Mario Kart DS Review - Mobile Edition

Game Reviews
Mario Kart DS Review
By Jonathan Mills
January 16, 2006 - 00:30

Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo DS

Mario Kart has been a staple for Nintendo since it's inception in 1993 with Mario Kart for the Super NES. Every new Nintendo platform since then has played home to the series, now, it's the DS'es turn.

Mario Kart for the DS doesn't really do anything new, but what it does do, it does well enough. You start by choosing between single player, multiplayer and Nintendo Wi-Fi. Since the single player is the meat of this game, I'll concentrate on that.

In single player you can choose Grand Prix, which consists of 2 Circuits, Nitro and Retro, both with 16 tracks apiece. Time Trials, where you try to score the fastest time on each track. Vs, where you can play against the CPU or another player. Battles which let you fight against the CPU or another player and Missions where you try to accomplish the objective given to you.

You begin with only 8 characters but by completing the different play modes, you can unlock more characters and features in the game. The 16 new tracks look fantastic as well as the graphics in general. The 16 Retro tracks on the other hand, don't fair as well, with their much simpler design. This is to be expected though, and by no means is it a problem for someone who has played earlier Mario Karts (nostalgia is always great)

Their are 3 speeds at which you can play the game, 50cc, 100cc and 150cc. 50cc for me at least, is unbearably slow, but is obviously their to help first timers learn how to play the game. The items you can pick up are pretty much the same thing we've seen in all the kart racers, with the exception of the new Bullet Bill item (I'll let you discover that one yourselves) This now brings me to what i think is the games biggest flaw, OH MY GOD THEY MESSED WITH THE POWER SLIDE!!! Yeah, if you've ever played another Mario Kart (or CTR) then your going to notice this pretty fast. It's hard to put into words exactly how it's changed, but it has. Now, this is just a personal preference, I don't like it, but that doesn't mean you won't either, in fact, I could see how someone could prefer it over the old style, I just don't think the majority will.

This is yet another DS game that doesn't fully utilize the touch screen, their is a feature that allows you to draw an emblem that is placed on the front of your Kart, but this really seems like something they came up with fast just to utilize the touch screen. Also, this game can be played wirelessly through Nintendo Wi-Fi, I haven't had the chance to do this so I can't comment on that.

Mario Kart for the DS is a really solid game. I'd even say it's a must own for anyone who doesn't hate Kart racers. There's not much you can find wrong with it, but in that same respect, theirs not really anything that's truly innovative (Including the online play, which should have started in Mario Kart: Double Dash) This is one of those games that you can find very little wrong with, and yet, it still not be a perfect game.

Overall score is not based on an average