I always thought it was going to be hard following Mario Kart 8 with it's 96 tracks with a new game that would inevitably take the total back down to 32 tracks or so. So I guess this openworld twist is a way that avoids that direct comparison.
I'm not sure about the strange wall jump mechanic going on but otherwise the game looks like it has some much needed added content. There's more to do than just play through the grandprixs. I've been hoping for MK to get a better adventure mode like DKR/CTR and this might not be quite that, depending on what they show next week, but it's a step.







