Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

"Not the Best, not the Worst"

The Mario Kart series has always been one of the best Kart-Racing games in the Nintendo line. Ever since it's first, Super Mario Kart, players rushed to stores to buy the game. Each new game in the series has always been better. So will Mario Kart:Double Dash!! continue the step pattern?

Graphics 8/10
If your life revolves around graphics of a game, and don't care about Gameplay, your just wasting your money around. Graphics aren't the foundation of the game, although it helps. Mario Kart 64 used sprites in a 3D enviorment, which worked out pretty well. 3D Models on Mario Kart 64 wouldn't work look nearly as pretty. But now, the 2D sprites are gone, and there are wonderful 3D models of each character! The graphics are pretty good.

It's nothing that shocks the whole audience, but then again it isn't going to feature Animal Crossing Graphics. It's somewhere in the middle, but a little higher. Each level has it's own special enviorment. DK Mountain has the jungle trees and the rocky surface, Peach Beach has it's beach-like surface, and so forth. What I really liked was the graphics on the karts (trains, cars, barrels). Nintendo was able to make both the characters and the karts look evenly good. I only think that the character models should've been smoothed out more, but then again you won't notice it ;)

Sound 9/10
Let me tell you this, all of the Mario Kart games had good sound. Lots of people liked it, and were humming the tunes after they were in a level for a decent amount of time; hearing the tune over and over. But wait! This wasn't always good. If you were doing a level over and over again, hearing the same tune over and over, it can get really repetive. For example, the courses in MK64 lasted loner, with fewer tunes. Meaning you had to listen to each tune over and over for a long period of time. This really got on my nerves, hearing tunes over and over again. But then again, the tunes that are in KM:DD!! are more lively than it's little brother (I'm not counting MK:SC), and there are more tunes. This is a plus in my book any day. They did a good job making the tunes lively, but then again not going too far in the "Kiddy" section.

As for the sound effects, these have improved too. All the previous Mario Kart games had you in a same drabby kart for each character. Karts don't make Chu-Chu! noises at all. Just revs, brakes, and stuff. Plus there wasn't even a horn! But now, a plethora of new SoundFX come into play. The Barrel Train (one of the many karts you can unlock) actually sounds like a train, and if you honk the horn it makes a train noise. Impressive. Also, depending on the enviroment your on, this differs the sound effect your kart makes. Of course, this has been in every other game too. Pretty impressive >=)

Gameplay 9.5/10
As the word DOUBLE in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! implies, you control two characters on one kart. The rear character throws items and punches the other, and the front character drives. What impressed me was that there were lots of stats and classes for each character. Characters like DK and Bowser were in the Heavy Category, Koopa and Paratroopa were in Light, and Mario and Luigi in Middle. Who you have on the rear and front differs your SPD, ACCELERATION, and BRAKING. Having one character front and one character back means more characters. The 8 characters in the games before were okay, not too much and not too little. But this game sports over 20 different characters. Of course, since there are only 3 classes, there are only 3 really different characters. You'd think all the others are the same. But no, each character sports a Special Item that only they will get. For example, DK and Diddy Kong will get a Huge Banana, which splits into 3 when someone collides in to them. Mario and Luigi sport Fireballs, which can burn anybody the fireballs hit. And so forth.

And about the items too, there are tons more in this game. Every single item from MK64 (with the exception of the Boo Item) returns, and some are used differently. The triple shells you get (which now belong to the Koopas) used to surrond you, protecting you. But this game they don't. Red Shells are now smarter, and won't go hit a wall if no-one is not there. Also, you can throw Every Single Attack Item backward or foward, whereas only the Single Shells and the Single Banana could do so. This is a big plus, allowing more strategy.

Now, about the Game Modes that are in this game. There are a lot of modes that return, and lots of newer ones as well. 1P has Grand Prix Mode, which you can pick 50CC, 100CC, and 150CC, and one of the three Cups that are there for you. The CCs are the difficulty levels. 50CC being the easiest and 150CC being the hardest. The difficulty increased a few levels here. In the previous MKs, raising the CC to the maximum (150) only made the CPU smarter, and I think it decreases the control you have. But now, if you pick 150CC, the CPU will pick the best possible combination to help them, making the game harder then just increasing difficulty. The levels are decently long. Each level is very unique, from a desert to an ice land. Each with it's own different terrain. The only problem is, either the courses are way too short, or the karts are way too fast for the course, since the courses are way shorter than the ones in MK64. But, now the levels are twice as more exciting. Remember the horridly long Rainbow Road (which returns in this game) which was long, but very, VERY boring? Just a straight road. The gaurd rails prevented you from falling *unless you jumped*...there are almost not levels like that; each level is very exciting. Don't take my word for it. Try it yourself >=) Also, Time Trial Mode returns, classic Time Trial. You try to beat a course as fast as you can, and you can save your GHOST (a copy which you can go through, immitating every move you did with the other character) and try to improve you skills. The problem here is that each ghost takes 5 Blocks! Thats even more than what takes to save the Main Game Data! Unless you have a huge memory card, you can't save a lot of Ghosts anymore.

The other modes have you going to 2P,3P and 4P. You can, this time do a Grand Prix togehter, VS. eachother, or Battle eachother. Hoever, MK:DD!! can have you in teams. Battle Mode returns with the Balloon wars. You pop the other player's 3 balloons with your items and stuffs. MK:DD!! introduces two new modes: Shine Thief and Bob-Omb Blast. Shine Thief is like Capture the Flag, you get the Shine and run away from the other players, which try to hit you in order to get your Shine. Bob-Omb Blast is a battle against the odds with Bob-Ombs everywhere. The modes are very exciting, and will have you on the gamepad with this for weeks to come.

And that's not all. Besides from the modes, items, and characters, theres a ton of more unlockables in the game. The game may seem very small in the beginnign, with only 3 cups, but a you go through the game, getting a trophy for each cup in every CC, you unlock newer karts, characters, and modes. Much better than MK64's one special Mirrior Mode.

Replayability 10/10
The replayability in this game is huge. That's what I like about those racing games and stuff; you can't really "beat" it. After you unlock everything, try doing the CCs and stuf again, trying to beat your Point Record. Go to Time Trial and see if you can beat the Staff Ghost. Unlocking the characters and modes is the first step, but with more than one controller and a friend(s), this game can't be worn out. Of course, it can get old, but eventually you'd want to play it again and again. It's funner with the more friends you have.

Plus, theres a LAN Mode, allowing you to race against others through the GCN's Internet Modem. Or, connecting with other GCNs and TVs, allowing up to 8 players playing on their own TV (though I doubt you'll have that many TVs). That's key point in racing games like this.

Summary
Mario Kart: Double Dash!! is awesome. Not perfect. Awesome. Although games like Mario Kart are very short compared to other good racing games such as Gran Turismo, MK:DD!! will have you on the GCN for weeks. It's not the best racing game, but then again not the worst. I highly reccomend you buying it, if you are OK with the single Mario Kart game going in a new direction. It just depends on your liking.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/03/05