When I first tried Mario Kart's online, I was very pleasently surprised. No more friend code bullcrap. Strangely enough, the matchmaking system reminds me of Halo 3. After a very short wait, you are matched with a group of random people. Then, you can vote on which track you want.

Speaking of tracks, Nintendo really outdid itself on the new tracks. Some of them, like Toad's Factory, Coconut Mall, Moonview Highway, and DK Summit are the most fun tracks I have raced on in any racing game. I do have one major problem, however. THE ITEMS! I can't tell you how many times I've had the lead, been hit with one of those leader-seeking shells, then hit by a red shell, then squished by someone with a mega-mushroom, and ended up in last place. It doesn't kill the game, but it makes it very frustrating.

And by the way, if you thought I was going to go an entire blog post without mentioning Guitar Hero, you're out of luck. I must say, I have seen a little reason in all of the new GH games. Each one targets a different audience, save for On Tour. (God knows what they were thinking.) I guess I just care way too much about the games. I'm even an admin on the Guitar Hero wiki. I promise I'll not say a word about it in the next blog. Until that next blog,

jim