Ah, Nintendo. Why do you tease us so much? You make a great game for the industry, leave us hanging for a while, and just when we begin to doubt your powers you throw us another bone. I love you and hate you at the same time.
As far as the DS goes, that game was Super Mario 64 DS. This showed us the potential for the handheld by improving and adding to the 64 classic. But then came a drought and even though the games were not bad at all, other then Nintendogs, none filled the system's shown potential.
And then there was Mario Kart...
With all the hubub over Wi-Fi multiplayer, people often forget the MK series' singleplayer. Mario Kart DS kicks it up a notch with an impressive 32 courses. In the signature Grand Prix mode races are split in the Nitro and Retro catagories. Each catagory has a set of four cups like the Star or Flower Cup with four races each. The Retro courses offer back-tracks from the SNES, all the way to the GameCube, such as the N64's Moo Moo Farm and the SNES' Mario Circuit 1. However, the new Nitro courses are the highlight of MKDS, often rewarding Mario fans who have played the icon's games over the years. I couldn't help but crack a smile when the oh-so-familiar levels of Mario Sunshine's Delfino Square and MK64's Tick Tock Clock were faithfully executed. Every track in the game is memorable and you can't pick a specific one that isn't enjoyable.
Mario Kart is easily the smoothest portable game on the DS. The framerate flows and the speed in the 100c and 150cc is satisfying. The graphics may also be the best to grace the system to date. You can see into the distance and the tracks and obstacles are well detailed. The character models are not too shabby either; not amazing, but good enough to get the job done.
Other single player modes include Time Trial - where you race solo to get your best time, saving your "ghost" and trying to beat your friend's best times. VS mode lets you play a quick race (or races, for that matter) against individual CPU bots, or team vs team. Battle Mode has two different types: Shine Runners (collect the most shine stars and steal your foes') and Balloon Battle (blow your balloons with the mic and pop your opponents'). Finally, there's the new Mission Mode, which sets specific scenarios that you must complete.
Multiplayer is a different story. Firstly, there's the single-cart option which can get the job done and allows 2-8 players to the race. In this option everyone except the cart owner has to be Shy Guy. There's also the multi-cart option which lets players do whatever they want. Normally a witty one-liner would be said about the single-cart's limitations, but I'm just glad that it's actually being used.
Then, of course, there's the online multiplayer using the Big N's new Wi-Fi Connection. MKDS is Nintendo's first online handheld game, and for a first go it's pretty good. I had about a 90 second wait when logging on to the system for the first time (future log-ons were nearly instant) and after you're done waiting, the game asks for a username. Note: Please be creative; if I see one more screename with "Link" in it I'm going to barf. Once logged on you must choose choose between Regional, Worldwide, and Rival races. 'Regional' pits you against people in your own country, 'Worldwide' is pretty self-explanatory and 'Rival' matches you up with opponents with similar skill based on your race ranks and such. After you pick the type, you're sent to another screen as the DS seaches for three other opponents. This wait time varies from a forever-and-a-half to 10 seconds flat. After your racers are set you must pick characters and vote on a track (in case of a tie the course is picked randomly for a tiebreaker). After another 5-10 second pause the race begins. It runs smoothly with a connection of 2-3 bars, even though usually one out the the four racers has a bad connection, which leads to them vanishing and reappearing on different spots of the course. Still, the Wi-Fi multiplyaer is a great addition to the solid title.
Mario Kart DS is the complete package. Great original tracks, golden oldies, nice presentation and the best graphics to this point on the system. My problems with the game are minor: like the lack of profiles (if multiple people want to keep record on the same cartridge they must change the username each time), the slighty annoying Wi-Fi load times, and the fact that Donkey Kong laughs like Scooby Doo. Other then stuff like that, there is absolutely no reason why every DS owner should not have this game. Mario Kart DS is the best MK game ever made. and justifies my $150 dollar original purchase of the DS. Buy it now and maybe I'll see you online.
