Mario Kart DS

"Shellish Racing"

Mario Kart DS is developed by Nintendo. It is intended to play on the Nintendo DS. ESRB has given it a rating of E for Everyone, meaning anyone can play this game.

Almost every Nintendo system had a racing game featuring Mario. Throughout the years we had Super Mario Kart on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System; Mario Kart 64 for the Nintendo 64, Mario Kart: Super Circuit for the Gameboy Advance and Mario Kart: Double Dash!! for the Nintendo Gamecube. Mario Kart DS is the fifth game in the series.

Mario Kart DS is a racing game that features the popular Mario cast (such as Luigi, Peach and even Mario himself) as racers. The objective in a racing game is to go around a racing track a specific number of laps (usually consisting 3 laps) faster than anyone else. What makes this game different from others is that there are special blocks in the tracks that upon being touched, the toucher would receive an item after a quick roulette. The racer can use the item for his own benefit in getting first place. Such items go from banana peels to even exploding bombs (known as Bob-ombs in the Mario universe).

Each racer has their own stats and kart that make themselves unique and not just a cosmetic change. An example of this would be Mario with his B dasher. While his stats are all around, he excels in the Items stat (which provides better chances at getting a good item). Meanwhile, Donkey Kong (with his kart the Rambi Rider) has much more weight but his handling is much poorer. There are eight playable characters plus 4 unlockable characters in the game.

Mario Kart DS' single player has 5 playable modes, which will be described below:

Grand Prix is the main course of the game. There are 3 classes to choose from: 50cc, 100cc and 150cc. Think of it was easy, normal and hard respectively. Once you choose your class, you select your racer and then you select a Cup. There are eight cups in total, each consisting of four tracks (giving a grand total of 32 tracks). Each race will be played with 8 racers. The winner of the cup is decided by points. Points is decided according to which place you placed in the race. Whoever finishes the laps first will get the most points (and so will the runner-ups). Four of these cups are actually reused from older Mario Kart games, each being converted to a 3D perspective and a bit more detailed on the spot. They take tracks from Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64, Mario Kart: Super Circuit and even Mario Kart: Double Dash!! .

Time Trials could be considered as training mode as you can see how fast you can clear a specific track (with only 3 mushrooms that are speedboosters). If you liked your performance, you can record it as a ghost and send it to friends around you to see if they can beat your record.

Vs is merely a costume game in which you can decide the class, the performance of the A.I. in the game, the course and rules. The course can be decided by yourself or randomly. Rules would consist of either how many races or wins would decide when you're done with it. If you wish, you can divide the racers into teams.

Battle has two modes: Balloon Battle and Shine Runners. Balloon Battle has everyone with three balloons. The objective is to make your opponents' balloons burst by using items on them. Once all the balloons on a player are busted, the player is out of the game. One neat thing about it is that you can blow on the microphone to inflate balloons.

Shine Runners' objective is to collect Shine Sprites that are scattered throughout the course. Players must collect shine sprites within the time limit. Whoever has the less sprites will be taken out of the game. To win, you must have the most shine sprites out of everyone. Be aware that there are item blocks around the course as well, and if you get hit by a projectile or item of some sort, you will lose a shine sprite.

The last mode in Single Player is missions. There are 6 levels in total. Each level has 8 missions plus a boss. Missions usually consist of getting a specific number of things with a certain character and stage, though. So while it doesn't sound so varied, some of them could be hard to execute.

Next, we have Multiplayer, which is the meat in most racing games, as it's fun to play with friends. You can either play with friends that have a game card or just use one. The thing is that if you're only using one, you will play as Shy Guy (only playable in single-card multiplayer).

Later on, there is Nintendo WFC. This is a network thing in which players can connect and play with other people all around the world with just an internet connection. The only catch is that only up to 4 people can play and only a specific number of tracks can be played in the game. Each person has a friend code in which they can share with anyone in the world to play with. If you prefer to race random people, then it is possible. You can also design your own decal for your kart to show when you're playing. It can also be shown when you're playing alone as well.

Each of these modes are performed nicely, as all of them can be frantic and fun. The controls are responsive in the game and it works adequately well with whoever you're using, so no one is exactly broken. In the Mario Kart games, however, anyone has a chance to win, even if they're in 8th place, as some of the items can bring the loser atleast neck-to-neck with the leader. This could lead and conclude that even if the racers have the same skill in racing, all it really takes is items to pull a comeback and win the match.

As for graphics, everyone looks active and ready to race and the circuits you race in are just fitting in every scene. The only thing that is not 3D in this game are some specific items, in which in this case they are shown in 2D sprites. While it's not animated, it's presentable.
Everyone's voices in the game are sound crystal clear. Everyone sounds just like they're supposed to hear. The sounds that your engine does as well as sirens and the sound when a shell hits you is done just like it's supposed to be. The music also accompanies well the track you're in, even if it's used more than once. For instance, Boo's Mansion has a creepy like and dark theme to it, with the haunting music making you feel like you're really lost. Of course, it's not exactly important as most of the time you'll be hearing the racers' screams to really care about the music.

In terms of playability, you have Grand Prix consisting of 8 cups (as well as 4 classes for every cup, one class being an unlockable), the secret characters, the 6 levels of missions galore and time trials to see how fast you can finish a course. All this should give you plenty of time to play and enjoy this game. And if that is not enough, you can connect to Nintendo WFC to play against other people, further extending it's lifespan. You can also experiment with characters and karts, which should give you some fun to do when you're feeling like trying something new even if you've finished the game 100%.

To sum it up, Mario Kart DS is a good racing game for the Nintendo DS in which anyone can play to enjoy. While some may argue it takes luck to win, it doesn't stop it from having frantic, intense races with people.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/31/06