We’ve seen real-life versions of Mario Kart before, but they were really just fun novelties. Hunter Smith and Ben James, both engineers from Texas, have blown those other real-life MK versions right out of the water by making a real, playable version of the game – complete with power-ups and obstacles. We don’t want to fawn too much here, but it is probably the greatest thing ever made by anyone, ever.

As players drive around the track, they grab at item boxes suspended above the track. Thanks to embedded RFID tags, the carts recognize which items were grabbed and react accordingly. Players can throw banana peels into competitors’ paths to trip them up, just like in the game.

The carts are souped-up go-karts with a few special modifications that let them react to the power-up items. The brakes, steering and acceleration are all affected by the items hidden in the mystery boxes. Sadly, the game in the video was only a temporary set-up – but Smith and James were kind enough to post specs to help other Mario-loving engineers build their own version. Please – someone build a permanent version and we’ll be first in line for tickets.

The post Best Thing Ever: Real-Life Mario Kart With RFID Power-Ups first appeared on Gajitz.

Even all these years after Mario Kart first caught our attention, it’s still one of the best and most popular racing games ever. There’s something cathartic about driving those little go-karts around and around, throwing banana peels at anyone who gets in your way. These two real-life versions of Mario Kart take the beloved game and bring it into the real world.

This physical Mario Kart game was staged by Freddie Wong, a special-effects guy who has a knack for remaking video games into real-life adventures. You’ve got to love the wacky addition of Wong as Lakitu, the floating referee.

It’s hard to suppress the giggles that bubble up while watching French jokester Remi Gaillard riding around dressed in a full Mario costume and throwing banana peels at surrounding cars. The other drivers aren’t part of his video shoot, and they clearly aren’t amused by his antics. Neither are the cops who eventually pursue him as he rides off into the sunset.

The post 2 Awesome Games of Mario Kart Played with Real Karts first appeared on Gajitz.