Weapons are categorized by "lock on shot" or "shoots forward," to designate if they have homing ability. Homing weapons take a few seconds to auto-lock on to the nearest enemy, but you can avoid the wait and fire them blind by shooting as soon as you get them. Finally, item boxes frequently blanket the course from side to side, making it very rare to be unarmed. To launch a weapon, you hammer a button in the middle of the steering wheel, which can be a bit annoying during a heated race, since you have to take one hand off the wheel. To make things worse, one of the units I played already had a broken item button!
Course design is a bit basic, at least in the tracks I sampled. The tracks are more like driving on a guardrail-lined freeway than the more organic terrain of the traditional Mario Kart games. I was disappointed to find that there wasn't really any significant "off road" area or shortcut opportunities beyond the established racing track. Courses include: Mario Cup, DK Cup (easy difficulty), Wario Cup (normal difficulty), Bowser Cup, Rainbow Cup, and Pac-Man Cup (master difficulty). But the tracks largely feel the same... Beyond the surrounding scenery and a few nominal differences (like a wooden bridge and water puddles), Mario Raceway played a lot like Donkey Kong's jungle track.
Powerslides are much different in theory and practice from what fans may be used to. Tapping on the brake pedal while taking a tight turn will result in a hop and then a slide, but going through the trouble to pull that off doesn't seem to give you much of an advantage. Often simply keeping the gas down and letting off for a second when you need to turn more tightly worked just as well. Gamers who think that constant "snaking" has ruined the balance in Mario Kart DS online can take solace in the fact that there's no mini turbo-boost in Mario Kart Arcade GP. The constant side-to-side motion would be impossible to pull off on a steering wheel anyway. This game also features the most elastic rubberband AI of any Kart game, which is understandable given that it's an arcade multiplayer title. Drop too far behind and you'll find that you catch up in a jiffy most of the time, but so do opponents. I got the feeling it would take real effort to place further back than third.
So does Mario Kart Arcade GP really feel like a Mario Kart game? Well, yes and no. You can tell Namco is no Nintendo EAD: the courses aren't nearly as intricate or well-designed, the new weapons are largely semi-useful novelties without the strategic value of old standbys like the red shell or turbo shroom, and rubberband AI is taken to heights beyond any other game in the series. Honestly, the closest series comparison would be Mario Kart Double Dash!! for GameCube, but what MK GP really feels like is Cruisin' USA with weapons. But the game does have its upside. The attractive sit-down cabinet, steering wheel, gas pedal and seat feedback do add an immersive dimension of unprecedented kart realism (pshaw) and the game is still great fun when racing against friends. And graphically, it's the best Mario Kart yet.
In the end, though somewhat disappointing to the diehard Kart fan, Mario Kart GP is still worth a spin if you're lucky enough to chance upon it at an arcade. Just make sure you have a few pictures of President Lincoln on you for the token machine. At a dollar a race, this game can suck down a roll of quarters in under a half-hour—and there's no free play for placing first! Then again, maybe the high price of admission is just Nintendo and Namco trying to do their part to keep arcades alive.
Mario Kart Arcade Movie #1 (5.85MB)
Mario Kart Arcade Movie #2 (3.56MB)
Mario Kart Arcade Movie #3 (11.11MB)
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