I got Mario Kart DS a couple of days ago I all ready played through Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow. I heard about how awesome Mario Kart DS was so I decided to pick it up, and even though I haven’t played the 2 player wi fi internet connection that they have with the game (just can’t afford it). But the game is probably the best Mario Kart single player you can get.
Story.
Like all the Mario Kart predecessors before hand there is no story, it’s just a convient way for Nintendo to get its most famous mascot into a go kart and run races. But it’s been a fun racing series since its conception over a dozen years ago. In it’s latest run on the game cube Nintendo tried to change a few things around and make it into more of a party game, luckily a lot of those alterations are gone and it’s back to good old Mario Kart. That is not to say Double Dash isn’t worth getting, it’s just I like the old school Mario Kart just a little bit better.
Graphics.
If you’re expecting N64 sprites to make a return like they did in Super Circuit your going to be disappointed. The sprites here are new and fully done sprites, and not prerender. The bad news is that it looks like they took the ugly sprites from the original Super Smash Brothers and shoved them into go karts. The good news is that there now fully animated. They jump up and cheer whenever they manage to hit a person with a weapon or get something good.
But what is more amazing is the job they did with the scenery each level as some very good art work. From Luigi’s haunted mansion with moving trees and swamps. To Waluigi’s pinball table that looks a lot like the casino night zone levels from a former blue hedgehog rival. The graphics are amazing. More so in a few of the classic courses they threw in. Unlike Super circuit where they put in backgrounds from one of the newer courses in, this time they used the old back grounds and updated them to look 3dish. In other words the backgrounds at first glance look like they did on the SNES in Mario Circuit 1. But when you start moving you see the trees and the mountains move closer and further away, it’s a nice affect.
Of course not only do SNES courses appear but so do N64, GBA, and GCN courses appear to. The one from the GBA are treated with the same kind of effect, they look like the same kind of art work for each place but now there 3d and move with the track. The N64 tracks are exact replicas of the N64 version of Mario Kart (no surprise there since the DS is basically a portable N64). And then the GCN is also mind blowing. While they obviously couldn’t get everything in the track down on the DS they did a lot better job then most people would expect. While a few things like the blimps and air planes no longer appear in the background. All the signs, traps, and the courses stay pretty much the same and have a good frame rate to.
Sound.
The music hear is catchy and represents each course fairly well. The classic tunes have also been done perfectly and sound just the same, if not a bit better. Nintendo still uses the same VA’s from the past Mario Kart games so expect to hear the same whoops and hollers as before.
Gameplay.
The basics of the kart racer.
For the 3 of you on the planet who have never played a Kart racer, none the less Mario Kart I’ll describe what a Kart racer is. It follows the same rule as a regular racer, get to the finish line first in order to score the most amounts of points. But unlike a regular racer you can screw up the other person. You can grab zany weapons and throw them at your enemies to slow them down. Shells, bana peels, bob-ombs, and even lighting bolts can come to your aide.
So what’s new in Mario Kart DS. Well in the one player mode you have 32 courses, 16 old, and 16 new. In each class you start out with only 4 cups, 2 cups are all new courses, and 2 cups are retro courses. Retro courses take 1 course from each of the previous games and put them in a cup. As you win the cups new cups appear. And you win all the cups in a class you will unlock a new character to play as.
You have the usual 8 characters and there usual characteristics to start out with. You start out with Mario, Luigi, Peach, Wario, Bowser, DK, Yoshi, and Toad. So far I have unlocked Daisy, Dry Bones, and Waluigi. Each character have there own different strengths and weaknesses. To add more to the mix each character starts out with two different cars to select. There is the usual go kart, and then there is that players special kart that fits more there image. DK got a Rambi Kart, Wario’s got is pimp mobile that he has from the last game, and Mario as a car that looks a bit like the mach 5 from the old speed racer cartoons. There are also is a 3rd type of car that can be unlocked to and these get even weirder with things like airplanes, motorcycles and tanks being unlocked for the characters.
The new courses are also quite good, since there hasn’t been any radically new Mario game to come out in the last couple of years, and Mario Kart Double Dash all ready took the whole Isle Delfino environment for a spin. Mario Kart Double Dash instead uses some of the characters personality to make courses, and in some cases it goes back into classic Mario games. While there is a run through down town isle delfino. There is also a run through the clock from Mario 64, as well has a run through a Super Mario Brothers 3 type air ship. Even a few of the new courses can give you a healthy dose of nostalgia.
For weapons we have 1 new weapon and then 2 items from double dash that have been perfected. The 2 items from double dash are the bob-bomb which was Wario’s special weapon, It works pretty much the same way here but it seems to be a lot easier to throw with it. The next one is the bullet bill which was formally the chain chomp the two babies used. This lets you transform into a bullet and go rally fast and any body who gets in your way gets whacked in till you transform back. Then finally there is the blooper which is the brand new one and only works on a portable console like the DS. With this you can send a blooper to blind your friend’s top DS screen with black ink. While he still has full use of the map and radar on the bottom of the screen, he will be practically blind on using the top screen where the main action unfolds.
Other Modes.
Besides the usual GP there is the time trial where you can set new records and even swap ghost data with friends. There is also a 1player version of VS and Battle modes if you want to go at it with the computers. As fun has it is to battle 8 CPU controlled characters in these battles, just can’t help but say that I human players are a lot better.
And finally there is a mission mode where you must complete a set of task in order to accomplish a mission. Collect all the coins, beat somebody to the finish line, break boxes etc. After you beat a certain amount of missions you fight a boss and then continue on with another set of missions.
Wi Fi access
Ok Mario Kart DS is the 2nd game in the Mario Kart series do go online. The original SNES one could go online with a product called Xband but it was back during the birth of the world wide web and it was really expensive and was a major flop. Mario Kart DS is another story if you can afford the high speed internet you can buy there online adapter which is dirty cheap, or use your own wireless network if you have one. I can’t afford the high speed internet net access but my mom as one at her place so while visiting her I tapped into it and was able to play online.
Connecting is easy and while playing online the action is smooth and seemless, even when the networks connection isn’t the strongest. While that is good Nintendo as got to work on it’s presentation. There is no picking your opponent inless you have his friend code, and you can’t get that inless you know them personally. And since the game picks the player randomly you won’t get people your skill level. The first game I played was against people who had racked up over 100 victories, I got my butt handed to me. The next game was against people who had no wins and several losses, I felt like I was beating up on a 3 year old I won so much. I hope they change a few things before the first Pokemon RPG on the DS
Final Recommendation.
Mario Kart DS is a solid single player racing game, with several modes and plenty of tracks the one player mode will last you a long time. The WI-FI internet access is fast and smooth and is as easy to play has the regular 1 player mode. But the fact that you can’t easily pick your opponent makes it a bit frustrating. Still it’s a good game and if you’re a fan of the Mario Kart series and haven’t bought a DS this is your wake up call.
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