We’re all fans of Mario Kart and many of Nintendo’s classic titles. But as much as we’d love to see them arrive on iOS, we don’t care much for shameless clones. We’ve seen countless Super Mario clones in the App Store, but Mole Kart is a Mario Kart ripoff that shares more than just a few similarities.
While Mole Kart’s characters aren’t all that recognizable, its soundtrack, gameplay mechanics, and even track designs seem to have been lifted straight from Nintendo’s popular title. If you’re a Mario Kart fan, many of the things you see in the Mole Kart trailer above will be very familiar to you.
But don’t expect it to be as good as Mario Kart. It’s lacking a championship game mode and different engine sizes, for a start, and it hopes to rip you off. In addition to the initial $1.99 fee to purchase the game, you’ll also have to splash out on in-app purchases to enjoy the full game with all its tracks and karts.
I really don’t understand why Mole Kart’s developers have chosen to rip off a classic title so blatantly. I mean, they’ve clearly put a lot of effort into their game, so why not make it a unique kart racer that would receive more respect?
There’s a chance Mole Kart will be pulled from the App Store in the near future, but I think you’ll agree that’s what it deserves.
[via Joystick Mobile]
Killian Bell is a freelance writer based in the U.K. He has an interest in all things tech and also covers Android over at CultofAndroid.com. You can follow him on Twitter via @killianbell.
14 responses to “Shameless Mario Kart Clone Hits The App Store”
N64 Mario Kart beats this, hands down. Agree with you totally, Bell.
Also look up Super Hedgehog HD. Just hit today (I think). Total rip-off.
Mario Kart 64!! I would play this game for HOURS nonstop, one of my favorites. I really want to buy this knock off but I can wait till Nintendo finally swallows their pride and hopefully get the original ;-)
Why does Apple keep allowing this?
Price has been raised to 2.99.
I think it’s because in the US, copyright infringement is something that has to be started by the copyright holder. Because of the way that stupid DCMA act was written, it’s shifted to a system where the copyright holder makes a complaint first and the company then reacts to that complaint.
iOS game developers have no shame.
It’s chinese… surprised?
Sponsored by Samsung.
Those levels are rips of the Wii’s levels, some of the layouts are exactly the same
What the hell?!
I don’t see it as a Mario kart rip off.. I mean, it’s a racing game. The font used is similar.. But Mario kart is wayyyy better than this… No shells to shoot, no coin boosts… To say this is a total Mario kart rip off, you may as well say any racing game is a Mario kart rip off…
Comment of the day
I think there’s a, uh, I dunno, TINY DIFFERENCE… in Need for Speed Underground 2 and Mole Kart.
One is a rip-off of Mario Kart. Guess which.