Thank you for providing me with a link; now I can actually read the article, and in doing so, actually find out why Mr. Sterling gave the score he did. Which, quite frankly, is more then I can say for you.
So... what's the problem? Should I assume that you liked this game? Good. Great. I'm happy for you. Seems that Jim Sterling, on the other hand,
did not like the game. What a bastard. Clearly, he is wrong, because according to your own arguments... rehashing old ideas isn't bad? Really, that's all you got? How the hell did you manage to write a tl;dr out of one simplistic argument?
itsmeyouidiot said:
Let me ask you something, Jim. Does Mario Kart 7 have new tracks? Does it have new characters? Does it have various minor tweaks to the formula, such as gliding, underwater racing, and kart customization?
If you answered "yes" to any of these, you've invalidated your own argument. Simply having new levels or any sort of new content more than a reskin is enough to keep any game series fresh. If a sequel has the exact same gameplay and graphics engine as the previous game, but has new levels, then it is still just as fun as the previous entry but is new enough to warrant a purchase.
After reading Jim's review, I can see that he more then covers this issue; in fact, he suggests right in his review that normally he enjoys games that stick to a working formula. What you seem to have oh-so-cleverly missed, however, is that "stagnation" is not the point he was trying to make.
Jim Sterling said:
Other fresh additions include gliding equipment and underwater sections. Although these new elements provide something aesthetically different, they don't actually change the game. Underwater racing is a little slower and air gliding is a little floatier, but their impact on the gameplay is minimal at best, appearing merely as vapid contrivances that exist to provide the illusion of variety rather than actually altering the core experience.
.....
The only vaguely compelling element is the new kart customization feature, but it is about as streamlined and restricted as you could ever hope to get. You basically get to unlock and swap new kart bodies, wheels, and gliders by collecting coins in the various races. Each new add-on has its own set of statistics to help with speed, turning, and acceleration, but ultimately, you won't be spending much time on creating a personal vehicle since there's very little to play with. Same can be said for the new roster of racers, which doesn't really bump the character count up due to quite a few having been taken out. I'd rather have Dry Bones back than the uninteresting bee queen from Mario Galaxy.
So, what he's saying is that the new content is poorly implemented. As in, it adds very little to the game experience. As in, it's not enough to warrant a higher score.
Jim Sterling said:
It takes seconds for all the familiar problems with Mario Kart to surface. Rubber banding and fixed races are still an integral part of every course, and victory in a race yet again hinges hugely on the element of basic luck, with items such as the Blue Shell returning to punish players who commit the sin of maintaining success. These are long-standing issues with the series that many will likely have gotten used to but really ought to have been dealt with by the seventh installment. Simply put, these problems have grown incredibly tiring, and items like the Blue Shell stopped being funny several sequels ago.
In the above paragraph, Jim points out the age-old flaws with the series that Nintendo has yet to fix, even after 7 installments of the game. This kind of thing goes way beyond stagnation... These are some of the worst aspects of the series, which are appearing here again for god-knows-what reason, despite Nintendo receiving a great number of complaints every time they rear their ugly heads.
So, I have a question for you. What purpose does this thread serve? Are you hoping to encounter like minded individuals so that you can complain about Jim Sterling together? Are you trying to kick start a debate, which judging by your opening post, you are sure to lose? Are you actually trying to change peoples minds about the review they have already read? Are you just a troll? Whatever the case, I suppose it doesn't matter. Nothing you have said is going to change anybody's mind about Jim Sterling, his review, or the game he happened to review, mostly because very few people care, and partly because you have no recognizable internet identity, so nobody really cares what you have to say.
Kind of like how nobody cares what I have to say.
