IS THAT LINK IN A KART????

[NICKtendo DS]

So the first DLC pack is out. I love the new karts (not a bike fan), I love the new tracks (Ice Ice Outpost's layout was a pleasant surprise) and the characters are okay (love Tanooki Mario's horn sound though). Playing GP on 150cc/Mirror reminded me how terrible the CPU was. Easy *** stolen by that one Blue Shell... followed by a Red Shell and other crap the lower rank racers are carrying.
I think I've gained 7 new favorite tracks, which is probably more than the number of favorite tracks the game initially had. Wario's Goldmine is meh, but way better than its Wii counterpart. There's only so much you can do to fix a Wii track.

My main driver set-up is now Shy Guy (color may vary) and B-Dasher. The Blue Falcon is cool too, I absolutely love it, but it being in kart form (I know it couldn't be any other way) hinders the magic. I might be swayed once I have the C. Falcon amiibo, but that just puts a fake Captain Falcon (not Blood Falcon) in a fake Blue Falcon.

I love Mute City and Hyrule Circuit. Again, shame it's not based on an earlier Mute City, though I think it's would've hardly been better than the track we have now. Every detail is a true love-letter to F-Zero (You know what would've been a better love-letter? A new F-Zero game!) like the Hyrule Circuit is to the Legend of Zelda. I just love these tracks.
SNES Rainbow Road looks gorgeous, albeit unsafe for those with photosensitive epilepsy. The way the track waves more excessively gives it more body, while still being totally flat. The start/finish banner also helps. It also has a background that goes beyond just a starry sky for a change! I also love how it feels different from the other RRs. The MK8 RR feels cool, the MK64 RR feels warm and this RR feels electric.
Dragon Driftway is a tricky track and I love it. Like the name implies, it puts your drifting skills to the test. Anti-gravity is also nice, it's twisty.
Ice Ice Outpost is just amazing. It's the track I knew least about, so I was curious. It's an ice-themed track, but it didn't really feel slippery, though I may have not noticed it. It has a few cuts that are risky, but require no boost and one of them cuts a fair bit. The later two (one right after the first and the one near the finish line) are not worth the risk, at least not for me. The overall design is just so refined, that track alone justifies the already generous pricetag the DLC has.

Now to hibernate for 6 months until pack 2 is out.