there's so much currency and so much other nonsense going on it's like playing one of those Las Vegas digital slot machines you know the ones are all like the crazy tree branch lines and you're just like what did I whip that I win it's like no it's $10 a spin and you don't even know if you won you just have to trust the computer if you want well that's not exactly what's going on here but it's just as god confusing let me show you so first I'm gonna show you all of the screens and look I get it Mario Kart is not just for like kids it's for people my age you grew up playing Mario Kart but if I'm like 10 years old honors then what the hell is going on in this game you got like 30 different kinds of currencies each game you'll where you're awarded all this xp for all these different types of things it's like I don't even understand what I'm supposed to do the only thing that makes any sense is when you actually get into a Mario Kart game and I'm not saying this is bad it's just a little confusing for the average player and I don't play a lot of mobile games so maybe this is par for the course for people who do that and they understand what it's like to have eleven different currencies inside of a videogame but for me the mario kart purist I simply have no idea what's going on on the back end of this game the way it's set up there's these different tours right and the first tour you're on is a mario kart tour and the game says well we're gonna change this up every week so that sounds fine let me jump you right in to the first track of the New York City Mario Kart tour and I'll show you a little bit of gameplay you can't always choose your player you unlock players as you put as you progress and then you unlock some of their other special features let me show you so I'm gonna unlock this character play with this cart and then use this hang-glider this new speed is available so let's let's go with that let's unlock the faster version and let's race this implies that there are multiplayer competitors but no it's just you against a bunch of named bots it's cool some of these tracks are from some of the games that you might have played on Nintendo console so that's really fun and let me show you how this works okay there's a Super Glide here you can hold that that rocket start down alright there you go now I'm tum basically just swiping my thumb left to right to turn and it's it's fine it's you know it's it's serviceable now check it out I let go I just let go and this game is basically driving for me right now you there's no real way to go off the rails because everything sort of seems like it has an invisible fence on each track so is there a lot of skill involved here marginally you always do tricks off jumps and you get that speed boost after which if you play a lot of Mario Kart you're well aware of you know for people who want to play this game and be competitive they know all about those those drifting moves you can do when you when you turn left and right and that's sort of where all the strategy of this game comes into play the items are almost automatically selected for you and you kind of just have to tap in front or behind the car if you want it depending on the direction you want the the item to go how you want to use it like I said it's really kind of on autopilot in a way that even feels more autopilot II than the console versions which is like a thing people complain about so I barely did a thing and I got second place magically okay it's fine this games just fine it's gonna pass the time for you while you're waiting for you know the dentist to call you into the office now here's where things get a little nutty okay I just got all that XP points for my character my car and my glider okay now I move on and I'm awarded more points that I don't know relate to stars in some capacity and the stars are what you need to progress into the next Grand Prix again I've only been playing for a few hours but you can understand where I'm coming from where there seems to be just a lot of confusing numbers and currency if you love Nintendo for its simplicity and its pickup and playability it's a little more than that on the mobile version and again this is iOS and Android okay let me let me let me bump you up to another tour this is the Donkey Kong cup I already finished the Mario Cup so there's the Donkey Kong cup I'm gonna play rock rock Mountain and before I do that I just want to bring you through like a lot of the other screens so here is your player level where it explains how you progress and how you were able to unlock the new race modes okay you're awarded gems for certain leveling ups oh man there's a whole coin thing then I haven't even wrapped my head around and then there's the whole notion of these rubies and you can purchase rubies if you want and that should allow you to unlock new characters and I'm not joking ladies and gentlemen this game will let you give it $69.99 if you want to right now you could pull out that credit card and say Mario Kart or you've won me over with your intriguing charm here's my credit card for $70 all right let's play a rock rock mountain I'm gonna choose a peach for this one I don't think I can see I'm trying to select this car but it tells me I need to check the daily selects in the shop I assume that's attached to some sort of purchase so we're not gonna do that and okay let's let's enter this race this course is from the 3ds version of Mario Kart rock rock Mountain the game looks great everything looks a fantastic production value wise this thing is mah spot-on here we go oh I forgot to do the rocket launch that's gonna be a bummer okay this this track is a real good indication of just maybe how not fun it is to control the the steering so all those left and rights for me if I had a controller I'd be able to you know knock those out but because this is touch you're sort of left with this like sliding your finger across and you're definitely going to just ride that invisible law as you try and make your way through the track it's not the best but again it's not the worst Mario Kart it's just fine hey so there you have it Mario Kart Tour it's fun I'm not gonna lie it's definitely a fun game it's free once you get into the purchasing things get a little more confusing and dicey but you can't really argue with free to start ios/android there you have it go check it out let me know what you think thank you so much for watching\n"