It’s certainly an interesting time when we see Nintendo create app versions of some of their amazing games.  The newest Nintendo franchise to make its way to android and apple devices is Mario Kart and recently Nintendo opened up a closed Beta.  Luckily I was able to snag a download of the beta and I got to really try my hand at the game.

Like many of Nintendo’s other apps, Mario Kart Tour really has the feel of its console counterpart but scaled down a bit for the app.  Races are two laps instead of three and the tracks feel shorter which actually makes perfect sense.

The controls took some time to really get a feel for.  One option is to use your fingers to use the touch screen of your device to turn the kart.  The kart moves on its own, but being so used to the consoles I kept wanting to keep my fingers on the screen thinking it would keep my kart moving forward. This was a little tricky for me to get accustomed to.  The other option involves using your devices gyro sensors to turn the whole device and I found this to be a way better option.  Using gyro controls really mimicked the feel of playing the motion controls of the Mario Kart console games.  Using items requires a tap of the screen and races involve eight racers via a wifi connection.

Unlocking characters, tracks and other stuff is just like any of Nintendo’s other apps.  You earn in-game currency to use a randomizer which produces a random character and it seems like the roster is pretty vast for a beta version with characters like Toadette and Dry Bowser.

Overall the game is actually a lot of fun.  It’s a nice fun game to just pick up and play for a few rounds.  I did have some hiccups with my internet and the game lagged a bit at times, but other than that I really had an enjoyable time with the beta. I look forward to this game’s release.