The ever so popular Mario Kart spin-off series made it's way to DS, and it sure did live up to it's expectation and more.
Mario Kart is nothing new. Its been out on quite a few different consoles with minor tweaks per game. But the twists of Mario Kart DS make it a must buy. With 12 different character, 4 being unlockables, and so much more to unlock this game is a barrel of fun. MKDS has 16 new tracks put in four different "cups."
It even has 16 classic tracks from previous Mario Kart games. In order to unlock everything, you have to go through all the classes and cups of the Grand Prix modes. There are 4 Grand Prix modes and 8 cups in each Grand Prix.
Grand Prix isnt the only mode in Mario Kart DS. Returning modes include the Time Trial mode, where you try to beat your fastest time on each track, but in this game they added staff times for you to beat. The popular Battle Mode is back and is a blast with a few new arenas and some returning arenas from previous Mario Karts. There are 2 different battle modes, normal battle play where you use items and strategy to try to eliminate 7 opponents' 5 balloons (there used to be 3 in previous MK's). The 2nd mode is Shine Runner, which is tweaked from Double Dash; this time you have to pick up as much Shine Sprites as possible, with there being 9 shine sprites available.
A new mode introduced in Mario Kart DS is mission mode. In Mission Mode you are given certain tasks to complete in order to advance to the boss battle in that section, with there being 8 sections overall.
And multiplayer is still around despite the handheld release, thanks to Nintendo Wifi. Through wifi you can play up to 3 other people online ina 4 race tourney of tracks selected by the players. Or if you want you can use DS Download to play with people in range of you.
Gameplay: 10/10
There is just so much to do, period. It's the beauty of Mario Kart in a whole new way.
Controls: 10/10
You can't really argue against the controls of the game. Some might think the grade should go down because of snaking (the art of drifting all around the track), but it's a skill you just have to deal with.
Graphics: 8/10
Yea well they arent the hottest DS grahics but they arent that bad either. At least no blurrs. The best part is on the top screen you see a 3-D race going on, and on the bottom screen is a nice 2-D map.
Story: N/A
No Main Story
Replay Value: 10/10
Seriously, how can you get bored of racing in MKDS? It's been over 2 years and I still play this game occasionally.
Sound: 10/10
The sounds of this game are great. You can know when your about to be attacked. And while your driving you can listen to the descent backround music. At least it isn't a pain to deal with.
Overall: 48/50 OR 9.6/10
A stellar near perfect game. A must buy. If you have a DS, you must have this game. Do you know how many people have it? You dont want to be left out in all the fun!
Mario Kart is nothing new. Its been out on quite a few different consoles with minor tweaks per game. But the twists of Mario Kart DS make it a must buy. With 12 different character, 4 being unlockables, and so much more to unlock this game is a barrel of fun. MKDS has 16 new tracks put in four different "cups."
It even has 16 classic tracks from previous Mario Kart games. In order to unlock everything, you have to go through all the classes and cups of the Grand Prix modes. There are 4 Grand Prix modes and 8 cups in each Grand Prix.
Grand Prix isnt the only mode in Mario Kart DS. Returning modes include the Time Trial mode, where you try to beat your fastest time on each track, but in this game they added staff times for you to beat. The popular Battle Mode is back and is a blast with a few new arenas and some returning arenas from previous Mario Karts. There are 2 different battle modes, normal battle play where you use items and strategy to try to eliminate 7 opponents' 5 balloons (there used to be 3 in previous MK's). The 2nd mode is Shine Runner, which is tweaked from Double Dash; this time you have to pick up as much Shine Sprites as possible, with there being 9 shine sprites available.
A new mode introduced in Mario Kart DS is mission mode. In Mission Mode you are given certain tasks to complete in order to advance to the boss battle in that section, with there being 8 sections overall.
You can unlock the 9th section by getting at least a ★ ranking in every battle.
Gameplay: 10/10
There is just so much to do, period. It's the beauty of Mario Kart in a whole new way.
Controls: 10/10
You can't really argue against the controls of the game. Some might think the grade should go down because of snaking (the art of drifting all around the track), but it's a skill you just have to deal with.
Graphics: 8/10
Yea well they arent the hottest DS grahics but they arent that bad either. At least no blurrs. The best part is on the top screen you see a 3-D race going on, and on the bottom screen is a nice 2-D map.
Story: N/A
No Main Story
Replay Value: 10/10
Seriously, how can you get bored of racing in MKDS? It's been over 2 years and I still play this game occasionally.
Sound: 10/10
The sounds of this game are great. You can know when your about to be attacked. And while your driving you can listen to the descent backround music. At least it isn't a pain to deal with.
Overall: 48/50 OR 9.6/10
A stellar near perfect game. A must buy. If you have a DS, you must have this game. Do you know how many people have it? You dont want to be left out in all the fun!
