Mario Kart 7 Review

Mario Kart 7 is the glorious 3D racing game for the Nintendo 3DS.  It's fast, furious, fun, addictive and fantastic to play!

New tracks allow you to glide in the sky or race underwater on the sea bed for the first time in Mario Kart history, adding a whole new dimension to the racing game.  You can choose from your favourite characters or even use your own Mii to drive.  New characters include Metal Mario and Lakitu.

There are 32 courses to race on including 16 retro courses from previous games.  This gives fans of the original games a real blast from the past!  The 16 brand new courses for Mario Kart 7 offer all the excitement and high octane fun with some extra twists and turns along the way!

The game plays beautifully.  The top screen shows all the racing action in eye-popping 3D as you collect power-ups and coins, while racing across land, sea and air.  The bottom screen shows a map and your position and race data.  The controls are easy using the circle pad to steer.  Even 3 year old Freddy was able to have a go at racing and thought it was brilliant!   The vibrant, colourful graphics and upbeat music make it a joy to play.  You can easily switch between the 3D and 2D graphics.

You can customize your kart however you like. The tyres, chassis and gliders can be customized to suit your racing style.  Some options are built for speed, others are cute and cuddly and pure fun!   There is an option to use motion control to steer, putting yourself in the driving seat using the console as a wheel. 

The power-ups offer an element of real fun to the races.  Fire Flower allows you to throw fire balls at opponents.  On more than one occasion we were unexpectedly blasted with a Blooper that impaired our visibility by shooting ink all over our screen.  It looked fabulous in 3D and never failed to make me jump!  The Blue Spiny Shells can make you lose a race in an instant.  You cannot be sure of a win until you have crossed the finish line!


Mario Kart 7 can be played in single player mode or you can use the multi-player function via broadband to play with other racers worldwide!  You can play up to eight players locally using wi-fi.  It also uses Streetpass to exchange data with other Mario Kart 7 racers in your vicinity.  These features add to the excitement of Mario Kart 7 and pushes the gaming experience to its peak. My children are however most content with getting to grips with the game before competing against other racers.  They are happy to try and improve their ranking while playing solo, but it's good to know that the option to take on other racers is available when they are confident enough!


Mario Kart 7 is cram packed with action as you glide over ravines, propel your kart underwater and steer around the landscapes.  The courses are great with some retro moments to evoke memories of the Nintendo 64.  There are cups to be won in Grand Prix mode, keeping the challenges fresh.  Other modes and difficulty levels and the multi-player options will keep Mario Kart 7 a game that you will want to play for a long time.  Whether you are a hard core competitive gamer or just someone who enjoys indulging in a spot of gaming just for fun and relaxation, Mario Kart 7 is a perfect choice!


Check out details of Nintendo's Mario Kart 7 "Britain's Fastest Family" Tournament for your chance to win a Honda Jazz Si and other great prizes!!  Do you think you're fast enough??

Toyology Review...Scalextric Start Grand Prix

This Christmas, Santa was given a helping hand  in providing presents for my family, when I won a wonderful box of Toyology toys from A Modern Military Mother's blog.  I was exteremely thrilled to win such an exciting array of Toys R Us's finest!  On Christmas Day, one particular toy became an instant hit with the whole family from 18 month old Freddy right up to 42 year old Dad!  This was the Scalextric Start Grand Prix Set.

"This great Scalextric Start Grand Prix Set allows you to design and decorate your own cars and then race against your opponent to become grand prix champion on the 1:32 track. The new simple fit track and skill level hand controllers let you control the speed making this set perfect for beginners and professionals."

My husband has a history with Scalextric.  He collected it as a child and still indulged in tournaments as a teenager.  So he was really excited to put the new set together.

His first observation was that it was much easier to assemble with the new Ultra Fast Fit Track.  The pieces slotted together very simply and within minutes the whole track was assembled and ready to go. There are six different 540cm circuits.  We opted for the simplest track, which was very straightforward to construct using the diagram on the front of the box.

The set came with two Grand Prix Racing Cars, one in red, one in white.  There are stickers which can be used to customize the cars.

The set is for children aged 5 and up.  My 8 year old daughter found the controllers really easy to get to grips with.  She quickly worked out how to exert the right amount of pressure on the trigger to avoid launching the car off across the living room.  She was able to race against her elder sisters and her dad without feeling in any way handicapped by her age.  The Skill Level Control feature allows you to restrict the hand controller's sensitivity  so younger children can play without risk of damaging the cars or becoming frustrated by cars constantly coming off the track.  This would make it more accessible for beginners.  Although possibly considered a boys' toy, my three girls became very competitive, racing against each other and enjoying every minute of the high octane fun!! 

Our 18 month old was fascinated by the cars whizzing around the track.  He enjoyed sitting on Daddy's lap and feeling involved.  Daddy even helped him to have a go at controlling the cars himself.  It'll be a few years though before he can take pole position himself!  He did try to grab the cars on their way past him a few times, creating spectacular crashes, but no harm befell the vehicles!!

All in all, the Scalextric Grand Prix Set provided good family entertainment that was not limited by age or gender.  Everyone enjoyed playing it and cheering on the cars in the races.

8 year old Kizzy said "It is so exciting when the cars get neck and neck because you don't know who will lose or win.  You have to stay in control or else you'll crash off the tracks.  I can even beat my Dad!!"

Priced at  £69.99, this is a great starter set. Perfect for children just discovering the joys of Scalextric or for dads reliving their Racing Driver childhood dreams.