Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

""I Lost! To a Bunch of Losers!""

Back in the early 1990's, Super Mario Kart was first released for the SNES. At first, many people doubted the idea of sticking Mario in a kart racer, but when the game finally hit the market it became an instant hit and classic. Years later, the Nintendo 64 came out. Although Super Mario Kart was more than enough to tie many gamers over, people yearned for a new one. Mario Kart 64 was then released in early 1997. It introduced new items, characters, and courses, and is still today proclaimed by some to be the greatest racer ever created. Thereafter, Mario Kart: Super Circuit was released on Game Boy Advance. But for some reason, even though it carried the old Mario Kart charm, most people wanted a new Mario Kart on a console rather than a handheld. Now, the long wait has finally ended. Nintendo has brought us Mario Kart: Double Dash for the Nintendo Gamecube. Was it worth the wait? Read on to find out:

Now, before I get into the details of the game's gameplay, there are some basics you should be aware of. Unlike the previous Mario Kart games or any racers for that matter, Double Dash pits two characters in the same cart. One steers while the other controls the items. Confusing? It's a tad bewildering at first, but it still controls like the genuine Mario Kart. Double Dash contains more than twice the characters as the previous games with lots of all new courses and battle arenas.

If you've played any of the previous Mario Karts, you would know the immense variety of gameplay they have to offer, particularly in the multiplayer area. There are four different cups, each containing 4 different courses. This includes the Mushroom Cup, the Flower Cup, the Star Cup, and the Special Cup. For beginners to the game, the Mushroom Cup would be most suitable for you, as it features some very basic courses that should familiarize you with the essence of the game and prepare you for more difficult courses. Don't worry, you won't be seeing the same terrain more than once. You can play each of these cups on 50cc, 100cc, or 150cc.

Double the racers means double the cast, of course. Good old Koopa Troopa's back, along with a cast of many new faces. Bowser brings along his son, Bowser Jr, Wario brings Waluigi into the fray, Peach drags along Daisy, DK brings his smaller and much cooler chimp pal, Diddy, and many others. The original cast is still there, as well. There's also a new atrocity known as Toadette, who is obviously a cheap excuse for giving Toad a racing partner that was probably thought up in 5 seconds or less. Why couldn't they just use Toadsworth? End of mini-rant.

Most of the old items like the spiny shells, fake item boxes, and the banana peels are back, with a new extra twist. Each character combo has their own exclusive item that nobody else can use. For example, if Mario and Luigi receive their ''special'' item from an item box, they have the ability to shoot fireballs in all different directions. One of the coolest ones is the chain chomp that Baby Mario and Baby Luigi receive which lets them be pulled forward by the chomp, knocking all other players it crashes into out of the way. Another neat one is Wario and Waluigi's bob-omb that can be launched from a certain range which causes a huge explosion on the track when it detonates. Be careful not to get yourself caught in the explosion, though.

The stages are very-well designed as well. From the bussling noises of downtown in Mushroom City to the ice-skating Shy Guys in Sherbet Land to the boiling lava pits of Bowser's Castle, Mario Kart: Double Dash offers many different types of terrain and obstacles. There's also a course entitled Baby Park that's simply and oval loop and that's all (lasts for 7 laps). Sounds boring? On single-player maybe, but on multiplayer or racing against the computer on 150cc, it's the pure definition of ''road rage''. Shells fly everywhere, up and down the course, causing you to constantly be on your toes.

Unfortunately, single-player is fairly short-lived, as after a few rounds of experience you can beat each of the kart classes easily. However, breaking staff times on the time trials is a different story. Once you get a certain time on a track, you'll unlock the staff ghost. Naturally, staff times are incredibly fast, but it's no surprise as they're coming from the actual experts who made this game! (Personally, I've actually beaten two of them, but the rest I've found near-impossible)

Mario Kart: Double Dash is a fairly easy game for the most part. Don't be expecting another F-Zero GX or Diddy Kong Racing here. The 50cc is an absolute joke, and 100cc still doesn't pose much of a challenge. The only real challenge in the game is found in 150cc and Mirror Mode. On the bright side, the developers decided to make Rainbow Road challenging again! Yes, some of the blasted walls are still there, but most of it is wall-less. And I really don't want to spoil anything, but this game also provides several unlockable features.

Of course, it's no wonder that the heart of Mario Kart: Double Dash lies in the multiplayer. Though the battle stages may not be as complex as they were in Mario Kart 64, the battle mode is still as wild as ever. Duke it out atop a giant Nintendo Gamecube, a giant cookie, a block city (aptly named "Block City"), a backlot full of pipes, and other various battlefields! Aside from the standard balloon bursting, there are two new modes of battle: Shine Thief (one player gets the shine sprite while the other try to steal it from him or her) and Bob-omb Battle (toss Bob-ombs at the other players while trying not to get blown up yourself).

How does it compare to the previous Mario Kart games? It's theoretically impossible to build on perfection, with the perfection in this instance being Mario Kart 64. However, it certainly is possible to meet that perfection or at least come close! Of the four Mario Karts released thus far, Double Dash is probably the second-best, following closely behind Mario Kart 64, only because the battle stages aren't quite as impressive. Still, it's an excellent addition to the series. Some people may be annoyed with the fact this version hasn't made any major changes to the series, but that doesn't mean it doesn't yield one heck of a good time.

How about graphics? Okay, so the graphics aren't necessarily mind-blowing or detailed like they were in F-Zero GX, they're still fairly solid and appropriate. Besides, you don't really expect highly-detailed landscapes from a cheery Mario game, so what Double Dash has to offer is pretty dang good. The same goes for the character and kart designs. Much less blocky than they were in Mario Kart 64. Fairly solid with a lack of glitchiness or camera issues.

Sound effects and music are all good. Again, what you'd expect from a Mario Kart game. Rather lighthearted tunes that wouldn't drive anybody crazy. Aside from Daisy's annoying chants, the voices are well-done and appropriate. Wario is especially hilarious (see tagline). As for the music, the same thing applies. The tunes are all rather catchy and not too forgettable. (the tunes of Waluigi Stadium and Rainbow Road are particularly catchy)

Replay value is king of this game. If you have a fair amount of friends, this is a game that should keep you entertained for months to come. Honestly, how long does it take for blasting your friends with shells from all different directions causing them to slam their controller against the TV tire? Plus, the difficulty has been pushed up a notch for some of the later cups (even to some points of frustration), so even on one-player this game should keep you pretty occupied. There's also LAN capability, which I won't go too into detail on. Let's just say you can get up to 16 players racing or battling at the same time by hooking up 4 TV's, 4 Gamecubes, and 16 controllers.

In the end, Mario Kart: Double Dash is a fun, high-speed racer which is bound to give you hours of enjoyment, particularly if you're playing with friends! If you have 15 friends all with controllers and sleeping bags, LAN connection, 3 extra Gamecubes, 4 wide-screen TV's, and a really good friend who works at Pizza Hut, you won't need anything more in life. Probably the only thing I'm disappointed with is the fact that they used only 16 courses, the same amount as MK64, and aren't Gamecube discs supposed to be able to hold much more than Nintendo 64 cartridges? Nonetheless, Nintendo's fourth installment in the series has been a successful one, and I'm eagerly awaiting their next one.

Rent or buy?
Definitely buy, especially if you're a fan of the Mario Kart series. If you play alone and have never experienced the action before, you might want to rent it first. But otherwise, this is a must-have for any Gamecube owner.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/08/06