Discover new ways to race with fans around the globe with Mario Kart 7 for Nintendo 3DS

wcomers will love racing with their favourite Mushroom Kingdom characters against opponents near and far. 
At the heart of Mario Kart is multiplayer racing. Using a broadband Internet connection or local wireless functionality built into the Nintendo 3DS system, players can race against their own friends or against opponents worldwide. The new Community feature allows players to create groups with other Mario Kart fans, setting up specific rules to make customised racing environments. Easy set-up allows players to quickly create a community and share with others via the StreetPass feature. Community leaderboards will also show the most up-to-date information from recent races. When you're playing solo, you can race through the Grand Prix and Time Trial modes, and no matter whether you're racing alone or with friends you can choose to control your Kart with either the Circle Pad or motion-sensitive gyro controls - the latter coming into play when you take advantage of the new option to race from a first-person perspective for the first time in a Mario Kart game. If you'd rather race using the Circle Pad from the first-person perspective, that's an option too!


Mario Kart 7 will also use the StreetPass and SpotPass features built into the Nintendo 3DS system. Walking by other Mario Kart 7 players in real life with StreetPass activated allows users to exchange racing scores, win/loss records, number of collected coins and other game data. With SpotPass enabled, players will be able to receive Ghost Data to race against. Up to seven ghosts can be downloaded at the same time allowing for a full eight-player race. Additionally, a Mario Kart channel located in the main menu screen will be a central location for players to view information collected through StreetPass and SpotPass.


Every iteration of the Mario Kart series introduces new twists and turns and this newest Mario Kart game is no different. New playable characters include Metal Mario from the Super Mario 64 game and Lakitu, the spectacled cloud-riding Koopa. Players can also choose to race as their own Mii characters. New power-ups include the Fire Flower and Super Leaf. The Fire Flower allows players to throw blazing balls of fire at other drivers and the Super Leaf makes the Tanooki Tail appear on the back of karts to knock other drivers and items out of the way. And, of course, the karts come equipped with gliders for manoeuvring through the air and propellers for underwater propulsion.The Mushroom Cup and Flower Cup introduce eight new courses, including ones on Wuhu Island and one created by Retro Studios set in the jungles of Donkey Kong Country Returns for Wii. The Shell Cup and Banana Cup feature eight classic courses, including Luigi’s Mansion from Nintendo DS and Koopa Beach from Nintendo 64. There will be 16 new courses and 16 classic courses total.


As an extra treat for Mario fans, if you pre-order a copy of Mario Kart 7 you will receive an exclusive Nintendo 3DS pouch with a Mario Kart 7 design. To claim your pre-order pouch simply order in-store at GAME or Gamestation stores across the UK.


For more information about this and other features, visit our Mario Kart 7 gamepage.