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Mario Kart for DS
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Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Wario, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Toad and Bowser put the pedal to the go-kart metal in all-new tracks, plus many hidden courses. Grab coins to max... more
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Fast and furious, long lasting fun
| Rating of the author: | published on 26.05.2008 by hydromancer |
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Pros: simple yet excellent gameplay, outstanding multiplayer and wifi support, good graphics and sound Cons: no innovative use of touchscreen |
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Mario Kart DS is one of the few racing games available on the DS. It is also the best racing game on the DS and will appeal to almost everyone. Visual presentation Visually speaking, the game is a kaleidoscope of lush colours and backgrounds. The animations that precede every race are smooth and there is quite a lot of detail in them. Each character and 'Kart' is easy to recognise and differentiate between. The character outlines and environments are very detailed and there are no apparent jagged edges that commonly plague DS games. My only concern is that sometimes camera angles can be annoying, making the game unnecessarily difficult and, in typical Mario style, the characters are cartoonish. 9/10 Sound There are some crisp and clear tunes that are actually quite catchy...all with subtle touches of the original Mario. They are appropriately fast-paced and create the perfect atmosphere for some fun races. The snippets of voice acting can only add to the score. 9/10 Story and gameplay It should come as no surprise that there is no story (this is a racing game). However, the gameplay is simple with the D-pad used for steering and the A button to accelerate. The mushrooms for turbo boosts, the shells for knocking out opponents, the bullets for blasting apart those in front of you, there is just an astounding variety of ways to overtake your opponents apart from out-speeding them. This adds a lot of variety to the game and makes it extremely fun and interesting to play. The levels of difficulty are appropriately hard and there is one to suit everyone including newcomers and veterans. There are many modes to try. The main mode is Grand Prix where most of the fun is. This is where you attempt to win eight 'Grand Prix' races, each consisting of four 3-lap long races. You'll unlock new characters from the Mario universe and new vehicles as you go through this. The time trial mode is self-explanatory. The VS mode allows you to do a custom race. Another very interesting bit is the mission mode which allows you to work your way through numerous missions with tasks like collecting stars and passing through arches in a particular order before the time runs out. Depending on your performance, you'll be awarded a rank and it will take you lots of fun-filled tries to get the top rank. You can also do the 'shine runner' or 'balloon battle' races. In the shine runner, you try to collect the most stars while trying to avoid shells and other objects that will cause you to lose a star. You also try to make your opponents lose their stars by throwing things at them. Balloon battles occur in the same way, only that you start off with six balloons and if you run out of balloons you lose. These two modes are extremely good and excellent for some fast and furious action. The use of the touchscreen is only limited to the menu. The racing takes place on the top screen with the bottom one reserved for maps which is very convenient but not particularly innovative. You use your microphone to inflate your balloon in balloon battle which adds a bit of fun to the game. 9/10 Multiplayer and Lasting appeal The game has DS Download Play support which allows you to play with anyone with just a DS. The wireless multiplayer mode allows you to go head to head with your friends with all races done on one screen and a massive collection of karts and characters to choose from. The first game to feature wifi support is the best. With opponents readily available online, from newcomers to experts, you will be able to race against people all over the world and be able to choose from a vast number of characters and an endless list of karts (if you've unlocked them). Each character chooses a character and kart, each has the characters unique emblem which is created when you start the game for the first time. This provides a large variety and personalises your characters and karts. Then the players vote for a track in a democratic way and the winning track gets chosen for the race. The idea is simple yet work very well and provides hours of fun. Parents can rest assured that there is no way for the opponents to communicate with their child but grown-ups will be disappointed by the lack of voice support as they can't demoralise their opponents! With four levels of difficulty to master, a vast number of modes to play and excellent wifi and multplayer support, this one game will last you hours on end and you will come back to it again and again for some quick, long-lasting and satisfying racing fun. This was my first DS game and the only one I had for over six months. 10/10 Closing Comments If you buy one game for your DS, make sure it is this. With outstanding gameplay, a comprehensive multiplayer mode and excellent graphics and sound, this games with prove to be lasting fun for everyone. Final Mathematical Score of 9.3 out of 10 (This review is my own work and can also be found on www.dooyoo.co.uk) |
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This review has been read a total of 242 times and 7 times and was rated by 5 members as follows:
Reviews:
4 times exceptional
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Reviews:
4 times exceptional
1 times very helpful
Comments on the review
| Comments on the review | Rating | Date | Member |
|---|---|---|---|
| thx ... |
exceptional
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28.5.2008, 19:12 |
Author: maryodonnell
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| great review, I love to play mario on DS. I just can agree with your opinion. |
exceptional
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28.5.2008, 18:31 |
Author: anne78
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| thx |
very helpful
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28.5.2008, 17:08 |
Author: grundlosmoni
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| Great, thank you! |
exceptional
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27.5.2008, 17:10 |
Author: captainsparrow
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| very detailed! thanx a lot! |
exceptional
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27.5.2008, 14:44 |
Author: jane
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