Mario Kart 64

"The best all around mario kart game so far"

The Mario Kart series is certainly a popular one, and this particular title was the second in the series, and is still one of the best and most popular. How exactly? Read on for more. Oh the suspense...

Story: No story. Make one up if you like. I guess the Mario Characters just decided having a Kart Racing Grand Prix would be a fun idea.

Music: Excellent. Best Mario Kart Soundtrack ever!!! The dramatic music of the raceway courses and Toad's Turnpike makes the game feel like you're in a NASCAR event. The Bowser's Castle music is so scary it shouldn't even be in an E rated game, and the hillbillyish music of Choco Mountain and Moo Moo Farm are just fantastic. Basically Every soundtrack is good, even the intro and menu music. Unfortunately, the music is turned off during multiplayer matches of 3-4 people.

Sound: The sound in this game is real nice too. Lots of people complain about the annoying voices of the characters, but I don't mind them so much. They are for the most part amusing, (especially Wario's) and the way Bowser roars "Wah wah waaaaaahhhhhh" when he slips on a banana peel is classic. The devastating explosion and crashing sounds are perfect and compliment the dramatic music of the game.

Graphics: Generally good, except for the fact that the character models are sprites. Not totally flat
2-D, but in a weird 3-D kind of pixelated flat way. They don't look so bad from behind, which is what you'll see most often because the camera is directly behind the character, but when you turn around and see the character's face, you'll be disappointed. I don't understand why these had to be sprites if Super Mario 64 used a fully rendered 3-D model of Mario. But for the most part the graphics are very nice.

Control: Excellent. No problems here. Although during multiplayer the turning feels sluggish and the sliding feels awkward. You can use a gamecube controller or a classic controller, which is a good thing in my book (the N64 had a crappy joystick and you couldn't reach all the buttons, plus the classic controller is wireless.

Gameplay: You can race against the CPU's or against a friend or 3. You can even do battle mode where you must pop each other's balloons with items. Rather lacking gameplay because you have to race in a grand prix against cpus. You can't just do a single race on a single course with CPUs and you can't battle them either.

Overall: A great game, and a must have for mario fans and racing fans alike.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/25/08

Game Release: Mario Kart 64 (US, 01/29/07)