On retro cups, did first two for 1st & 1st. Difficulty is much the same as other MKs - ie: easy! In my first go (150cc), I played all new cups for a 1st (two attempts), 1st, 3rd & 4th. Of course, it's not necessary to enjoy the game. By hopping off jumps and angling the glide, allows some strategy in gliding, whether diving for coins, or creating lift to clear sections of track. I believe something similar in Wii where you'd waggle for a trick. Also new is when you hop at the crest of a jump, you get a small boost on landing. Already it seems they have a good learning curve to really excel, especially with the karts with lesser handling and acceleration. Need more time to decide - to see how they cope in full race mode once familiarity sets, push karts and tracks to their limits. Equally with the Wii, tracks are quite elaborate, and seem generally brilliant. Obviously you lose general handling and acceleration. This is where the 'monster' tyres come in, if you choose to select. Also, driving on dirt kills you! It slows you down so much and can barely steer. There you can flick the kart all over the place. Most obvious is that it feels so sluggish to the DS.

There's no left-right wiggle as with the DS version you hold the slide as long as possible to build the boost. It's closer to the Wii version with the sliding. The first obvious change when start racing is the feel. After playing all the cups at least one, and some of the early ones a few more times with out kart configurations, quick synopsis of this After playing all the cups at least one, and some of the early ones a few more times with out kart configurations, quick synopsis of this latest Mario Kart is that it is tentatively brilliant.

Mario kart 7 target