{"id":20758,"date":"2020-12-25T00:01:38","date_gmt":"2020-12-25T00:01:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/?p=20758"},"modified":"2020-12-03T04:55:11","modified_gmt":"2020-12-03T04:55:11","slug":"mario-kart-live-home-circuit-switch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/2020\/12\/25\/mario-kart-live-home-circuit-switch\/","title":{"rendered":"Mario Kart Live Home Circuit (Switch)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Did you know there was a new Mario Kart game this year?\u00a0 Yeah it kind of flew under the radar and was also kind of hard to get.\u00a0 So when I was a kid, sometimes for Christmas I\u2019d get an RC car and really liked them.\u00a0 You know another thing that I like?\u00a0 Mario Kart!\u00a0 In fact, the original Super Mario Kart on the SNES is still one of my top five favorite games of all time.\u00a0 So what do you get when you combine the fun of driving real life RC cars with the wackiness of Mario Kart video games?\u00a0 You get Mario Kart Live Home Circuit.\u00a0 It\u2019s an RC car of Mario or Luigi (I got the Luigi one because he\u2019s way cooler than Mario).\u00a0 On the car there is a camera, and you control the car with the Switch and view the action in first person with the camera as you play a Mario Kart game with augmented reality.\u00a0 You can even design your own tracks!\u00a0 It\u2019s a really cool idea, but is it practical and really worth the 100 bucks?\u00a0 Well you\u2019ll just have to read on to find out!<\/p>\n

But first, let\u2019s take a look at some pictures.\u00a0 Here\u2019s a closer picture of the front of the box.<\/p>\n

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And here\u2019s the back of the box.\u00a0 It\u2019s a good idea to save the box so you can put everything back in it when you\u2019re done playing.\u00a0 Also the instructions are on the side of the box, which I\u2019m not a big fan of as I wish there were an instruction manual in the package.<\/p>\n

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Here\u2019s the actual Luigi RC car.\u00a0 It\u2019s a pretty decent size, but not TOO huge.\u00a0 You can hold it in your hand, but it\u2019s not like it\u2019ll fit in the palm of your hand, as it overlaps a little.\u00a0 The car has rechargeable batteries, and you charge it up via an included USB cable you connect to the Switch.\u00a0 Before you start the game, I recommend charging it first, because like most electronics, it doesn\u2019t have a full charge when you take it out of the box.<\/p>\n

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The box also includes cardboard gates and arrow markers.\u00a0 I guess they had to do something with all the extra cardboard from failed Labo sets.\u00a0 Anyway, you set up the four gates to make your own tracks, and you can set the arrow markers anywhere you think people may need direction as to where to turn on the tracks you make.\u00a0 The gates are pretty wide, enough to drive two RC cars through at the same time.\u00a0 And they took up the whole entire space in my hallways, too.\u00a0 The game uses augmented reality to make the gates look like different structures as you play, and AR also makes the arrow markers look like they\u2019re lit up and moving so they really stand out.\u00a0 Anyway, we\u2019ll talk more on how the AR works in the actual game, but here\u2019s some pictures of the gates.<\/p>\n

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There are pictures on the back of the gates, too.\u00a0 Not sure why, but I took a picture of that as well so here you go.<\/p>\n

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So now let\u2019s talk about the actual game you get to play with this.\u00a0 There is a substantial game to play here, as it\u2019s not just a tech demo, so that\u2019s cool.\u00a0 One disappointment is that there isn\u2019t an actual physical game in the box.\u00a0 You just get instructions to download it on the Nintendo eShop.\u00a0 Heck, anyone can download the game as long as you do a search for \u2018mklive,\u2019 you just won\u2019t get anywhere past the title screen unless you have the RC car!\u00a0 I know it may not bother some people, but for me, for 100 bucks I would\u2019ve expected this to come with a physical cartridge, too.<\/p>\n

Initial setup seems pretty easy, I was able to figure it out anyway without too much instruction.\u00a0 To synch the RC car to the Nintendo Switch, you have to point the camera on the car to a QR code on the Switch screen.\u00a0 But after that, the two will automatically sync any time you play.\u00a0 You also use the camera to take a picture of yourself for your driver\u2019s license in the game.\u00a0 There are single and multiplayer modes for two karts, but I can only tell you about the single player modes.\u00a0 Sorry about that, but getting another kart would\u2019ve cost another 100 bucks, and I\u2019m not made of money!<\/p>\n

After the setup, you can do an \u2018explore mode\u2019 where you just drive around, or design a track.\u00a0 To make a track, Lakitu will throw paint on your wheels on screen and you must drive through all four gates and back to the first to make a circuit.\u00a0 When done successfully, Bowser Jr. and the Koopa Kids will fly by in their Clown Cars and challenge you to races.\u00a0 I was happy to see the Koopa Kids here as I\u2019m a fan.\u00a0 After that it pretty much play like a Mario Kart game.\u00a0 You have 8 cups with three races for each, with different themes. You can race on the same track you create for each track in a cup, or make a new track every time.\u00a0 There are 50cc, 100cc, and 150 cc difficulties.\u00a0 You can also do time trials on the tracks you create.\u00a0 When racing, boost arrows and mushrooms will make your car go faster, while bananas and shells will make you stop for a bit.<\/p>\n

The themes of the tracks are pretty cool, and make great use of AR, changing what the gates look like and what obstacles you must watch out for.\u00a0 Underwater tracks have Cheep Cheeps swimming around for you to avoid, snow tracks have Freezies sliding by and you\u2019ll be frozen for a bit if you touch one.\u00a0 Watch out for piranha plants in DK Jungle, Thwomps and lava in Bowser\u2019s Castle, and yes there\u2019s even a Rainbow Road!\u00a0 My favorite is a track made to look like the classic Super Mario Bros. game, with pixelly castle gates, blocky Goombas to avoid and even the coins are pixelly!\u00a0 Another track has Kamek the Magikoopa fly by and makes everything viewed on your screen in reverse!<\/p>\n

Speaking of coins, you\u2019ll want to collect as many as you can as you race because at the end, your collected coins are tallied up and if you fill a meter with them, you\u2019ll unlock a goodie.\u00a0 These include new outfits for Mario & Luigi, new kart chassis, and horn sounds.\u00a0 You can also unlock new gate options for when you make your own tracks.\u00a0 Like you can have gates hold power up boxes, boost arrows, obstacles, and more!\u00a0 Other things you can unlock are themes and music tracks.<\/p>\n

Aside from the great use of AR, I was also really impressed with the controls.\u00a0 But then, they\u2019d BETTER work well since this thing costs 100 bucks!\u00a0 This is definitely the best controlling RC car I\u2019ve ever played with.\u00a0 But I also had a problem with how the game affects your controls.\u00a0 This is still an RC car that I don\u2019t want to crash and break up, but sometimes there are things in the game that affect your controls very negatively.\u00a0 For instance, there are windy tracks that can make you veer left or right, and if you get a Chain Chomp, it\u2019ll jerk you forward really quickly.\u00a0 Running into gates can also mess up your track, and even though it\u2019s not the game\u2019s fault, running into something makes you go to a complete stop.\u00a0 One other control quirk is that you still control the car after you finish a race, and if you\u2019re not careful, you might bump into something.\u00a0 It might not sound like an issue, but people who have played Mario Kart know you stop controlling the car after you cross the finish line, so it feels weird here.\u00a0 Just get in the habit of doing a victory lap after a race.<\/p>\n

The other problem with the game is just the practicality of it all.\u00a0 It\u2019s recommended for use on clean, hard floors.\u00a0 I used it on tile since my house is mostly carpet, but we have enough tile in the kitchen to make a small track.\u00a0 It was a little bumpy, but still worked great.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t try it on carpet, simply because when I had RC cars in the past, they would get fuzz in the wheels when you raced on carpet, and I didn\u2019t want that to happen here.\u00a0 I took the RC car and game to my dad\u2019s house for Thanksgiving and tried it out there since they have ALL hardwood floors, but even then I wasn\u2019t able to make too complicated of a track because of furniture and stuff.\u00a0 So you really need a LOT of space and the right kinds of floors in your house for this to work best.<\/p>\n

One final minor problem is that I think they should\u2019ve made an RC car featuring Princess Peach as well as Mario & Luigi.\u00a0 Some may say it sounds sexist, but many girls like to play as girl characters in games, and there\u2019s nothing wrong with that!\u00a0 Also, the AR in the game is so well done I wanted to take screen caps to show off here.\u00a0 But the game won\u2019t let you do that.\u00a0 It\u2019s a shame, but I can understand why they don\u2019t let you do that for privacy reasons.\u00a0 Still, the screenshots you mostly see online just don\u2019t do it justice.\u00a0 But I\u2019ll post one anyway!\u00a0 So is Mario Kart Live Home Circuit worth 100 bucks?\u00a0 I\u2019d say probably not, but I bought it anyway because I really wanted it!\u00a0 So nyeah!<\/p>\n

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Kid Factor:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mario Kart Live Home Circuit is rated E for Everyone with an ESRB descriptor of Mild Cartoon Violence.\u00a0 If you get hit by a silly weapon like a banana peel or turtle shell, your character will just wiggle around for a bit and say \u201cwhoa-whoa-whoa\u201d but that\u2019s about as violent as it gets.\u00a0 Reading skill is helpful for the text.\u00a0 I\u2019d say this game could be almost considered educational as well, since it encourages creative play.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s more than just the ESRB rating to determine if this game is right for your kids.\u00a0 First there is the expense.\u00a0 One set cost 100 bucks, and if you get two so you can play together, that\u2019s 200 bucks!\u00a0 Plus you have to have a Nintendo Switch system to play it on.\u00a0 Your house must be the right fit as well.\u00a0 You need to have enough hard floor or tile to roll around, as well as enough space to make tracks.\u00a0 And I\u2019d make sure the floors are clean as well.\u00a0 Might be a good trick to encourage your kids to clean their rooms and\/or mop the floors!\u00a0 Also, your kids need to be mature enough to take care of their toys.\u00a0 You don\u2019t want the RC car tumbling down the stairs, or crashing into something too hard, and I definitely wouldn\u2019t take it outside in the dirt and mud!\u00a0 Making sure your kids are good at picking up their toys is important, too, as you don\u2019t want to trip over those cardboard gates!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Did you know there was a new Mario Kart game this year?\u00a0 Yeah it kind of flew under the radar and was also kind of hard to get.\u00a0 So when I was a kid, sometimes for Christmas I\u2019d get an RC car and really liked them.\u00a0 You know another thing that I like?\u00a0 Mario Kart!\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":20722,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-game-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20758"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20758\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20760,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20758\/revisions\/20760"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}