Post by Pilgrim John on Nov 22, 2005 3:29:47 GMT -5
****MARIO KART DS REVIEW****
by Pilgrim John
Hello, and welcome to my third game review. In a row. Nice. Today, we take you to a magical little land of wheels, mushrooms, turtles, and explosions that holds a place in all our hearts as gamers.
That's right, Mario Kart. The one series that spawned so many cop-offs, it's unhealthy (Hopefully, a Silent Hill Kart Racer will be ignored). Over 10 years ago, this series has managed to never make a score below a 9. How has it held up for 12 years?
Extremely well. In fact, it's nearly flawless in every nook and cranny. Every kart is balanced expertly, every character is recognizable and loved (Or in Wario's case, revolted), with unlockable secret characters to boot.
**GAMEPLAY**
The gameplay ditches the ingenius design of Double Dash and instead takes a step back. In many cases, that would be a horrible thing to do; but this is MARIO KART. They go back to the SNES/N64/GBA single-car formula in such a way that will make you forget doubling up altogether.
The powerslide is present, the weapons are here, awesome new karts are available, and it has new additions. Like what? Well, I could ramble on and on about the WiFi Connection, but that'd eat up about half of my review. Instead, I'll talk about some of the other cool additions.
Unlockable characters: just like in Double Dash, you have some new characters to unlock; so far I've only unlocked Dry Bones (My favorite SMB3 villain! Yippee!). They of course have radically different stats from Mario and the rest (In this example, Dry Bones has excellent turning and awesome top speed, but is extremely light and can be chucked off the highway if Bowser so much as burps in his direction).
Mission Mode: Yepper, MK has taken a lesson from F-Zero--they've included a set of missions (But no story) for you to accomplish. Some of the missions they throw at you aren't terribly original (Collect ALL the coins? Gee, that's new!), but others are wildly imaginative. Okay, drive through all the gates... Wait, backwards?? The boss fights of each level are actually entertaining, so you'll never get irked at any kind of slight monotony within the missions. Now why weren't any of Diddy Kong Racing's bosses as fun as these?
Create-A-Decal: Yay, people like me get to show off our artistic ingenuity (I drew a penguin! With a bowtie!!)! However, with a great thing comes a great price: while in WiFi mode, expect to see tons of obscene decals. Huh? I didn't know Mario was a Nazi... And what the hell is THAT doing on Wario's car?! Hey, is that even how you SPELL that?!?!
You get the idea. Just be responsible, okay?!
**SOUND**
The music here is so cheery, it'll make me puke some day. The sound is typical Mario fare most of the time, along with some repetitive voicework ("Take-a that!... Take-a that!... Take-a tha--" BANG!). Play with the volume down if you want to, you really aren't missing much.
**GRAPHICS**
Easily one of the best-looking 3D games to grace the DS yet, next to Nintendogs. Every movement is eye candy; every explosion is chicken soup for the karting soul; every idiot you pwn because you knock him into the lava right after he recovers from a Spikey Shell... friggin' priceless.
**PRODUCTION**
Well, the Replay option is way cool; it allows you to see what you did wrong during the races so you can devise another method later, among other reasons (Like making you feel proud of yourself for knocking Peach, Toad, and Yoshi all off a cliff at once). However, due to small card space, you can't actually save the video. Dang. Looks like I'll have to knock them all off again next time.
There are no cinematics in the game, so I relly don't know why I even put this piece up. Next part.
**OVERALL**
Mario Kart DS is proof that Nintendo actually listens to its fans and skeptics. You have your WiFi, there's no new formula, so stop whining. On the other side, the game is entertaning to the very end, and will have you pop the game back into the handheld from time to time to challenge your friends, just like in days long past. And for the love of all that gives Yoshi heartburn, make a decal that's actually tasteful, people. P****es aren't funny.
GOOD:
*The graphics are downright pretty; they actually made my dad want to play the game
*The game play is as fresh and addictive as it ever was
*Replay mode is still cool
*Unlockable characters and play modes are a dandy touch
*The WiFi Connectivity. 'Nuff said
*Decal design option = Art Studio for the Inventive
*The Mission Mode is a great addition to the MK gamespread
BAD:
*Repetitive voicework
*Somewhat bland BGM
*A few of the Missions in Mission Mode are forgettable
*Decal Design option = Chop Shop for the Tasteless and Perverted
OVERALL: 9.5/10
If you have a DS, Mario Kart is a mandatory purchase, no questions asked. 12 years and still going strong... Here's to another 12 years of explodey, turtle shell-flinging fun.
by Pilgrim John
Hello, and welcome to my third game review. In a row. Nice. Today, we take you to a magical little land of wheels, mushrooms, turtles, and explosions that holds a place in all our hearts as gamers.
That's right, Mario Kart. The one series that spawned so many cop-offs, it's unhealthy (Hopefully, a Silent Hill Kart Racer will be ignored). Over 10 years ago, this series has managed to never make a score below a 9. How has it held up for 12 years?
Extremely well. In fact, it's nearly flawless in every nook and cranny. Every kart is balanced expertly, every character is recognizable and loved (Or in Wario's case, revolted), with unlockable secret characters to boot.
**GAMEPLAY**
The gameplay ditches the ingenius design of Double Dash and instead takes a step back. In many cases, that would be a horrible thing to do; but this is MARIO KART. They go back to the SNES/N64/GBA single-car formula in such a way that will make you forget doubling up altogether.
The powerslide is present, the weapons are here, awesome new karts are available, and it has new additions. Like what? Well, I could ramble on and on about the WiFi Connection, but that'd eat up about half of my review. Instead, I'll talk about some of the other cool additions.
Unlockable characters: just like in Double Dash, you have some new characters to unlock; so far I've only unlocked Dry Bones (My favorite SMB3 villain! Yippee!). They of course have radically different stats from Mario and the rest (In this example, Dry Bones has excellent turning and awesome top speed, but is extremely light and can be chucked off the highway if Bowser so much as burps in his direction).
Mission Mode: Yepper, MK has taken a lesson from F-Zero--they've included a set of missions (But no story) for you to accomplish. Some of the missions they throw at you aren't terribly original (Collect ALL the coins? Gee, that's new!), but others are wildly imaginative. Okay, drive through all the gates... Wait, backwards?? The boss fights of each level are actually entertaining, so you'll never get irked at any kind of slight monotony within the missions. Now why weren't any of Diddy Kong Racing's bosses as fun as these?
Create-A-Decal: Yay, people like me get to show off our artistic ingenuity (I drew a penguin! With a bowtie!!)! However, with a great thing comes a great price: while in WiFi mode, expect to see tons of obscene decals. Huh? I didn't know Mario was a Nazi... And what the hell is THAT doing on Wario's car?! Hey, is that even how you SPELL that?!?!
You get the idea. Just be responsible, okay?!
**SOUND**
The music here is so cheery, it'll make me puke some day. The sound is typical Mario fare most of the time, along with some repetitive voicework ("Take-a that!... Take-a that!... Take-a tha--" BANG!). Play with the volume down if you want to, you really aren't missing much.
**GRAPHICS**
Easily one of the best-looking 3D games to grace the DS yet, next to Nintendogs. Every movement is eye candy; every explosion is chicken soup for the karting soul; every idiot you pwn because you knock him into the lava right after he recovers from a Spikey Shell... friggin' priceless.
**PRODUCTION**
Well, the Replay option is way cool; it allows you to see what you did wrong during the races so you can devise another method later, among other reasons (Like making you feel proud of yourself for knocking Peach, Toad, and Yoshi all off a cliff at once). However, due to small card space, you can't actually save the video. Dang. Looks like I'll have to knock them all off again next time.
There are no cinematics in the game, so I relly don't know why I even put this piece up. Next part.
**OVERALL**
Mario Kart DS is proof that Nintendo actually listens to its fans and skeptics. You have your WiFi, there's no new formula, so stop whining. On the other side, the game is entertaning to the very end, and will have you pop the game back into the handheld from time to time to challenge your friends, just like in days long past. And for the love of all that gives Yoshi heartburn, make a decal that's actually tasteful, people. P****es aren't funny.
GOOD:
*The graphics are downright pretty; they actually made my dad want to play the game
*The game play is as fresh and addictive as it ever was
*Replay mode is still cool
*Unlockable characters and play modes are a dandy touch
*The WiFi Connectivity. 'Nuff said
*Decal design option = Art Studio for the Inventive
*The Mission Mode is a great addition to the MK gamespread
BAD:
*Repetitive voicework
*Somewhat bland BGM
*A few of the Missions in Mission Mode are forgettable
*Decal Design option = Chop Shop for the Tasteless and Perverted
OVERALL: 9.5/10
If you have a DS, Mario Kart is a mandatory purchase, no questions asked. 12 years and still going strong... Here's to another 12 years of explodey, turtle shell-flinging fun.