Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo of America
Genre: Racing
Rating: E (For Everyone)
Platform: Nintendo DS
Players: 1

Mario Kart DS represents a significant change in Nintendo’s direction. When Xbox Live and Sony’s PlayOnline service were in their infancies, it thumbed its nose at the idea of starting a service of its own, citing low broadband availability and lack of gamer interest. A few years later, some would say that Nintendo was forced to eat its words; the Xbox became a success in America due to its online capabilities, and the success of online titles such as Halo 2 and Final Fantasy 12. These titles proved that online gaming can be quite a lucrative arena.

Last year, Nintendo launched its own online portal, dubbed the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection. Mario Kart, an update to the famous franchise popularized by its N64 and SNES incarnations, is the first of what will hopefully be many games which support online competitive play. Many fans will no doubt jump at the chance to play Nintendo’s famous game worldwide, but how did the game turn out?

Gameplay

The gameplay of Mario Kart DS is mostly derived from its recent Gamecube and ten-year-old N64 versions, which is a very good thing. Playable characters include Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Princess Peach, Yoshi and many others. Analog control of racing karts is obviously omitted here (since there is no analog stick on the DS), but the D-Pad suffices, as none of the courses require extremely precise steering. The most important thing a racer can have is a sense of speed, and Mario Kart DS has it to spare; races feel fast, and the AI is generally good at outmaneuvering you, which makes each race feel like a challenge, especially at the 150cc level.

As for the courses themselves, they are very diverse and filled with character. Some of the tracks come from locations in previous Mario games, ranging from the standard but highly competitive Figure Eight course to Waluigi’s Pinball Land, and of course, Rainbow Road – the gleaming track in the sky with few rails to prevent players from falling off.

A few weapons are new, such as a squid that splashes ink onto your screen, but almost all of the other weapons have been in one Mario Kart game or the other, such as the homing Red Shell, the leader-seeking Blue Shell, the Banana and Banana Bunch, and the beloved Invincibility/Boost Star. In races against both human and computer opponents, the weapons are mostly balanced, so that skill still counts in winning the race.
       
All in all, the races are very fun, but anyone who has played any version of Mario Kart knows this already: Multiplayer is the real meat of the game. Mario Kart offers the same Versus, Battle, and Time Trial options as its Game Boy Advance and N64 versions did, and these can be played either with multiple game cards, or using DS Download play.

Burning Rubber ‘round the World

The online component, which is the reason most people will be picking this up, adds depth and re-playability, but isn’t as spectacular as it could have been. Assuming your wireless router is configured properly for Internet access, the Nintendo DS does an adequate job of walking you through its network setup options; I was online with my DS in a matter of minutes (although it didn’t work perfectly with my router; see www.nintendowifi.com for a list of compatible models and instructions).

Upon successfully connecting, your Nintendo DS and game card are assigned a “Friend Code,” which you can give to friends and online rivals. However, anyone expecting to see the richness of a service like Xbox Live will be severely disappointed. All online matches are automatically made by the Nintendo Server; you cannot select who you will play against, though you can indicate whether you would like to play from those on your friends list or complete strangers.

There are no voice or text chat options available in and out of the race, so there is no way to keep in contact with a stranger (other than possibly searching the internet for their handle). Though the game cartridge keeps track of your wins and losses, and the Nintendo WiFi site ranks players, the game does not display this information before your enter a race, so there is no conceivable way of telling if you even have a chance against an opponent.

The racing options are also limited as well; only standard Versus mode is available online, with only four opponents maximum. It would have been nice to see other modes implemented, or at least more players allowed to race at once. Overall, the online mode is a nice way for skilled players to seek out more opponents, but Nintendo has a ways to go before challenging Microsoft in online dominance.

Graphics and Sound

The Nintendo DS is said to fall between the Nintendo 64 and Gamecube in terms of power, and Mario Kart demonstrates this perfectly. The fully 3D courses are larger, and more graphically complex than Mario Kart 64, and particle effects such as dust help to make the fantasy locales that much more enticing. The go-karts themselves look good on and off the track; despite the DS’s obvious technical limitations – Nintendo seems to make the most of what it has, and produces a great-looking game. The frame rate is hardly ever a problem; even with many racers clumped together using weapons. Audio-wise, the music is the standard, happy Mario fare, some of which you’ll hum to yourself, while probably forgetting about the rest. In addition, the sound effects sound particularly good on the DS.