Atari Karts

"A pretty good SNES Super Mario Kart knock-off"

Probably one of the best Atari Jaguar games released, Atari Karts is, plain and simple, a knock-off of Super Mario Kart. That being said, Atari Karts does everything right when it comes to “borrowing” elements from another system's game.

Story (N/A)
This is a racing game, so the need for a good story is rather low. Newer racing games like F-Zero GX have plots, but one should judge a game based upon the standards of its day. At the time of Atari Karts' release, a story mode was not required to be a good racing game.

Gameplay(35/50)
Ever play Super Mario Kart? This game plays exactly like it, except you don't have any items that can be lobbed at one another. There are four cups (which this game calls “challenges”) with four tracks each (which this game calls “cups”). You begin with only one challenge and must unlock the next one by finishing it in first. You also unlock a new racer for each challenge completed.

The racer selection is bigger than Super Mario Kart's with eleven racers to chose from. They are a varied crowd when it comes to abilities and design, but they have some of the worst character names I have ever seen in a game.

The biggest hang-up one will find in this title is the fact that there are no additional modes to the standard Grand Prix. If it had been released five years earlier this might have been okay, but by the time the Jaguar arrived on the scene battle modes and other extra modes of play were standard in most racing titles.

Graphics (14/20)
The graphics in Atari Karts are pretty good, which is to say they are passing for the time, but nothing spectacular. What has always seemed odd to me is that despite the fact that the Atari Jaguar had better hardware than the Super Nintendo, the Jaguar did not seem to use it well. In this title we find this trend reversed with colorful and bright graphics that give the game a good look.

Replayability (6/10)
Once you win all the Grand Prix, there isn't too much left to do but to try and beat your old times. You could also try using the unlockable characters on the first tracks. Of course this is pretty standard for racing games, so if you like to race you'll find enjoyment doing the tracks all over again, and if you don't you probably didn't like playing this game in the first place.

Multiplayer is where this game truly shines. Unfortunately Atari Karts only offers the standard Grand Prix mode for multiplayer. There is no battle mode as in Super Mario Kart, so you're left to just play the basic game with your friends. It's a real shame because an extra mode or two for multiplayer could have made this game a lot stronger.

Overall (70/100)
If you have an Atari Jaguar, get Atari Karts. It is easily in the top ten games for the system and offers the finest racing experience on the system. This game is not perfect by any means, but then the Jaguar doesn't exactly have the greatest game library known to man either.

If you don't have a Jaguar, this game is no reason to go out and get one.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 01/16/06