The Mario Kart series is one of Nintendo's most popular franchises. Following the success of Mario Kart for the SNES and Mario Kart 64 for the Nintendo 64, Nintendo promised to release a new installment that would improve upon its predecessors and perhaps even redefine the series completely. Although the result, Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, features new gameplay elements and updated graphics, the outcome sticks with a formula that has worked for over a decade.
The
gameplay in Double Dash is very similar to the previous games in this series. You pick characters and the kart, hit the track and compete for first place. Weapons are acquired by collecting item boxes, and the basic weapons range from green shells to bananas to lightning bolts. The weapons still have the same effects as they did in the previous games. Red shells will home in on the kart ahead of you and will send them spinning, giving you precious time to catch up or even pass by them. Mushrooms still give you a speed burst, stars still make you invincible and increase your speed, and spiky shells still home in on the leader.
Basics aside, the Mario Kart series has undergone a facelift. The cast includes twenty recognizable characters from the Mario universe, including Peach, Toad, Yoshi, Koopa, Waluigi, Baby Mario and many more. The most revolutionary addition is the fact that each kart seats two characters now. One of the characters is in charge of the driving while the other is in charge of the weapons, although you must constantly switch characters. The characters are divided into three weight classes (light, medium and heavy) and the karts that you can choose from are dependent on the characters that you choose.
If you choose two light characters then you must use a light kart. If you choose one light character and one medium character or two medium characters then you must use a medium kart. Any combination of one heavy and any other character results in you having to use a heavy kart. The karts differ in speed, acceleration and weight. Lighter karts tend to have higher acceleration and horrible weight, medium karts are balanced while heavy karts have high speed and weight but very low acceleration.
Another key addition is the inclusion of signature weapons. Characters now have a chance of acquiring unique weapons that can only be used by them. Mario and Luigi can use fireballs, Yoshi has surprise eggs, Donkey and Diddy Kong have giant bananas and other characters have other unique weapons. This is a great addition because not only does this mean that there are more weapons, it also means that managing seating becomes even more crucial. For example, choosing Mario and Luigi might not be a good choice because if you get a special item it can only be fireballs. Yet if you choose Mario and Yoshi, you might get a special egg and a fireball. My only gripe about weapons is the fact that item boxes tend to show up way too often, therefore you can get too many weapons during a race and too many weapons takes away a bit from the driving experience because everyone keeps getting hit.
Mario Kart: Double Dash!! features
four modes of play, including Time Trials, Grand Prix, Vs. and Battle Mode. Time Trials is a mode where you get to race in any unlocked track for your personal fastest times. You choose your characters and kart, get two mushrooms and then must complete three laps with no one else on the track. Your overall track and lap records will be recorded, and this is a somewhat addicting mode if you are really into beating your high scores.
For the ultimate single player experience, Grand Prix mode is for you. Here you will be faced with three cups to compete in, each one consisting of four tracks. There are three difficulty settings to choose from (50cc, 100cc or 150cc), and upon choosing your difficulty, characters and cup, you will race across four tracks in hopes of winning the first place trophy, known as Golden Cup. As you progress, you will unlock new items, such as new tracks, characters and karts. Soon enough, you will unlock a fourth cup, known as the Special Cup. If you manage to nab first place on the highest difficulty in the Special Cup, then the All Cup Tour will become available to you. This is a grueling race that consists of all sixteen tracks without stopping at all, and completing it might take up to a whole hour. Winners of this race will be rewarded with something special…
The tracks in Grand Prix mode seem well constructed at first but then became a bit bland and predictable to me. As always, there is a Luigi Circuit, a Mario Circuit, a desert track, an icy track, Rainbow Road and Bowser's Castle. Tracks such as Wario Colosseum and DK Mountain are welcome due to their originality, although more truly creative tracks should have been made. There is a fair share of short cuts to seek out as always, but they will not save you more than a second or two. Some tracks feature very sharp turns, therefore you must familiarize yourself with the power slide to come out of a turn with some extra speed.
The
multi-player aspect has always been the core of the Mario Kart series. Millions of gamers around the world have raced and still race against friends in Mario Kart 64, and Nintendo wanted to maintain this engaging experience. There are actually five ways to play Mario Kart: Double Dash!! against your friends. The first way involves playing Grand Prix mode in two-player. The two of you will pick your own characters and karts, and will then duke it out in split-screen action. The second way is the new co-op mode, while can be played in Grand Prix, Battle and Vs. modes. In co-op mode, one human player controls the driving aspect of the game while the second player is in charge of the weapons. I prefer controlling my kart by myself, because when one player misses a shortcut or fails to switch characters in crucial situations an argument is sure to ensue.
The Vs. mode is perhaps the most popular mode in the history of the Mario Kart games. Here you can have 2-4 players race against each other in hopes of finishing first. You can select any of the tracks or characters that you have unlocked and are sure to have lots of fun. Battle Mode, on the other hand, is completely different from any other mode. In Battle Mode, the objective is to stay alive, not to finish first. In order to battle, you need two-four human players, and all of the battling is done in special battle arenas. There are actually three Battle Modes, known as Balloon Battle, Shine Thief and Bob-omb Blast.
In Balloon Battle (my favorite), each player starts out with three balloons. By hitting other players with weapons, making them falling or hitting them in certain occassions, your opponents will lose balloons. The last person to still have a balloon or more wins. Shine Thief is similar to the multi-player mode found in many games nowadays. An object appears on the map and everyone tries to grab it. Once you have it, a timer begins to count down from 60 seconds. The person that manages to hold onto it for this duration wins. Hitting the player with the shine with weapons and the like will result in them dropping it. Bob-omb is a game where the only weapon that you have is a bob-omb, and hitting players will gain you a point while getting hit is minus one.
All of the Battle Modes are fairly fun, although the arenas are way to small and simple in design. The fact that the action is slowed down in order to accommodate the smaller arenas only detracts from the experience, although it is still enjoyable. The final multi-player option is setting up 8 GameCubes and 8 TVs over a LAN network. I haven't had the opportunity to try this out, but I've heard that it is easy to set-up and a lot of fun. Locating and buying the broadband adapters might be the only problem.
Mario Kart: Double Dash!! is fairly high in the
replay value department. It will take enthusiasts less than ten hours to complete the Grand Prix mode in single-player mode, and a few more hours can be spent in Time Trials. However, the bulk of gameplay should be spent on the multi-player mode, and if your friends enjoy it then countless hours can be spent battling and racing each other.
Graphically, the new Mario Kart is a major improvement over the previous installment and is on par with all of the Mario games of today. The characters and environments are extremely colorful, cheery and this is what Nintendo is all about. The kart animations aren't exactly as detailed and realistic as in Project Gotham Racing 2, although they are acceptable. The tracks aren't too detailed, as you won't see meticulous textures nor lighting effects. The framerate is high and slowdown never occurred, although the action does slow down in Battle Mode to accommodate the smaller arenas.
The
sound in this game is nothing too special either, although it fits in fairly well. The background music is different for every track, although the music sounds like basic MIDI tunes, neither orchestrated music nor real songs. The sound effects seem to be recycled from previous games, and a few new ones are heard although they are nothing to write home about. The best part about the song is perhaps the fact that each character has been voicing and they blurt out a few funny lines here and there.
Overall, Mario Kart: Double Dash!! is a terrific, energetic game that is a great continuation of this ever-popular series. Those that have never played a Mario Kart game will love it dearly, while those who have played previous installments might be baffled by the new gameplay elements at first. The experience is an enjoyable one on the whole, although a few aspects need to be worked on, especially track design and a longer single-player experience. I recommend this game to those that love kart racing games, are looking for a fun multi-player game and for those that love Nintendo games. Parents won't go wrong if they buy this title for their little ones.
This review is my entry for
Rock_On's Fourth Annual Nintendo write-off. Visit his profile for information about it as well as a list of participants. I'm sorry that my entry is a bit late but I was on vacation. This has also been the first write-off that I have participated in, and it was a great one.
