Mario Kart 7 Gets a New Peripheral and Earns You Vouchers!

This coming Friday sees the release of the eagerly anticipated Mario Kart 7 on the Nintendo 3DS. This will be Mario’s first outing on the 3DS with his trusty group of chums in their pimped out vehicles that would make Tim Westwood blush.

Mario Kart 7 gives you the chance to make the Mario Kart experience your own, in a customised kart made to your specifications. Players can race on land, underwater or through the air using new abilities which have been introduced especially for Mario Kart 7. The gliders automatically deploy when you launch off a ramp, allowing you to fly through the air or the new ability to drive through water, giving you new ways to overtake your rivals no matter what the terrain.

Nintendo are also introducing 4 new characters to the festivities; Metal Mario (Super Mario 64), Honey Queen (Super Mario Galaxy), Lakitu and Wiggler. Along with that, characters that are making their returns to the series include; Rosalina, Daisy and Wario. You can also use your own personalised Mii. There are 32 courses in total in the game, 16 new ones and 16 old favourites that have been re-mastered for your enjoyment.

Players can also unlock parts for their karts by collecting coins during their races. Each customisable part gives you a competitive edge when racing in the different environments. Build your kart from a combination of frame, wheels and – for the first time – glider. A selection of frames such as Growlster, Pipe Frame, Tiny Tug, Cact-X and Barrel Train can be added to a selection of wheels such as Slim, Slick, Wooden or Mushroom wheels to gain an edge over the varying terrains on the courses.

There are loads of new power ups, Street Pass functionality and so much more. Basically, this game is packed!

Along with that, if you’re sick of using conventional buttons to play games, then why not pick up the new Mario Kart Wheel for 3DS! Peripheral manufacturer, Hori have released an attachment that uses the tilt-sensing gyroscopic nature of the console. When using the officially licensed peripheral, the player’s view changes to first person. In Japan it has retailed at 1280 yen(roughly £10.50) but there is no word on UK pricing.

But wait…there’s more! To celebrate the launch of Mario Kart 7, GAME will be allowing people to play the game in stores across the UK between 2nd – 4th December. On launch day, players are invited to time trial one of the new tracks in the game and whoever gets the fastest lap in each store will get themselves £25 of cold hard GAME voucher. The fastest lap across all of the participating GAME stores will earn the winner a family trip to the home of plumbing, Italy! Below is a list of participating stores.

• CROYDON WHITGIFT
• NOTTINGHAM LISTERGATE
• LONDON OXFORD STREET
• BRISTOL CABOTS CIRCUS
• DERBY
• THURROCK
• BLUEWATER
• READING
• SHEFFIELD MEADOWHALL
• METROCENTRE
• LIVERPOOL ONE
• BRENT CROSS
• CARDIFF ST DAVIDS
• GLASGOW
• KINGSTONUPONTHAMES
• CAMBRIDGE
• TRAFFORD
• EDINBURGH
• PETERBOROUGH
• MERRYHILL

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Mario Kart 7 comes out 2nd December on Nintendo 3DS