I love the Mario Kart series with all my heart. From my first Mario Kart on the DS to this latest entry, I have played well over 1,000 hours across all the titles. This game was incredible... Until it wasn't, the movement, the visuals, the soundtrack, even the somewhat straightforward design, the maps could have were great through the first 30 hours. All of these things were great when you could race online with the 3-lap tracks. However, when they effectively removed that option, it completely ruined the game for me. When everyone realized that bagging was the only viable strategy, it became a game that destroyed the fun, innovation, and ideas originally added to this entry. Again, everything about this game, outside of the straightaway tracks, was great until that became the only option, which ruined it for me. Not happy.