 Mario Kart has become a staple Nintendo Franchise going all the way back to the SNES days when the first Mario Kart was released. Its formula has always been simple, with fun and reasonable cart racing, lots of playable characters and carts, and unique tracks all themed around the famous Nintendo plumber so many people know and love. The Nintendo DS version has been out for a while, but this was the first chance I’ve gotten my hands on it. So how does this franchise fare in its move to the DS?
Note: I’m toying with a slightly different format of the reviews, so this one won’t be structured quite like my previous reviews. Mario Kart DS comes with several ways to play, both single and multi-player. For single player, you have several different modes. Grand Prix mode, with the standard 50cc, 100cc, and 150cc divisions, lets you race on sets of 4 tracks for cup titles. Time Trials mode lets you try to get the best lap and race time alone on the track without other items or competitors to distract you. In VS mode, you race alone, or on a team, on tracks you select or are selected randomly until you get a set number of wins. Battle mode lets you slug it out with other cart racers to pop their balloons or find and recover the most shrines. And Mission mode, where you have specific tasks to complete and are rated based on how well you complete them. On the multi-player side, you can play with up to 8 other players locally (even if you only have 1 cartridge), and play VS or Battle modes against your opponents, at least in simple (1 cartridge) mode. Without a cartridge, your opponents can only play as a shy guy, but with a cartridge, they can play as any of the characters they have available. In addition to that, Nintendo WFC (Wi-Fi Connect) play is available for internet play, and you can race up to 4 other players in a Grand Prix style match up, where players pick a track and one is selected randomly from those 4. Multi-player works seamlessly for the most part, though if a player disconnects, it can potentially kill the game. WFC play works very well, with no hiccups, and deals with players dropping without losing the game (Unless you’re down to 1 player). Gameplay is very well done. Despite not having an analog pad, steering is easy and natural, as is breaking, jumping, power sliding, and firing weapons. You can use the touch screen to navigate the menus for game, character, and cart selection, but you don’t need to, which is a nice touch, since you don’t use the touch screen during actual racing. The top screen is where you do your racing, while the bottom screen has an overhead map of the course that’s occasionally useful and a nice touch, but not something that will get a lot of use. The cart physics are realistic and consistent enough that you always know where you’re going, what you’re going to get, and why, but they are loose enough to allow for some of the wacky courses, as well as the various weapons such as bananas, bombs, and shells that you’ll use in your quest for victory. The AI is very well done, as the racers behave intelligently, race hard, and use their weapons well. And the variety of different carts you can race keeps things interesting. Each cart feels and handles differently, and there's a number of different carts to suit any racer's style. Graphically the game looks sharp, with a bright style that is distinctly Mario. The sounds are well done and appropriate too, though nothing spectacular. The original courses are varied and as zany as the previous games have held, but aren’t particularly different. There are 16 original courses made for this game, but you can also play on 16 retro courses, from the SNES, N64, Gamecube, and Gameboy Advance versions of the game. The new courses look very good, and the older courses still look good and have been updated nicely. On top of the 32 race courses, there are 6 battle fields for the battle games, some new and old there as well. Part of what keeps you in the single player game is the unlockables. You don’t have access to all the tracks till you unlock them on each level of the Grand Prix. And at each level, you can also unlock alternate screens, more carts, or new characters to play. You can also unlock additional missions, or staff time trial ghosts. Each mode is fun by itself, but the added bonus of things to unlock can keep you coming back. You can use the characters and carts in multi-player, though you’re stuck with only some of the tracks being available over Wi-fi. Overall, Mario Kart DS is a great game. Single player will keep you busy for quite a while, and the multitude of multi-player options adds extra life and fun to the game as well. Gameplay is very well done, and while it’s not really particularly innovative for the series, the addition of online WFC play is very nice, and the game is very well suited for a portable system. Pros:
-Graphics and artwork are well done.
-WFC play works very well
-Download play allows up to 8 players with only 1 cartridge
-Controls are well done
-Cart racing physics are accurate enough but don’t interfere in the fun
-Easy to pick up and play for short periods of time. Cons:
-Not every cart is created equal.
-Only the Grand Prix Style available over WFC
-Need a game specific WFC friend code Bront’s Score: 9.5 out of 10 Discuss this review in the Forums |
