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Rating: 
-
Like many reviewers, I have a long history with Mario Kart, and I couldn't resist buying Double Dash as soon as I could find it... I was incredibly surprised with the graphics, the race courses and the unique two racer (driver, thrower) setup, and it's addictive nature gets both me (and my wife) immersed quickly.
My only beef, (and this doesn't change my 5 stars!) is that they haven't made a battle mode similar to the original Mario Kart on the Super Nintendo. The new battles are fun but they get resolved very quickly, where with the original, two good players could stalk each other for 10-15 minutes before getting an upper hand... With all the new characters and weapons, maybe this could be considered for the next Mario Kart?
Rating: 
-
Introduction-
Mario Kart started as a great little game on the Super Nintendo. Super Mario Kart on the Super Nintendo assumed you as one of eight mascots of the mario world, and let you race against the computer, or with a friend. The twist, setting it apart from all the other racers in the genre, was it's Item and power-up system, letting you attack your opponents with shells, and get a boost from mushrooms, plus many more. Looking back on the game now, you will see very aged graphics on a very aged system. But sit down with it for a few minutes, and you will find the addictive gameplay that made it such a classic.
Mario Kart then moved to the Nintendo 64 in 1997, and replaced the flat courses of the origional with huge, lush courses to show off the hardware of nintendo's new system. Unfortunately, this upset many people because the bigger courses made winning the race more about who could best use power ups, rather than actual racing skill. Multiplayer in this game was fantastic, letting you race with three other people rather than just one.
Mario Kart 64 also built up on the battle mode, making it much more than just a diversion from the main game. But this game was plagued with many bugs and glitches that made the game unfair, and sometimes even unenjoyable. Mario Kart 64 was fun to play with friends, but was a little unbalanced, and had too many problems for its own good.
Now comes the third outing of the Mario Kart franchise to hit nintendo consoles. Mario Kart: Double Dash!! combines the best aspects of both the games before it, but unfortunately doesn't really do much else to improve the game.
Graphics-
The graphics in MKDD are crisp, smooth, and very colorful. The style of the game is very cartoonish, so those looking for a more gritty dark game will be very dissapointed. Nothing in the graphics catagory is done wrong. It has that classic mario style, but some might be somewhat concerned about how nintendo has places eyes on many of the game's inanimate objects, making it somewhat distracting to drive without feeling that you are being watched the trees... (Graphics 4/5)
Sound-
Mario and the Gang are very chatty, commenting on most of thier actions. Voice acting isn't terrible, but it might get annoying to hear those italian plumbers shout out their nintendo nonsense over and over. Some catchy themes on some of the race tracks, but nothing to get too excited about. (Sound 4/5)
Gameplay-
The gameplay in this game remains mostly unchanged from previous editions of mario kart. Race 3 times around a track, collecting power-ups from Item boxes scattered throuout each course, and beating your opponents. Controlling your Kart in this game has been tuned to perfection. The biggest addition to this edition of mario kart is the two-player-per kart aspect of racing. There is one driver in the front of the kart, and one in the back who handles the weapons and power-ups. This means you can hold two items at a time, and you can switch your character's places whenever at the push of a button.
This adds a strategic element while chosing your character, because you can combine any two characters in one kart. There are 20 characters in total, each with their own specialized kart. Another thing to worry about is that each "team" of characters has a SPECIAL item that they get randomly from any item box on the map. Each special item is different, and adds a lot to a team. The addition of a two-player-per-kart system works well and adds a lot to the game, but Mario Kart Veterans of any kind will find that playing with as two characters at once doesn't really change the gameplay that much.
The tracks you will race on are some of the best and creative courses to date, but unfortunately there are only 16, and some of them are mediocre and dull compaired to others. (Gameplay 4/5)
Multiplayer-
Multiplayer is the main draw of this title, and should be where you spend most of your time. WARNING: If you have no friends, do not buy this game! The two-player-per-kart lets you play co-op with a friend, but honestly, controlling your own kart is way more fun. Battle mode has unfortunately taken a step down from Mario Kart 64, because the courses to play on are boring and uninspired. Two new battle modes to play with are fun and welcomed, but just not fun on such bad battle arenas.
Nintendo also offers LAN play, offering up to 16 players to race, but it looks like this was thrown in at the last second, and only recommended if you actually have the resources to do it. (Multiplayer 4/5)
Overall-
This game is a great addition to the Mario Kart franchise, and recommended to anyone who owns a gamecube, and is looking for a great multiplayer experience. It perfects the mario Kart formula, but it has too little tracks, and a bad battle mode, and in the end, doesn't really offer anything new.
Overall, it is a great game. 4 out of 5
__________
Rating: -
After running into a purchased "dud," we decided in order to avoid purchasing more duds we are going to rent video games just to make sure which games are and aren't good, and throughout the renting period, I will keep you updated.
This game was the first on our list, and now we're going to end up buying a copy because it is so much fun. In this game, Mario and his friends and foes are racing, with each team having 2 characters. You start out with Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, Birdo, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Koopa, Paratroopa, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Bowser, Baby Bowser, Wario and Waluigi, and you can later unlock Toad, Toadette, King Boo and Petty Pirahna. Each character will race, but they also get to knock characters of the track with special moves. For example, Bowser and Baby Bowser get to use giant shells, while Baby Mario and Baby Luigi get to use Chain-chomps to clear the road. Try using different character combos for different moves. Some of the race tracks include Baby Park, Yoshi's Island, and our favorite, DK Mountain!
Overall, 5 stars, a fun racing game for Mario fans.
P.S. one small request: I wish our local video store would offer Nintendo DS games, that way we can know what DS are and aren't good, without the hassle of purchasing the "duds."
Rating: -
Definitely an addicting and fun game. If you're not familiar with the previous Mario Kart games, then you're completely missing out. Of course you'll need somebody to play with. Playing by yourself is only fun for the first few races.
In this game there are two people on one cart. You can switch over the people and decide which one belongs on the back or on the front of the cart. This was definitely a clever and good idea, because it makes it double the fun! Besides racing, you can also do battle mode. This is where you try to destroy your opponent with shells, bananas, etc. It's only for 2-4 players and sadly you can't play against the computer. There are also alot of characters to choose from (I think 16) and you can also choose which cart you drive. If you want power choose the huge carts or if you want speed choose the lighter carts.
As for the gameplay, it's easy to get used to. The controller is just perfect for this game. The graphics are also good and better than the previous Mario Kart games. The music fits perfectly to this game and some remind you of the previous games. The challenge of this game is nothing. It's just so easy even if it's on hard (maybe because I play more challenging games) and you could easily beat it in one day.
Overall, it's definitely worth your money and time. Even the whole family can enjoy such a wonderful and fun game. And for the price you can't complain.
Rating: -
If you're anything like me and loved the Mario Kart games on Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64, then you will absolutely love this game! After I got rid of my 64, I missed a lot of the games and wished they would develop newer versions. Mario Kart 64 was one of those that I missed so much. Thankfully, the Nintendo people saw this coming and developed an even better version of the Mario Kart game!
Mario Kart: Double Dash!! is a game that will entertain kids for hours, but it's also a game for the entire family. Yes, the entire family will love it! This game is crammed full of single player fun, but it also features many multiplayer options.
*Single Player
In single player mode, you can choose to race in Grand Prix mode in one of three different speed settings, or you can race against the clock in Time Trial.
In Grand Prix mode, there are several karts, characters, and Battle mode arenas to be unlocked.
In Time Trial, there are also secrets to unlock by beating the developers' best times on the tracks.
*Multiplayer
First of all, you can have up to 4 players racing with one Game Cube, or you can link two or more Game Cubes together with ethernet cable to have even more racers.
With 2-4 players, you can race in Grand Prix (with 8 total karts) Versus (no computer karts) or Battle. There are three different Battle modes to keep things interesting!
I can't even begin to tell you everything about this game that makes it a worthwile addition to your game library, but after you play a while you'll understand. If you were a fan of the previous Nintendo Mario Kart games, this is a must for you!
Highly recommended to all!
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