Review Information
Game Reviewed Mario Kart: Speed Strife, by DJ Coco
Review Author Kritter
Created Jul 2 2015, 12:20 AM

General Commentary and Game Overview
This game is an impressive showcase of what you can make if you put your mind to it, but it's just a shame that the final product feels a little empty and shallow.

With a bit more effort, this could've been every Mario Kart and fangamer's dream, but instead it's a bit dull.
 
Pros - Great showcase of 3D Fangaming
- Runs smooth and looks great
- Good music, albeit not original
 
Cons - Hardly any sound aside from music
- Quite slow for a game called "Speed Strife"
- Terrible drifting
- Not many effects
- Uninspired tracks and lack of originality
 
Impressions
Gameplay
6 / 10
For the most part, the game plays just OK, but the main issue seems to be that drifting defies the laws of physics. The game can also be a bit on the slow side, even at 150cc, but that's understandable. The Kart also seems to slide along walls instead of colliding with them, and you have no sense of inertia seeing as you can accelerate just as fast going up a hill as you can going down it etc. The Kart feels more like a hovercraft at times.

Items and everything work as you'd expect, but it would've been nice to see something new instead of your standard Mario Kart tracks and items.
 
Graphics
8 / 10
Pretty great for a fangame, and runs fine. I personally don't have an issue with the low-poly Mario Kart DS models, but I wouldn't have been against the use of more high quality models either. Tracks are well design and look quite nice!
 
Sound
3 / 10
The music is fine, but it's all just take from other Mario Kart games. Same for the sounds, but the lack of an actual Kart noise really hurts the game when you feel like you're just drifing on air the whole time.

Really you mostly just hear music, which leaves the game feeling quite empty.
 
Replay
2 / 10
Really if you've played a Mario Kart game, or own a Mario Kart game, this game doesn't have a lot to offer. Stock standard tracks, same old items and nothing new to keep you coming back.

Online time trial leaderboards would've been a good way to extend replayability, but there's not a lot to see here.
 
Final Words
5 / 10
Seeing this posted on the forums, I was quite excited to play it but I just found myself underwhelmed. I wish this was treated more like a lovingly crafted fangame rather than a clone of other Mario Kart's that already exist. It really needed something new to set it apart and above from everything that had come before it, rather than a few new tracks and 1 original character.

DJ Coco isn't in the habit of trying new things and has made that clear, but it doesn't mean I have to accept that when I write my review. As a showcase of what you can achieve, it's an excellent use of 3D and quite well crafted, but in the end it's just a sub-par Mario Kart clone. As DJ Coco said, the only up side is that it's free, but for me that isn't enough.

Comments
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DJ Coco
Jul 2 2015, 2:11 AM
Hardly any sound apart from music is a bit of an overstatement. There are lots of sound effects. The only missing ones I can think of are the engine sound and enemy knock-out sound. That's because I couldn't find anything that worked.

A 5/10 is a rather harsh score, but then again everyone has their own scale.
 
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Kritter
Jul 2 2015, 2:47 AM
I thought it was fair. The gameplay was OK but needs improvement in a few areas, the graphics are quite good but could use tiny bit of visual flair. Lack of engine sound hurts the most, perhaps it's the sole reason why the audio felt so lacking but that's my score based on my impression of the audio. As for replay, that score stands firm for me.
 
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DJ Coco
Jul 2 2015, 3:03 AM
Your points are valid, it's just the score that seemed offputting. I guess it's just different perceptions of the 1-10 scale. Personally, I treat it like school grades where 5 is the lowest thing that still means "passed", whereas anything below would mean "rejected". So, basically Sonic Boom would be a 5/10 to me, whereas to others a 5/10 means "average" which would be 7.5/10 to me. I guess that's also a point why the point system was going to be done away with, and replace with thumbs up/down or +/neutral/-.

Anywho, I digress. I will take all the criticism to heart and build upon it in case this game should receive an update which is likely - though I am taking a rest at the moment and am focusing on my studies.
 
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Kritter
Jul 2 2015, 5:04 AM
To me, a 7.5 is a pretty good game. Some of the best games I own only reviewed at a 7.5 or so.
 
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DJ Coco
Jul 2 2015, 3:06 PM
Yeah, that's exactly why the point scale is flawed. Many people don't bother reading the actual reviews and will just take a look at the score and interprete it based on their own interpretation of the score system.
 
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Q-Nova
Jul 4 2015, 1:47 PM
Quote (Kritter)
same old items

Huh? I thought the Boomerang Flower and the Horn Block (or whatever it is called) are new items?
 
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Darkchao
Jul 4 2015, 4:53 PM
Quote (Q-Nova on Jul 4 2015, 1:47 PM)
Huh? I thought the Boomerang Flower and the Horn Block (or whatever it is called) are new items?

Nope.
They appeared in Mario Kart 8.
 
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