Review #02: Well It Ain't Sonic R, At Least

Super Sploder Kart is a game created by mat7772

I've been playing a lot of Mario Kart 8 lately. I've just completed every Grand Prix, so now I'm racing online, which is a ton of fun. Man, Super Sploder Kart has the absolute best online system!...Wait, what am I talking about? I'm getting Mario Kart 8 and Super Sploder Kart mixed up! Whoops a doozy!...Though I guess that's understandable, 'cause both games have one definite thing in common. They both leave Sonic R in their dust. I'm telling you, racing games have progressed through the ages! We went from Sonic R to Diddy Kong Racing, to Mario Kart 64, to Mario Kart Wii, to Sega All Stars Racing Transformed, and then finally to Mario Kart 8! So, even though Super Sploder Kart was made with a limited physics puzzle maker, it manages to take a step up in racing and give you something you won't forget. This is a very engine-ious game, to say the least. So let's get kart-ed, shall we?

Introduction

Racing puns aside, this is one of the best games I have played on Sploder, excluding my own (:D). The controls were actually decent, which is rare for a racing game on this site. The controls made the game fun, and I had no trouble playing it twice just to make this review. Anyway, in this game, the player must race through eight different tracks, each with their own environments. In order, the tracks are Enzo Raceway, Cargo Airport, Sploder Square, Fluffy Bunny Hills, Snowman Alps, Shadross Stadium, Pirate Skies, Eth's Castle, and Rainbow Road. Each of these tracks are spin-offs of common Mario Kart tracks, which is pretty cool.

Track Descriptions

This review is going to be similar to the first one that was made on this game in the fact that I'm going to be talking about each track (scenery, level design, etc.). The first track, Enzo Raceway, is a spin-off of N64 Royal Raceway, and is a basic course with easy-to-handle turns to get the player suited with the controls. The scenery isn't too detailed either.

The next track, Cargo Airport, is a spin-off of Sunshine Airport from Mario Kart 8. It is actually very similar to Sunshine Airport in the fact that the player can travel on the wings of a plane as a shortcut. Neither of the computer players use this route, so this can be used to either pull ahead of the competition or catch up. However, this track, just like the first, isn't too graphically impressive.

Sploder Square is the third track in the game. It's a relatively small town that has apparently set up a race course for the player to drive on. Its atmosphere and environment remind me of Delfino Plaza from Mario Kart Wii. This level is also nice to look at, though it's very short and unoriginal in level design.

Moo Moo Meadows, otherwise known as Fluffy Bunny Hills, is the fourth track in this game. Seriously, it's like Moo Moo Meadows all over again! Mat7772 just deported the cows and brought in bunnies...you know, for the heck of it. Anyway, this track has many twists and turns, as for you must avoid the construction sites where bunnies are working on...something.

Snowman Alps is actually my favorite track in the game, mainly because it's ice-themed and it probably has the most scenery out of all of the courses. The course switches between snow and ice as you weave in and out of snowmen and wintery obstacles. One of the snowmen tries to be a butt-head and throw snowballs at you, which will slow you down if you aren't careful. Stil though, this is a very nice track.

Shadross Stadium, a.k.a. Wario Stadium, is the next track, and it introduces full 180 degree turns. Tackling these turns and cutting ahead of the competition takes timing and strategy. There are also oil spills on the course that you must weave around. If you run into them, you'll actually run into a small sphere in the center of the spill that will stop you from moving and even push you back a little. Sounds terrible, don't it? So avoid the oil spills.

Super Mario Galaxy reference for the win! Nintendo's not the only one making these references anymore; now Mat7772 is doing it too! This stage, which was based off Cloudtop Cruise from Mario Kart 8, takes you high into the air, where you must race over, yes, clouds, and a large pirate ship! It would have been cool if there had been actual pirates in the level, but eh...whatever. This is actually one of the shorter courses in the game, as for this place is about as small as Sploder Square.

Eth's Castle is more or less the Bowser Castle of Super Sploder Kart. It's all fire and spice and nothing nice in this place. The track starts off similarly to Shadross Stadium in the fact that you must make a U-turn around Ethgamma, who is burning up in flames. But don't worry, he's not dead. I hear he's still making games on Sploder...occasionally. Anyway, the rest of the course consists of oil spills, 90 degree turns, and weaving between spawning objects. I had a lot of trouble with this course the first time I tried it, because the computer players are actually really good at driving in this place for some reason. Who would have known?

The final track is none other than Rainbow Road. I can't think of a single track in Mario Kart that this is based off of, so we'll have to skip that. So anyway, this course is actually an extreme drop in difficulty from Eth's Castle. The only real obstacle found in this course is the space cannon section, which is at the end of each lap. The space cannons will slow you down a lot if you don't dodge quickly enough. Other than that, this course was a cakewalk, just like Chaos 6 from Sonic Adventure DX.

Game Flaws

One of the main flaws about this game were the controls. They were really good, though a little too twitchy for my taste. Still though, the controls worked for the game, and I was able to beat it, so I guess I don't have too much to complain about. The other problem with this game was the inconsistency in difficulty. Some tracks were a challenge, while others made you drop your jelly donut in surprise at how easy they were. Seriously. On my first run of this game, I finally made it past Eth's Castle, only to raise an eyebrow at Rainbow Road. Was the final track of the game meant to actually be hard? Or was it supposed to be a break from the last course? Either way, the final track was a slight disappointment in terms of content, difficulty, and even scenery. Sure, the road was iridescent and pretty, but the background was a starry void. However, despite these flaws, I still found this to be an incredible game. So, let's go ahead and race-I mean rate this, shall we?

Ratings

Track Design: 8/10

Scenery: 7/10

Gameplay: 9/10

Overall Rating: 8/10

Final Words

This game was a ton of fun. It's one of Sploder's best racing games-if not the absolute best-and I highly recommend it to more advanced gamers looking for some intense racing action.

Anyway, I hope you guys liked my second review! Those racing puns took forever to come up with...So stay tuned for more reviews from me. See you at the finish line! ;)