Developer - Nintendo Publisher - Nintendo Features 1-8 players Single Cartridge Multiplayer (1-8 players) Multi Cartridge Multiplayer (1-8 players) Wi-Fi Online Compatible (1-4 players) Cartridge Save As Mario is synonymous with Nintendo, Mario Kart is synonymous with kart racers. Since the days of the SNES, Mario Kart has been the premiere title for kart racing. There have been many attempts to by other developers to capture the magic of the Mario Kart series, but no one has been able to find that magical forumula that Nintendo seems to have the receipe for. Having been on almost all consoles, Nintendo has once again brought Mario Kart to their newest machine, the DS. Having such a great reputation in the past versions many were wondering if this game could live up to the high standards already set from previous versions of the game. Graphics The visuals in Mario Kart DS can be described in two simple words: slick and smooth. This game is incredible. All the levels in this game seem to jump off the screen as the colors are bright and vibrant. This game really does scream Mario Universe as everything that one may have seen in past Mario games makes an appearance (e.g. enemies or locales). As for the speed, the game is quite impressive in this aspect as well as it never hiccups even when full of explosions and other racers on screen. The game is clean looking, and although some will complain that it may get "pixely" when up viewing some parts of various levels up close, this is a very minor complaint that becomes less of an issue as you race down any of the numerous tracks in the game at a high rate of speed. I was also amazed how clipping is virtually non-existant and it is limited to very few instances when you may get close to a wall. Instances like this are very far and few between and considering what is going on screen it is very impressive that it doesn't happen that much at all. Even online the graphics in this game do not take a hit in any manner and should there be any issues of framerate it has more to do with lag, not the in-game engine. Overall I would honestly have to say that the graphics that are included in Mario Kart DS are some of the most impressive I have experienced on the DS. Its ability to run smooth, even when the screen was filled with so much action, took me by surprise on more then one occasion during my gameplay experience. Sound Music in this game is very upbeat and actually helps bring one into the atmosphere of whole game. I found that while racing I didn't become annoyed by the music that played through each level. And just as one will recognize many levels in the game, one will recognize various musical sounds that play throughout. As for the sound effects, I would have to say that they also caught me off guard. Sounds like the engines to the screeching of tires while drifting around corners were quite prevalent when coming out of the DS's stereo speakers. As I raced the speakers provided a ‘surround' like sound effect and it was evident where the other racers were coming from as the sound of their Kart's engine was quite directional. There are also various samples of the characters voices during the race, however they are very limited but this is a kart racer, so what was there was a bonus indeed. Gameplay Every Mario Kart to grace a Nintendo console has been a hit as they have managed to mix all sorts of gameplay into the mix and provide a great ride for anyone who plays the game. I am happy to tell you that Mario Kart DS takes on all the concepts of past versions, blends them together and pours out yet another great edition of Mario Kart. Where to start and how much to cover in this section is hard to determine. As I sit here in front of my computer writing this review I can't help but think how much there is to do in this game and how long you will actually find yourself playing this DS title. The premise of Mario Kart has not changed; it is a kart racer flat out. What is so special about the game is how Nintendo has always incorporated the Mario Universe into each and every version. Special Power-Ups still play a major part in the game and actually can make for win or lose situations. These power ups are familiar to those who have played the games in the past (e.g. red/green shells or lightening bolts), however there are a few new ones that will surprise even the most diehard Mario Kart racer, such as the new blooper power up which covers you're the screen of you or your opponents screen (depends on who gets the power-up) with black ink. It was a treat to play Mario Kart to see the new power-ups and how they actually do make a difference in the game. Another great thing about Mario Kart DS is that there are a large number of characters included from past Mario games and should anyone have a particular favorite the odds are in their favor that they are in the game. There is one particular character that makes an appearance that really surprised me. I won't give any direct details but I can tell you that he is not human and was a great ‘accessory' to the 8-bit NES, ‘nuff said. I figure I should start off with the single player aspect of the game as this is much larger then people will expect. One picks from eight immediately available characters right off the hop. The meat of the single player game is Grand Prix. Here you have to race 4 different races in each cup. To open up the next cup and the next series of races you have to beat the previous series. There are a total of 4 different classes ranging from the 50cc, 100cc, 150cc and 150cc Mirror series and there are eight cups per class. The total number of tracks is 32 and they range from new ones to retro tracks from the SNES, N64, GBA and GameCube versions. The 50cc series is just a warm-up and as you progress further on into the higher classes the opponents become faster and more aggressive. As you progress through the ranks, and rise into the higher classes, the more you will find yourself on the edge of your seat as races will be decided in the blink of an eye. If there is one complaint during the single player races is that the computer A.I. can seem almost cheap at times. I can't the number of times that I was in the lead most of the race only to get hit multiple times by a blue spiky shell (hones in on the leader and never misses) and then a red turtle seeking shell. It was these multiple hits that caused me to lose many races and almost caused me to throw my DS on more then one occasion. However, that being said, patience (which I don't always have) and perseverance do pay off as all the races can be beat. It won't be a cake walk however as you have to work for all your wins and the rewards that await you. As well you are graded for each ‘cup' you beat. I am sure that there are many people out there who will not be happy with a B rating in a specific cup, so this is also an incentive for replaying the races trying to best your ranking for each and every cup. Straight racing against the A.I is not the only single player aspect of this game. There is also a new mission mode. Here you are tasked with performing various objectives against the clock (sub-missions). These can range from passing through numbered gates, breaking boxes or driving around a particular course backwards. Each set of missions is a set of their own, requiring you to complete all the sub-missions and then face and defeat the boss. Beating all of these allows you to progress to the next mission set. There are a total of 6 sets of missions with nine sub-missions and boss in each. These missions seem like a tutorial of sorts and they force you to learn and master skills needed to be successful at the game (e.g. the famed turbo drifting) The bosses of each set of missions range from tasks such as hitting them with green shells to knocking them off a level. As with the single player racing mode the higher the mission the harder it is but the learning curve is acceptable though. Sure it may be the case that you have to try more then once to get by any one of the missions, but it is definitely do-able. For those perfectionists out there, just like the single player race mode, you are graded on your performance, with 3 stars as the benchmark to beat. There is also a time trial mode where one is able to race against ‘ghost' data that has the times to beat. You can unlock ghosts of programmers who worked on the game, and this is a test as the programmers are the ones who worked long and hard to perfect Mario Kart DS. As well you can download ghost data from your friends via the DS's wi-fi. The use of ghost data is further testament to the single player mode that just doesn't seem to end. Having just exhausted myself from explaining the basics of single player, I am now going to switch over to the great multiplayer experience that Mario Kart DS offers. The various multiplayer modes add so much more replayability that you may find yourself carrying your DS everywhere you go. Nintendo recognizes that not everyone has the chance to carry all their games on the go, so they have smartly included one of the best single cartridge multiplayer modes I have seen to date. Anyone who owns a DS, and finds someone with a copy of Mario Kart, can use the wi-fi network and hook up for 8 player multiplayer. This single card multiplayer is quite robust in features, however it is limited in the tracks that you can actually race or battle on and the characters that you can chose. But this is a minor sacrifice for the 8 player mayhem that one can experience without a copy of their own. For those multiple card multiplayer experiences, all tracks and all characters that one has opened are available for play. The famed battle mode also makes a return in Mario Kart DS. This is the arena-style death match mode that many people have become addicted too. The varying areas are quite cool and there are two types of battle modes, balloon battle and shrine runners, that will take up some serious time. Nintendo even went as far as to utilize the microphone to allow people to blow up new balloons when they lose one in balloon battle. These battle modes are also playable in single or multiple cartridge play. The biggest selling point of this latest version of Mario Kart is the ability to go online over a Nintendo supported internet network. I have to tell you, from the first day I played online at the Nintendo Summit in Redmond a few weeks prior to the games launch I knew that the big ‘N' had worked hard to make the online aspect so smooth. The online mode allows for four people to hook up over the internet via a wireless internet connection. Now, many people who just read this may put their arms up in the air and complain they don't have a wireless router. Well don't fret; Nintendo realizes that not everyone has a wireless access point so they smartly produced the Nintendo Wireless Adapter. This little beauty plugs into a USB port on your home or lap-top computer, and with the included software you can turn your own computer into a wireless access point for your DS. The simplicity of setting up the DS and/or the Wireless Adapter to work online is a thing of beauty and Nintendo must of spent a lot of time working on the implementation of both as it is quite easy. Should you have any issues you can go to www.nintendowifi.com for any FAQ's or assistance that you may need. You have the ability to play four types of groups of people online. They are broken up into 'friends' - people you know, 'rivals' – people of similar ability, 'regional' – people from the same country and the last group is 'worldwide' – people from all over the globe. I have had the experience to play with gamers from all over the globe, including those from Germany, Britain and even good ol' North America. Each session is a four race series. Points are awarded for where one places in each race, and the winner of the series is whoever has the most points. The online racers also get to choose which track they want to race on. If one track has multiple people choosing it then that track is raced. If all racers choose different tracks then the DS will randomly choose one of the tracks chosen. To my surprise the online play is quite smooth and lag free. My personal router at home is in my basement and I have been able to roam all about the upstairs in my house with no problems with latency or disconnects. The fact that people from all over the globe now have the ability to play the best kart series in the world over the internet, with very little in terms of set up, is quite a technical feat. I am sure that Sony didn't see this coming. There are only a few subtle downsides to the online play in Mario Kart DS. The first is that there is no way to talk to your opponent. I am hopeful that one day in the future Nintendo will utilize the microphone feature in the DS to allow for such communication abilities. The second issue I have is the way the game has you enter friends on your list. You have to enter your friend's online code and there is no way to get this from them over the DS when playing, you have to e-mail them or have another way to communicate. The third and final complaint is that there is no way to stop people from dropping out when they are losing. I am sure that people will be able to distinguish those that drop out on a regular basis as those people will have such a good record. Many of my games have resulted in drop outs. I am sure that some of those are legitimate, but I am also sure that many of those drop outs were from individuals who were not going to win enough points to win the series and they wanted to keep their record intact so they dropped out. For those wondering the DS does utilize both screens. The top is for the main gameplay while the bottom is mostly used for a map. However, what is on the bottom screen is most useful. You will learn to glance at the bottom screen on many occasions during a race as this screen shows what pitfalls or items a competitor has left on the track. Iit also has part of the screen assigned to show the racing order of your competitors and what power-up(s) they may have in their possession. This is a small but important feature and having the ability to see what the person ahead or behind has in store for you makes the game that much more interesting. The number of times I saw an opponent behind me with a red shell made me prepare for the eventual hit that I knew I was going to take. I am sure that I missed something in this section of the review, however I have wrap this up and I am sure I have said enough to warrant a good understanding of the game. Conclusion Mario Kart DS is one addictive game. With a great single player experience this game gets bonus marks for a great multiplayer experience as well. Nintendo's decision to take this venerable series online was a risky one but they did such a great job that is almost seems that this game was meant for it all along. I can't help but rave about this game. Anyone with a DS would be making a big mistake if hey didn't go out and buy this game. Way to go Nintendo and thank you for making my DS my portable machine of choice over the winter holidays.