Mario Kart 7 on YouTube

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Looks like Nintendo is going heavy on its promotion for Mario Kart 7 and Super Mario 3D Land. Both games grace the top cover of YouTube today.

The commercials both have the same style, a retro 90s feel to it. If you missed the Mario Kart 7 commercial, you can check it out here.

Amazon promoting Mario Kart DS ... sort of

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I was doing a search because of Amazon's lightning deals, and they showed that you could get as much as $14.50 in trade-in value for Mario Kart DS. That might be a good deal especially since Mario Kart 7 is coming out in a few days.

If you wanted to buy the game, though, the average price is $33.50. Go here for more.

Full roster revealed for Mario Kart 7

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The official Mario Kart 7 website has been updated, and that includes the unveiling of the full roster. If you've been following the leaks over the past couple of months, there's no surprise, but here you go. There's no designation on who is light, medium or heavy, but I'll make a guess:

Bowser (heavy)
Daisy (medium)
Donkey Kong (heavy)
Honey Queen (light)
Koopa Troopa (light)
Lakitu (light)
Luigi (medium)
Mario (medium)
Metal Mario (medium)
Peach (medium)
Rosalina (heavy)
Shy Guy (light)
Toad (light)
Wario (heavy)
Wiggler (heavy)
Yoshi (medium)

Maybe there is snaking in Mario Kart 7

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Then again, there probably isn't. I have yet to play the game, but many people have said it is not in the game. Mario Kart 7 reportedly uses the steering controls similar to what is in Mario Kart Wii. So any short-angle turboing is impossible, which was the key to getting repeated turbos in Mario Kart Double Dash and Mario Kart DS.

However, one of the videos on the official Mario Kart 7 site shows something akin to repeated turboing (by the way, the official term is straight-stretch mini turboing).

Go to the items page on the Mario Kart 7 site, and click on the Blue Shell (spiny shell) link. Yoshi in the video appears to be snaking, but it's too tough to tell because of the camera angle.

Again, I'm more likely to put money down that there is no snaking in the game, so don't count on it when the game is released in a few days.

Famitsu's praise for Mario Kart 7

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From 1up, Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu nearly gave a perfect rating for Mario Kart 7.

One person gave a 10, three others gave 9s for a 37 out of 40. They made note of the features for the game and the sad ability to make a comeback late in a race.

"There are a lot of changes here, but play it and it's definitely still Mario Kart," another reviewer said. "That goes to show how complete a game it's become. It's accessible enough that even new players can enjoy it, and when you get into it, you really get into it."

The 10 Trials - Session 8

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In this episode of The 10 Trials, I make a lot of dumb mistakes. But how many wins will those mistakes cost me?



If you want to see past episodes, it's available on my YouTube portal.

Bonus footage from Angry Bananas at the LA Auto Show

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Carlos and the guys at Angry Bananas posted this bonus footage from the Los Angeles Auto Show, where he talks to a Street Pass representative about the unique features in Mario Kart 7. A lot of unknown or up-in-the-air questions are answered in this video.



If you missed the first video they did at the auto show, it's right here.

Impressions of Mario Kart 7 from Nintendo Australia

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Nintendo held a 3DS event in Australia recently to hype up both Super Mario 3D and Mario Kart 7. This video, from Blunty3000, is more about Mario Kart, what we can expect from the game, and his impressions.

Seven unique things about Mario Kart 7

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Gamexplain talks about seven things in Mario Kart 7 that makes the game unique to the series. Some of these you might know already, such as a the blue shell. But here's one that I thought was awesome:
Being in first sounds great...literally.
Yes, we all love being in 1st, but now there’s an extra special incentive: the music actually changes. Whenever you snag first (and hold a comfortable lead), you’ll hear additional instruments layered into the music, similar to when you hop on Yoshi in the Mario platforming games. It’s a small detail, but one that makes that 1st place seem all the sweeter.

Mario Kart 7 commercial in North America

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Via MyNintendoNews, North America gets this Mario Kart 7 commercial. It's supposed to give you the throwback feel, which I definitely get. Compare this one to the awesomeness of the Super Mario Kart commercial.

Another new trailer for Mario Kart 7

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Here's another new trailer for Mario Kart 7 via Wrecktify's YouTube portal. For those that have been following the game for a while, this doesn't explain anything new. You just get to see new shots of the courses.

The track names in Mario Kart 7

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IGN has posted the track names and the cups for Mario Kart 7. We indeed get at least one Bowser's Castle. But we're also getting two Rainbow Road courses. Awesome!

Here you go:

Mushroom Cup
Toad Circuit
Daisy Hills
Cheep Cheep Lagoon
Shy Guy Bazaar

Flower Cup
Wuhu Loop
Mario Circuit
Music Park
Rock Rock Mountain

Star Cup
Piranha Plant Slide
Wario Shipyard
Neo Bowser City
Maka Wuhu

Special Cup
DK Jungle
Rosalina’s Ice World
Bowser’s Castle
Rainbow Road

Shell Cup
Luigi Raceway (N64)
Bowser Castle 1 (GBA)
Mushroom Gorge (Wii)
Luigi’s Mansion (DS)

Banana Cup
Koopa Beach (N64)
Mario Circuit 2 (SNES)
Coconut Mall (Wii)
Waluigi Pinball (DS)

Leaf Cup
Kalimari Desert (N64)
DK Pass (DS)
Daisy Cruiser (GCN)
Maple Treeway (Wii)

Lightning Cup
Koopa Cape (Wii)
Dino Dino Jungle (GCN)
Airship Fortress (DS)
Rainbow Road (SNES)

Angry Bananas chats about Mario Kart 7

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The guys at Angry Bananas headed to the Los Angeles Auto Show to talk about the life-sized karts for Mario Kart 7 as well as other topics.