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Mario Kart DS Review by Symerwizkid22

ORIGNAL VERSION WITH PICTURES

Criticism text

Mario finally lands on the DS with all wheels still spinning!

Presentation: The game features very easy to navigate menus, all of which are touch screen compatible. The menus are bafflingly easy to navigate, whether you want to race against the computer, go against a friend online, or just check your record; it’s all extremely well done and easy to browse. Also, the setup of the menus, menu background, and menu music is also fantastic. The same menu system is used online, obviously, making this kart racer one of the best presented kart racers ever!

PRESENTATION : 5/5

Graphics: Many people state that Nintendo has some of the worst graphics ever, and sometimes this is true in comparison to the PSP. I personally don’t care; and for the graphical capabilities of the DS, you can tell Nintendo spent a lot of time and effort into making this one of the easiest on the eyes game on the DS. Sure, when you get up close to a sign on a course, bump into a wall, or get hit by a blue shell the graphics start slowing down and get slightly “clunky.” But I strongly emphasize the word “slightly.” Besides those slightly noticeable instances, the game runs at a nice smooth 60 frames and all of the sixteen new courses look outstanding! Sure they had to limit the amount of detail to the sixteen retro courses, but they are still the same courses! The game looks Outstanding! Well done Nintendo!

GRAPHICS : 5/5

It's everyones favorite plumber, Mario! ...and Bowser

Sound: Where do I begin? Every one of the thirty-two courses has a different, catchy beat that gets stuck in your head from beginning to end. The game also does a good job of keeping the race intense via the music! The music actually increases in speed and gets you more “excited” every lap. Even the menu music is fine for how much of it you’ll be listening to. The only time the music could start getting to the point of irritation is if you have to draw an emblem, or search for players online. But in that case, I guess you could just shut the music off. Overall, the sound in Mario Kart DS does those tiny speakers justice.

SOUND : 5/5

Gameplay: The Mario Kart series has delivered some of the best gameplay ever in the Mario series. Mario Kart DS does not disappoint. There is a total of twelve racers. For these 12 racers, each one has 3 karts. Each character has a "STANDARD [insert name] kart. Here are the characters and their other 2 karts:

Character selection screen [minus those sweet unlockable characters]

As you can probably already see there is a great variety in characters and karts. These characters and karts all have their own specific weakness and strengths. Each character and kart combination is measured on a scale of 1-10. 10 being the best and 1 being the worst. The amount changes with each character, and since it is possible to put any character in any kart, there is no real way to measure each kart's stats. The parts that are measured are:

Kart selection screen

All of these stats play a big role in what courses you are racing in. There are two main Grand Prix’; the Nitro Grand Prix where all the new courses are, and the Retro Grand Prix where all the classic courses are. Each of these are broken up into 4 cups. Cups contain 4 races each. Each retro cup has one course from Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64, Mario Kart Super Circuit, and Mario Kart Double Dash. This brings the total number of courses to 32. Each one of the tracks, new and old, are fantastically fun, original, and just an overall blast to race in! Here are the courses; classified by Grand Prix and Cup. Courses with a star next to it are available for online racing:

Nitro Grand Prix

Mushroom Cup

  1. Figure Eight Circuit*
  2. Yoshi Falls*
  3. Cheep Cheep Beach*
  4. Luigi's Mansion*

Flower Cup

  1. Desert Hills*
  2. Delfino Square*
  3. Waluigi Pinball
  4. Shroom Ridge

Star Cup

  1. DK Pass*
  2. Tick-Tock Clock
  3. Mario Circuit*
  4. Airship Fortress

Special Cup

  1. Wario Stadium*
  2. Peach Gardens
  3. Bowser Castle
  4. Rainbow Road*

Retro Grand Prix

Shell Cup

  1. SNES Mario Circuit 1*
  2. N64 Moo Moo Farm*
  3. GBA Peach Circuit*
  4. GCN Luigi Circuit*

Banana Cup

  1. SNES Donut Plains 1
  2. N64 Frappe Snowland*
  3. GBA Bowser Castle 2
  4. GCN Baby Park*

Leaf Cup

  1. SNES Koopa Beach 2
  2. N64 Choco Mountain*
  3. GBA Luigi Circuit
  4. GCN Mushroom Bridge

Lightning Cup

  1. SNES Choco Island 2*
  2. N64 Banshee Boardwalk
  3. GBA Sky Garden*
  4. GCN Yoshi Circuit*

Moo Moo Farm; a true classic!

Each one of these courses has its own unique traits that make it good for some characters and bad for others. Another great gameplay feature of Mario Kart DS is the ability to play online. Getting online is a synch; and once you’re online searching either Worldwide, Rivals, Regional, or Friends is even easier. There is so much to do in this game it is mind boggling. Grand Prix, Time Trials, VS, Battle, Mission, Online, Single Kart Multiplayer, Multi Kart Multiplayer, Emblem Editing, and more. I wont spoil all the surprises, but it looks like I covered a lot of it. Mario Karts gameplay may be the best of any Mario Kart game ever!

GAMEPLAY : 5/5

Lasting Appeal: Just like with my Pokemon Diamond/Pearl Review; if you only buy 3 or so games for a system, then this one is a must buy. It truly lasts forever via online play.

LASTING APPEAL : 5/5

Conclusion: Buy this game, you wont regret it!

SCORE RUNDOWN

FINAL SCORE : 5/5 [WiFi Non-Pending]

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ORIGNAL VERSION WITH PICTURES