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Mario Kart may just be the most well-known racing game franchise available. Over ten years and going with four games in the bank, the series has had both its high points as well as it’s questionably low, but regardless of that, it is still going strong today.
Two years ago we were all pairing up two Mario characters and racing them around a huge assortment of tracks. This method proved to be a real love or hate affair and critics either praised or bashed the game like there was no tomorrow. Obviously Nintendo wants Mario Kart to continue to appeal to the not-so-hardcore Nintendo fans, so they’ve taken a step back and given each racer their own individual kart in the latest instalment of the popular franchise.
But the question is; can this Mario Kart take on the undoubtedly near-perfect Super NES original to become the king of action-packed, crazy racing games? Well, that’s really up to the tastes of the player, but I’d say so – and let me tell you why.
Mario Kart DS is the latest update to the franchise, sporting an impressive thirty-two tracks (sixteen of which are swiped from the four previous games), eight characters (as well as four unlockables), Grand Prix, Time Trial, Mission, VS, Shine Runner and Balloon Battle modes, as well as eight-player multiplayer for the latter three and a four-player online mode for VS mode, a first for any Mario game.
Single player has always been a complaint from gamers who’ve played any of the series, as there’s never truly enough to do. In previous Mario Kart games, the only thing you can do in single player is race. Usually only the Grand Prix and Time Trial modes areto play, which leads to competition of the game in minimal time, with little more other than the Time Trial records to keep you playing on your lonesome. However, Mario Kart DS offers a staggering amount of single player modes which may very well keep you playing the mode for, as I have done, at least thirty hours before you even begin to master the game.
The Grand Prix, as always, is the key feature to Mario Kart DS in terms of single player. To begin with, there are three cups to race on – 50CC (slowest, but easiest), 100CC and 150CC (fastest, but hardest). It’s probably best, even if you’re a long-time Mario Kart player, to start with 50CC, as coming back to play this mode will feel like a chore once you’re done with 100 and 150CC. On each class there are now eight cups to play through, which means for at least double the amount of gameplay in this department when compared to the previous console versions of the game. The first four cups (dubbed the Nitro Grand Prix) all feature brand new tracks, most of which are based on classic tracks (Bowser’s Castle, Mario Circuit, etc), as well as some new styles based loosely on Mario’s recent outings, but the last four (Retro Grand Prix) feature all your favourite Mario Kart tracks, four of each from the previous games.
Whilst 50CC may be ridiculously easy for the hardcore, a grading system will encourage you to re-play cups to earn a higher grade, and it’ll take you a very long time to score well in each of the classes. Cranking up the level and the 100-150CC classes offer much more of a challenge, missed by many since the original Mario Kart. Unlike Mario Kart 64 and Double Dash!!’s, this Grand Prix mode offers a lot more challenge and replay value, although a suspiciously convenient well-timed blue missile from someone back at the end of the pack will have you screaming at your handheld as you see your rank drop from 1st to 5th just before you hit the finish line. However, the cheating AI has become a Mario Kart tradition, so it’s only to be expected, as frustrating as it may well be.
The Time Trial mode is rather straight-forward, as there has been near-to-no change since the previous games. However, there are now unlockable staff ghosts for every track rather than eight-or-so, which appear once you have set a record time (which is not very hard) – and you can also send your ghosts to friends, which is a nice addition.
Onto VS mode and you’ll notice that this has received quite the makeover. Not only can you choose your class and CPU level, but you can also play through the courses in order or randomly, with rules for amount of wins or races, as well as a well-deserved team mode! The single player version is a nice treat, but will prove to become dull when compared to other gameplay modes. However, multiplayer is where this mode shines right through, as it is possible to play for hours on end and not get even remotely bored.
You have the option of playing with other DS owners with or without the game, which came in especially handy here. Whilst I was unable to test this against anyone else with the game (due to it not being released here until Friday), Single-Card Download Play still proves to be great fun. Your friends without the game will be forced to play as Shy Guys (short, cloaked little characters with masks), but you are able to select your character and kart, as well as use your own emblem, which I’ll talk about later in the review. You can play with up to seven other people and, in Single-Card Download Play, there are eight selectable courses. While this may not sound like a lot, after a few hours of play you’ll be worried that if they’d have chucked more in you may completely lose your social life.
The Balloon Battle and Shine Thief modes offer the same options, but with six maps to choose from, of which you might recognise a few, as there have been some throw-ins and inspirations. These maps may be very fun to play on, but none of them even come remotely close to rivalling the Super NES originals. Even so, with eight players racing around against each other and all of the new features that have been chucked in, the battle modes are fortunately made up for. The “Block Fort” level makes a welcome return from the Nintendo 64 version, but it is very odd how Nintendo decided not to include the original battle maps.
The Balloon Battle has had another small change in terms of gameplay, as this time you’ll notice that you start with just one (instead of three) balloon. However, by blowing on the inbuilt microphone in a quiet area of the battle map you’ll find you have four balloons in reserve. Being able to sport only three balloons at a time makes everything very tense; especially knowing that you have one or two left in reserve. Finding a quiet place in the arena is challenging, but makes you a lot more aware of what’s going on. On the other hand, the Shine Runner mode will have you hunting around for Shine Sprites (Super Mario Sunshine’s answer to stars), and players without enough of these will gradually be kicked out of the game, leaving a winner after a few minutes. This proves to be incredibly fun and you’ll have to use every tactic up your sleeves to win over as many Shine Sprites as you possibly can.
Finally, we have the Missions mode, a brand new feature of the Mario Kart series, which involves completing challenges (collect X amount of coins, drive through X amount of tyres, blast X amount of crabs, etc) in a limited amount of time. There are over fifty of these in total, many of which are similar to others, but plenty of originals in addition to these. When you complete a mission, you’re given a grade for it – 3* being the highest. Just like the Grand Prix mode, the grading system will keep you coming back for more and it’ll take an incredible amount of time to complete even a single set of missions with perfect grades.
The game controls are near-perfect in all of the modes; the shoulder bottons allow you to power-slide and litter the track with weaponry, whilst the face buttons allow you to steer, accelerate, brake and switch map modes. However, the only downside to the controls is that you may struggle to find a spare finger to touch the screen (switching map modes), and the Y button is too far out of reach to press when you've got your thumb on the accelerator. However, switching the map is something that is done very rarely during the game, so this doesn't really have any effect on the gameplay at all. |
Comments on this article
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13 December 2005 7:20 AM
it is so cool
jax2.0
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29 December 2005 11:33 PM
This games is Awesome! :] But the staff ghost are hard man i trying to beat it.
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| Platform: |
Nintendo DS |
| Publisher: |
Nintendo |
| Developer: |
Nintendo |
| Origin: |
Japan |
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| UK release: |
25 November 2005 |
| PEGI (UK): |
3+ |
| ESRB (US): |
E |
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| Genre: |
Racing |
| Players: |
1 - 8 (local), 1 - 4 (online) |
| Multiplayer: |
LAN + Online |
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Extra features:
Touch screen, microphone
Summary:
Mario Kart zooms onto the Nintendo DS as an 8-player online wireless multiplayer fest! Featuring the usual characters, you'll be racing around all-new Mario Kart tracks with all the familiar powerups and tactics that makes the series such a gem.
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