The REAL and HONEST REVIEW
note to self: if your to lazy to read this huge essay then this review isnt for you. I said i would be honest and it is honest, and with honesty comes a big essay.
Good:
The customization in this game is limitless (besides body shape). I tried looking up everyone I could think of like real people, people from cartoons or other games, and people from animes and manga, and not a single search came up blank. Pratically any character you thought you'd never use in game will be in this game (and if not by a slim chance then you can just make them your self). Creating a mod is fun, fast, and easy and most importantly is user friendly (even a 7 year old can make a mod and kart with ease). The track customization is just as easy and fun and has a tutorial. Downloading a mod, kart, track takes only a few seconds to download.
The story is awesome I must say and it should wrap you up to make you feel like your actually in it. Its definitely original and like no other and should keep you glued to your seat. Alot of racing games have a crappy story but this game doesn't not with its light humor, witty jokes, and everything else that goes on. While racing you have challenges to perform and tokens to collect to later use to customize your mod and kart and track. The story will keep you busy.
Multiplayer is IMMENSELY FUN. 4 player split-screen is awesome but I must say that playing online is the best and you can even play with a buddy in your room and both play online. The modspot is the hub before you can race were you can chat, check out the newest mods, tracks, and karts and the newest things going on so the game isn't heavily on racing (This is one of those few games were I actually felt like a part of a community). Getting to a race is simple and you'll find a match instantly. If you don't have online and you wondering on getting this game I would only recommend it to people who want to really unlock everything and customize or for the platinum (otherwise you should definitely play online with this game).
I just wanted to say this also but the developers constantly are intact with the community. What I mean by this is that if they find a problem with the game they will fix it immediately and constantly put up new DLC. (This isn't good or bad news but I just wanted to state this). Also while in modspot there is a short little menu where you can decide what to do like downloading and uploading mods and etc, racing online, splitscreen, or story. This is definitely nice, and I feel this should be appreciated.
Bad:
As you may have heard, the loading times are long indeed, but the wait is worth it. The loading times will be closely under a minute( as stated by ign) but you'll only incounter this when your loading up to race (not in the mod spot, or anywhere else). My solution: do something while its loading. Once you get used to the loading it will get better and waiting will definitely be worth while.
you also may have heard that the AI is difficult. I never encountered this problem but that is only cause I'm pretty good at the game (I'm not bragging but its true). The weapons on this game are very powerful and the AI know this and will use this to their advantage. There has only been one frustrating race for me but ONLY ONE, but who wants to play a game with no challenge. Gamespot said the AI was punishing but it depends: if your good at the game then the AI will be no problem, if your really bad at the game then you should practice. Overall: the level of AI only depends how good you are at this game (There is no difficulty selection in story mode and it is all one difficulty). On a side note I can probably tell you that playing online will be much more difficult, because the people in this game are good and like any other online game, there always be really good players. If your planning to play online, the AI should feel like porter potties to you (or atleast not super hard, just challenging). If you play online just to play around and chat then thats up to you.
Also something gamespot forgot to mention, somtimes when you go to the story mode, and after you beat a race, it will take you to the place where you customize your mod, kart, or track (the customization station) automatically and then you have to go to the mod spot before you go back to the story mode (luckily the loading for this is only seconds and not aslong as the racing loading but it would be nice to just have a menu in the customization station were you can go back to story without going to modspot (this is my only petpeave about the game). This will barely happen in story mode, RARELY, and I'm over it.
Neutral:
The racing mechanics are the most important part of this game. I found the controls very simple to use but this is just me. THIS IS THE BIGGEST THING ABOUT RACING IN THIS GAME: YOU MUST DRIFT IN ORDER TO BE GOOD. This game heavily relies on drifting and if you dont drift at all then you willn't be the best (In my opinion, unless someone can prove me wrong). You drift faster than you actually drive (which is usually true of any kart racer like CTR, but like I said< if you can prove me wrong then do it. This game is a very complex kart racer (which is why I love it) and the feel is definitely different from other games. This game mayn't be for people who are not good at kart racers but Luckily you can adjust your driving to making it to your needs (acceleration, top speed, turning, and drifting) but this willn't make your kart the best (its all up to the person driving it). The weapons are a blast (literally and the boost system is brilliant which you can use to boost, sideswipe, and shield). It depends how you adjust to this game that will make this game good or bad for you. This is why I put this on nuetral cause for some it will be awesome and for some it willn't be.
To sum this up:
Good: awesome customization, awesome story, awesome multiplayer, and awesome racing mechanics (for some, but for me they were perfect).
Bad: load times, AI (only for people having difficulty with the game already), and the racing mechanics (for some).