Review: Mario Kart DS (DS)

Format: Nintendo DS
Publisher: Nintendo
Producer: In-House
Genre: Racing
Price: £29.99
Origin: Japan
Reviewer: Sideath

So, it's finally arrived. The fifth installment of Mario Kart, for Nintendo's current-gen console, the Nintendo DS. This game seems to be at the peak of the series, and has all the good qualities of the previous Mario Karts, but also more besides.

You want substance? Mario Kart DS has enough to keep you (and your friends) busy for years to come. With 32 tracks to choose from (which are then mirrored, meaning you really get 64 tracks), you are kept constantly busy on the racetrack, and if you're feeling nostalgic, half of those tracks are from previous Mario Karts - four from each console. The GameCube Double Dash tracks are the weakest of the four (although they look the best), as the style of play varies the most from other consoles, but nevertheless all the Retro tracks are excellent. But still, the new tracks stand firmly on their own as excellent examples of what Mario Kart can offer, especially the ones influenced by tracks from various other Nintendo games (wait till you get your hands on the new Bowser's Castle and the track influenced by Mario64's Tick Tock Clock! Gaming at it's best!). But the substance doesn't stop there. New features include a new Mission mode, which, although relished and consumed quite quickly, introduces you to the finer points of Mario Kart DS's tracks and handling; a new, advanced Time Trial mode, with influenced bottom screen help; and also CPU Battle modes, which of course allows you to take advantage to the CPU to full effect. You want substance? Mario Kart has substance.

You want style? Let me say this - Mario Kart DS is the most battle-oriented Mario Kart game to date. To many (including myself), this is a good thing, not only does this mean that you see shells flying everywhere, but also races are much closer, even on 2-player versus mode (beating Sam 14 to 12 currently). The tracks and battle maps also reflect on this style of play, and some of the Retro tracks have been changed slightly to suit this style, which is a good thing, trust me. You want style? Mario Kart has style.

You want cool multiplayer? This is the aspect of Mario Kart which really does shine. Multiplayer is now CPU supported, so you can have 8 players on the track whatever number of human players there are. I'm also really looking forward to playing Mario Kart online, via the Nintendo WiFi Online Connection, and apparently there is very low lag, and races are as smooth as if your opponents are standing in the next room. However, since I have not played online yet, I cannot speak for this entirely. And of course, the games themselves You want cool multiplayer? Mario Kart has cool multiplayer.

Currently it seems that my review is going towards the way of a press release or a game advertisement, so now it would seem wise to say some of its cons. The gratest disadvantage Mario Kart has on it's opponents (eg. Wipeout Pure, Ridge Racers) is graphics - the weapons themselves look 2-D, and people will complain about it's lack of animation for various weapons compared to games such as Double Dash, per-say. But then, graphics wasn't the reason you bought a DS, surely? Also, sometimes the game will seem strangly unfair, for example getting hit by two blue shells meters before the finish line, but then this can be explained with the ferocity of ZangbandTK: after all, it was your fault for being first wasn't it? ;-)

But anyway, problems aside, Mario Kart DS is one hell of a game, and I would recommend it to anyone with a DS, or any Mario Kart fan.

nine out of ten
Recommended Award