Publisher: Nintendo
Ages: six and up.
Parental
Advisory:
Arcade violence
For gamers who cut their racing teeth on Super Mario Kart back in the old Super NES days, and those who have never discovered the joys of kart racing, Nintendo's Mario Kart: Double Dash!! delivers good racing fun. It's got everything that was great about the old game and adds rich graphics, challenging new courses, and new racing modes and weapons to the mix. And it's a great game for the kids and family.
The title feels much like a souped-up version of Super Mario Kart with faster karts, more involving tracks, and better computer-controlled opponents. And as you would expect, then game features the fun Nintendo characters that include Mario, Luigi, Wario, Donkey Kong and Peach.
Players can race against each other in "Versus" mode, or try to beat their best times in time trials. The popular battle modes have been expanded to include Bob-omb Blast and Shine Thief, in addition to the original Balloon Battle. Bob-omb Blast is an all-out game of bombardment on wheels while Shine Thief mode is a variation on "capture the flag" that has players trying to avoid opponents' weapons and grabbing a target "Shine" before the clock runs out.
A fun new co-op mode lets players team up and compete. Here, one player drives and the second player in the kart doles out the damage. And players can swap places to strategically use power-ups for maximum impact. The co-op mode, in conjunction with a LAN connection allows up to 16 players to compete at one time (eight karts at once). On a single GameCube, up to four may compete. The graphics are colorful and attractive, and the game features cartoon violence that is relatively harmless.
The anticipation for this game was huge and some may be disappointed. But Mario Kart: Double Dash!! is a first rate and fun game for the family that's truly fast and furious.
11/25/03 www.daytrum.com Editorial Staff
