(Video Games) Mario Kart DS

Anyone who owned and loved either an SNES and N64 is almost undoubtedly sure to love the Mario Kart series. When it debuted on SNES about a decade ago, we were all instantly in love with it. When the N64 sequel rolled out a few years later, those who hadn't already jumped on the bandwagon were pretty much guaranteed to do so. In fact, that game is probably the best game in the series. Years went by and Nintendo fans saw the release of a GameCube version called "DoubleDash" and a GBA version that payed homage to the original. Though both games were fun in their own right ("Baby Park" anyone?.....anyone?), they just didn't really reinvent the wheel or bring anything exciting to the Mario Kart table. Mario Kart DS is a game that can possibly reverse this trend.

Being exclusively designed for a handheld system, Mario Kart DS really has its work cut out for it. Seeing as how the other MK games relied heavily on its multiplayer environment, how could a handheld recreate this mayhem? Well, fortunately, the development team over at Nintendo has put a lot of work into this game.

First, there's single player mode, where you can choose from Grand Prix, Time Trials, Versus Match, and Battle Mode. That's right! Mario Kart DS supports bot-matches. So if you want to just race one opponent, you can! If you want to enter a battle arena and bust some balloons, you can do that too! This incredibly helpful when it comes to recreating the multiplayer environment. Additionally, the Grand Prix mode has a plethora of unlockable Karts, Characters, and other assorted goodies. Surely, if you want to just play all by your lonesome, there are a lot of options to keep you going for the long haul.

When it comes to multiplayer, Mario Kart DS isn't really lacking either. All of these game modes are available to play with multiple DS's and you can even play using just one DS cartridge and multiple systems! The real enjoyable feature on the game is really the Wi-Fi Connect Mode which allows players to connect with up to 3 other people and play "best-out-of-4" matches based on certain criteria that you decide. It really adds to the longevity of the game and will continually have you coming back for more.

The development team has decided to keep the classic control scheme for this version of Mario Kart, only utilizing the touch screen for menu-navigation. However, they did utilize both screens on the system, using the top for classic display and the lower screen as a map which displays your position in the race as well as any items that may be headed towards you. This adds so much strategy to the game that it's insane and hard to imagine going back to a single-screen setup ever again.

Additionally, the game features 32 different maps, 16 of which are classic maps from every previous game in the Mario Kart lineup! I can't begin to explain how much fun it is to go ack and play Choco Mountain or Moo Moo Farm from the N64 version, or even Mushroom Bridge from DoubleDash (No DK Jungle though...drats!). That being said, the new maps aren't lacking much. They are very well designed and feature several little shortcuts to help you out if you get a little behind.

Overall, this is a great game! It has the creativity that one has come to expect from Nintendo with the pleasant surprise of lasting appeal, something that is often missing on handhelds. This game is a blast!

Recommended for Mario Kart fans and anyone looking to justify their purchase of a Nintendo DS.

5 out of 5 Stars