Mario Kart Super Circuit

"Mario Kart Goes To The Gameboy Advance"

Introduction- Mario Kart was last seen on the Nintendo 64 and now it has come out for the Gameboy advance. With all the characters like Mario, Bowser, Yoshi, Toad, Peach, Donkey Kong and more! This time around its for the Gameboy Advance and its awesome. It comes with all new levels and much more. Read on to find out about the great graphics and some of the new features added to this addition of Mario Kart.

Gameplay/9-10/ The gameplay all around in the game is smooth. The controls are very easy to get used to because of the 4 to 5 buttons on the Gameboy Advance. So overall the controls are very smooth and responsive. The difficulty in the game is a different story. It comes with three different options to chose from (50CC,100CC,and 150CC)each one increasing the games difficulty level. Once you get to the 150cc difficulty level the computer will sometimes just magically catch up for no reason. This also happens on the two lower difficulty levels but not as often. So overall the difficulty in the game is alright but the AI could have been made a little better. The computer or AI in the game is the worst part of the gameplay. They will catch up whenever you are ahead of them or not. It doesn't matter if you shot 10 shells at them and they fell into lava they will still most likely catch up to you in a minute or so. One cool part about the AI is when you are very far behind and the computer will give you a star or red shells just so you can try to catch up. Overall the AI is the worst part of the gameplay for sure. The fun factor in the game is very high. There are many of the known Mario characters included in the game (8 in all). There are also many different brand new levels to chose from in the game. One of the new things I have seen in the game are the ratings of each play at the character select screen. Each player is rated with stars (from 1-5) on their speed and weight. I thought this was the coolest new addition to the Mario Kart series. Overall the gameplay is pretty good all around but the computer could have been made a little better and more realistic.

Graphics/10-10/ For a Gameboy Advance game these are some of the best graphics I have ever seen. All of the characters look very realistic and maybe even better than the ones for the Nintendo 64. The Karts they ride on also look very realistic. All the levels are very colorful and very easy to find your way around the track. I think the best part of the graphics would be the weapons (shells,mushrooms,etc.)that you use against other players. They look very realistic when you shoot them and when they hit another player. Overall the graphics are good from the levels to the characters everything is fine.

Sound/9-10/ The sound is the game is good throughout the game. From the sounds of the karts moving or the sound of the music while racing. All the sound in the game is placed in the right place and the music fits each different type of level. The characters also sound good in the game when they pass you up and say something like beat you. So overall the sound in the game is good and all the characters and music sounds fine. There's really nothing bad to say about the sound.

Value/8-10/ The play time value is pretty high because its one player game includes three different modes which are Mario GP, Time Trial, and Quick Run. Mario Grand Prix will take you a pretty long time to complete with 5 different cups in each difficulty setting. Time trial is also fun and you can try to beat your best score on a certain race. The replay ability is lower because the game does eventually get boring from playing the same levels over and over again. But there is also a Multi player mode where you can link together with up to four people and chose from a variety of different courses. Overall the value is high because of the high play time and a multi player mode. The game is also in the $25 price range so it isn't too much money either.

Pros
1.Good graphics

2.Lots of modes and levels to chose from

Cons
1.Not enough characters

2.Bad AI

Overall- The game is good all around and it is definitely worth buying the game. It will only cost about 25-35 bucks so its worth its price. If you don't want to buy it at least try renting it or borrowing it from a friend. Overall it is a great new addition to the Mario Kart series and you should try it out.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/25/04