Mario Kart

Mario Kart DS (2005.) The fifth game in the Mario Kart series. INTRODUCTION: Over the years, Nintendo's Mario Kart series has been one of the ultimate racing...See more » Mario Kart DS (2005.) The fifth game in the Mario Kart series. INTRODUCTION: Over the years, Nintendo's Mario Kart series has been one of the ultimate racing games around. By taking a familiar genre and adding in a ton of innovations, the company managed to reinvent racing games. Often imitated but never duplicated, this franchise stands as one of the finest they ever offered. In November of 2005, Mario Kart DS was released for (what else?) the Nintendo DS. Read on, and see how this installment fares! OVERVIEW: Mario Kart DS was released in November of 2005. The game is available only for the Nintendo DS (as the title likely implied), and at the time of release retails for thirty-five dollars American. It features a plethora of game play modes, single and multiple player alike. REVIEW: Is there a bad Mario Kart game? No way. And this game continues proving that point. Taking familiar Mario Kart gaming and adding in just enough new material to keep things fresh, Nintendo has succeeded beautifully once again. This series is one of Nintendo's best, and this installment continues to prove that point. Let's explore the different aspects of this game, and see how good it is. -THE STORY: Honestly, Mario Kart games have never been known for their storylines. Essentially, Mario and his buddies and enemies race against each other, using all sorts of strange items and techniques to achieve victory. This series has always been about the gaming itself, never the story. -THE GOOD: -THE GAME STAYS TRUE TO THE EARLIER GAMES IN THE SERIES. If you thought Double Dash was too much of a departure from the classic "one man in a kart" system, this game will reaffirm your beliefs in the series. The game plays very similar to earlier entries, Mario Kart 64 in particular. Fans of that classic game will feel right at home with this new installment. -THE GAME MAKES EXCELLENT USAGE OF THE DS HARDWARE. Every button on the system is put to good usage, and the bottom/touch screen is used as a race track map, which comes in handy more often than you might think. I hate it when DS programmers beat the touch-screen gimmick to death - but that's not a problem in this game. -PLENTY OF CHARACTERS AND COURSES, OLD AND NEW. The game features the "classic eight" Mario Kart characters from Mario Kart 64 and Mario Kart Super Circuit. Plus, there are plenty of unlockable ones that have never before been playable in a Mario Kart game. There are also a ton of stages, including many of them from older games in the series. Every previous Mario Kart game lends at least one stage to this game. Combine that with the new ones, and you've got one hell of an experience in the making. -WIRELESS MULTIPLAYER! This is by far the best thing this game has to offer. Classic Mario Kart games were known for their extremely fun multiplayer modes, and this game proves to be no exception, staying true to the older games while adding in plenty of innovation. And you can do single-pak games in addition to multi-pak games. -ONLINE CAPABILITIES! By far my favorite thing about this game. If you have a wireless internet connection or visit an internet hotspot, you can go online and race Mario Kart gamers all across the nation! Every DS owner can have his/her own emblem and user name, which makes these races all the more interesting. And you don't have to pay for this! -NO SLOWDOWN DURING ONLINE PLAY! This is a huge problem with most internet gaming - not a problem here! -THE BAD: -I WOULD HAVE LIKED MORE CHARACTERS AND COURSES. This isn't a big deal, but still, there are some other older courses I wish would have been reprised here. The choices made for characters and courses could have been better. -NO WAY TO PAUSE DURING AN ONLINE MATCH. Not a big deal, but sometimes you'll really wish you had such a function. OVERALL: Overall, this is another solid, five-star entry into one of the greatest video game series of all time. If you're at all a fan of this franchise, do not hesitate to pick this game up. Trust me, if you're fan, you will not regret making this purchase! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TOSee less »