{"id":60222,"date":"2018-11-06T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-11-06T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/nintendo-switch\/nickelodeon_kart_racers"},"modified":"2018-11-06T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-11-06T10:00:00","slug":"review-nickelodeon-kart-racers-a-poor-mans-mario-kart-that-squanders-its-potential","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2018\/11\/06\/review-nickelodeon-kart-racers-a-poor-mans-mario-kart-that-squanders-its-potential\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Nickelodeon Kart Racers &#8211; A Poor Man&#8217;s Mario Kart That Squanders Its Potential"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/nintendo-switch\/nickelodeon_kart_racers\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/nintendo-switch\/nickelodeon_kart_racers\/small.jpg\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div id=\"\">\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Nickelodeon Kart Racers Review - Screenshot 1 of 5\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/93497\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/93497\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Nickelodeon Kart Racers Review - Screenshot 1 of 5\" \/><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>Over the years, Nickelodeon has amassed quite a varied and deep stable of entertaining cartoon franchises, with characters like Spongebob Squarepants and Aang becoming cultural icons that are recognized the world over. It stands to reason, then, that the company could produce a solid kart racer in the vein of <strong>Mario Kart<\/strong>; there\u2019s more than enough characters and locales to draw from, and if it were done right, the nostalgia alone could cause millennials to flock to the game in droves. <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/nickelodeon_kart_racers\">Nickelodeon Kart Racers<\/a><\/strong>, unfortunately, doesn\u2019t quite deliver on that tremendous potential, and instead comes off as an inoffensive but utterly forgettable title that doesn\u2019t even come close to stepping out of Mario Kart\u2019s shadow.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Nickelodeon Kart Racers Review - Screenshot 2 of 5\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/93494\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/93494\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Nickelodeon Kart Racers Review - Screenshot 2 of 5\" \/><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>Right from the off, it\u2019s evident that you\u2019re not nearly getting the experience you\u2019d hope for when you see the character select screen, which contains a paltry sum of twelve characters from a total of <em>four<\/em> franchises: <strong>Spongebob, Hey Arnold, Rugrats<\/strong>, and <strong>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles<\/strong>. <strong>Fairly Oddparents<\/strong>? <strong>Jimmy Neutron<\/strong>? <strong>Invader Zim<\/strong>? <strong>Avatar<\/strong>? They\u2019re all nowhere to be found. Indeed, given the enormous number of popular franchises that Nickelodeon could draw from, the offering here is unacceptably lazy; Nickelodeon Kart Racers has a roster that just barely meets minimum standards, and that\u2019s a sentiment that\u2019s unfortunately carried throughout the rest of the game.<\/p>\n<p>Once you hit the track, Nickelodeon Kart Racers essentially becomes a looser and more generic version of <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/mario_kart_8_deluxe\">Mario Kart 8 Deluxe<\/a><\/strong>; its mechanics are decent, but there are very few ideas here that aren\u2019t derived from better games. Each track consists of a mixture of land, air, and sea portions that see your kart transforming accordingly, and lines of item boxes are generously thrown around the tracks to offer racers an edge in battle. These items are directly aped from Mario Kart in their usage, such as an acorn in place of a Bob-omb, a bottle of bubble soap instead of a banana peel, or a spatula instead of a blue shell, and though disappointingly derivative, items are still a fun way of keeping a race interesting and regularly shaking up the status quo.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Nickelodeon Kart Racers Review - Screenshot 3 of 5\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/93496\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/93496\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Nickelodeon Kart Racers Review - Screenshot 3 of 5\" \/><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>This being a Nickelodeon title, it wouldn\u2019t be the same without the iconic green slime, and Bamtang Games has chosen to incorporate it here by implementing an interesting <strong>F-Zero<\/strong>-like boost system. Puddles and lakes of slime are present on every track, and driving through them will slowly fill up a segmented gauge at the top of the screen which represents your boost power. Every time you activate a boost it consumes one cell of the gauge, but if you wait for more cells to fill, the resulting speed boost will be more powerful and last longer. It\u2019s a fun way to add some strategy to the experience on top of item usage and though this boost system doesn\u2019t <em>entirely<\/em> redeem the ho-hum gameplay, it certainly does make it more enjoyable.<\/p>\n<p>Along with the copious item boxes, every track is littered with coins to collect as you drive, and these can then be spent on kart parts in an in-game shop to better tune your ride. Though it\u2019s yet another idea that\u2019s lifted wholesale from Mario Kart, this does help to add some replayability to the experience, encouraging players to experiment with different builds and keep grinding out races to collect more coins. It must be said that there doesn\u2019t seem to be much of a difference in swapping out kart parts &#8211; the gameplay feels very much the same regardless of what parts you\u2019ve installed &#8211; but those who consider themselves to be completionists will be satisfied at the extra content represented here.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Nickelodeon Kart Racers Review - Screenshot 4 of 5\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/93495\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/93495\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Nickelodeon Kart Racers Review - Screenshot 4 of 5\" \/><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>There\u2019s a total of twenty-four tracks on offer, and these can be experienced in either themed Grand Prix cups or individually via free race. Track designs are generally quite homogenous from a gameplay standpoint, lacking the stage hazards and set pieces that one would expect, although their overall look and feel is surprisingly faithful to the source material. Locations like Glove World and Arnold\u2019s school are rife with plenty of references and little details that call back to the franchises they\u2019re based on, showing a level of passion and attention to detail that feels oddly inconsistent with the rest of the game. Once again, the low amount of franchise representation is felt all too much here, but what\u2019s present is sure to satisfy fans of Nickelodeon.<\/p>\n<p>With that being said, Nickelodeon Kart Racers is just as disappointing in its presentation as it is with its gameplay; the graphics look like they were pulled from a lazily-upscaled GameCube game, and there\u2019s a general air of artificial lifelessness that makes the whole experience mildly uncomfortable. Character models are expressive, but they fall firmly into \u2018uncanny valley\u2019 territory; animations are stiff and robotic, and most expressions feel insincere and kind of creepy. This is exacerbated by how Spongebob\u2019s iconic laugh and Michaelangelo\u2019s banter are nowhere to be found here; every character is completely silent throughout the entire race, making for an oddly quiet and flat experience.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Nickelodeon Kart Racers Review - Screenshot 5 of 5\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/93498\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/93498\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Nickelodeon Kart Racers Review - Screenshot 5 of 5\" \/><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>Similarly, the soundtrack is extremely disappointing; instead of remixes of tracks from the shows being represented here, you\u2019re treated to a painfully forgettable collection of MIDI tracks that sound like placeholder music that never got replaced. One could easily transplant this music into just about any kid-friendly mobile game and it wouldn&#8217;t feel out of place, making it feel like yet another missed opportunity. There\u2019s absolutely no character to this music at all, it\u2019s annoying, repetitive and soulless, and combining that with the complete lack of voice acting makes for an experience that feels raw and incomplete.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also worth mentioning that Nickelodeon Kart Racers runs into some egregious performance issues, and these are magnified further by the addition of other players or the usage of portable mode. Pop-in is terrible and actively hindered our enjoyment, such as instances like when Squidward frantically oscillated between materializing and disappearing from his doorstep, or when an upcoming hazard on the track turned invisible and cost us a race. The framerate runs at an uncapped 30 FPS, too, but it usually hovers somewhere around the 20 FPS mark, especially when multiple racers pour into a turn or you make the mistake of trying to play this on the go. Given the simple graphics being displayed, such performance issues make for a dark stain on an already iffy game experience.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"conclusion\">\n<h2 class=\"heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>There are far worse games out there than Nickelodeon Kart Racers, but there are far better ones as well. Given the tremendous opportunity represented by this IP, it\u2019s hard not to be disappointed by the state of Nickelodeon Kart Racers; with more attention to quality and another year of development, this could\u2019ve possibly been a compelling alternative to Mario Kart. Unfortunately, Nickelodeon Kart Racers is simply not good; derivative mechanics, a pathetic character roster and awful performance make this a bargain bin experience that you\u2019ll be glad you missed. If you absolutely <em>have<\/em> to play a racing game with Nickelodeon characters, then by all means, go ahead, but we\u2019d highly recommend you take a pass on this sorry effort.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"object object-youtube\">\n<div class=\"youtube\">[embedded content]<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over the years, Nickelodeon has amassed quite a varied and deep stable of entertaining cartoon franchises, with characters like Spongebob Squarepants and Aang becoming cultural icons that are recognized the world over. It stands to reason, then, that the company could produce a solid kart racer in the vein of Mario Kart; there\u2019s more than [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60222"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60222\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}