17 Jun 2007 18:43
Mario Kart DS
Time to race...no wires attached. The acclaimed Mario Kart series has gone wireless, letting players race and battle with up to eight karts at once, regardless of whether everyone has a game card. An all-star cast that includes Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Wario, Bowser and Toad will round out a truly all-star lineup of more than 30 courses drawn from every Mario Kart game. That's right - players will tour courses from Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64, Mario Kart: Super Circuit and Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, not to mention brand-new tracks and arenas. With all the crazy items and frantic speed players have come to expect, this game is a Mario Kart fan's dream. The game has a new dimension of fun, since players can battle others around the world by connecting to Nintendo's new wireless gaming service, Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.
- 93% Multiplayer
- 80% Single Player
- 90% Nostalga
- 85% Blue Shells
Trip's Review
This game has been out for a while on the DS (it came out in the UK (25 November 2005), but it's a classic, and it was the main reason I bought a DS. I've been getting back into it the last month due to the fantastic multiplayer the game has, so I thought a review of it would be worth while. Thanks to the inclusion of classic tracks from the previous games it gives you a good sense of nostalgia, along with a good collection of new/re imagined tracks giving you a total of 32 tracks to race around (16 old, 16 new).
The hook that will get you playing this game more is the 'mini turbo', if you've played the N64 or Game Cube version you've seen this before, but if not you're in for a treat. It's a way of getting an extra speed burst coming out of a corner by initiating a skid then quickly taping left and right, sounds tricky and it is.
Playing this game multiplayer is where it shines, giving a balanced play to newcomers and old seasoned veterans (although the veterans will always win), due to the way the items work. Basically the further back in the field you are, the better power-ups you get, so if you're first you'll only get green shells and banana skins, which are both pretty crap, but if you're in last place you'll get the ultimate power up: "bullet-bill"!
Playing the game single player is good (you get grand prix, time trials, missions and battle modes), but it gets boring reasonably quickly, but if you've got a couple of mates with DSs and copies of the game you'll probably want to play through it for practice so you can beat the crap out of them later.
Multiplayer online is limited to 4 races only (with up to 4 people), and if you're only just getting into the game, prepare to lose a lot. While you might not like getting '0wn3d' ever time you play it online it's good for watching other people race and seeing what tricks they use.
The most amazing thing about this game is how rock solid the frame rate is, it's it has not slow down from start to finish which makes the game so much more enjoyable and keeps you coming back for more.
Mikey's Review
I can beat trip sometimes so I must be good! Although saying that, Lisa, with her girly pink DS absolutely loves playing networked Mario Kart vs Trip, she even wins sometimes! Albiet as Yoshi (because he "is sooooo cute" lol).
Go this gets my thumbs up, keeps Lisa happy and Trip entertained, double win! Now where did I put that red shell?
