By Richard Horne

Last-ability

Single player mode should keep even the most hardened of gamers going for at least a few days. Of course the 50cc and 100cc cups are relatively easily beaten but the 150cc races take much more skill and a real mastery of the powerslide/turbo technique. The secret cups which are revealed upon finally beating 150cc are considerably more difficult to beat and should provide a worthwhile challenge to even the most hardened of gamers out there.

There are also a good number of unlockables this time around including various new karts and colours as well as a few hidden characters of which I won’t go into specifics, although I’m sure many of you already know from our previous article on said characters.

Again, similarly to the past versions of Mario Kart there’s the obligatory time trial mode which of course allows you to race against your ghosts. I’m hoping that similarly to F-Zero, Nintendo will introduce some kind of password system which allows you to post time trial times onto a worldwide leader board but of course at the moment I’m just speculating and have heard no hint or suggestion that such a thing exists. It is however quite feasible as Mario Golf also integrates such a password system.

And so it’s back to multiplayer again. If you have friends who enjoy Mario Kart then of course you’ll play MK- - DD for years to come, but it has to be said that once completed and with all the extras unlocked, there’s no real incentive to go back to the single player mode. But hasn’t that always been the case? With the addition of the much vaunted LAN connectivity, if you live on a university campus or suchlike then 8 player Mario Kart will no doubt keep you up till the twilight hours for a long long time.

Conclusion

Nintendo set themselves extremely high standards with the SNES version of Mario Kart and many would argue that no Karting game will ever be as good. Well, my own personal opinion is that Mario Kart- -Double Dash is up there with Super Mario Kart. I honestly couldn’t choose between them.

Whilst it could be argued that Double Dash doesn’t offer anything new much from previous versions, is this really such a bad thing? Why change a winning formula? If Nintendo had gone in a radical new direction, the game would still have drawn comparison with its prequels and no doubt people would still find fault. But, for me Nintendo have added enough new dynamics in the two drivers per kart mechanics as well as the new weapons and character specific powerups to make the game still feel fresh and new.

If you expect MK- -DD to be something new and completely different then you will be disappointed, but if like me, you lusted for Super Mario Kart or Mario Kart 64 but with improved graphics, sound and new tracks then you’ll be in Mario Kart heaven.