Product Description

It's time to race...with no wires attached! The acclaimed Mario Kart series has gone wireless, letting you race and battle locally with up to eight karts at once, regardless of whether everyone has a Game Card. Plus, play with up to three people around the world with Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection! An all-star cast that includes Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Wario, Bowser and Toad rounds out a truly all-star lineup of more than 30 courses including new DS-exclusive creations and classics drawn from every Mario Kart game.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #82 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Nintendo
• Model: 73590
• Published on: 2005-11
• Released on: 2005-11-25
• ESRB Rating: Everyone
• Platform: Nintendo DS
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .65" h x 4.93" w x 5.70" l, .25 pounds

Features

• Mariokart

Manufacturer's Description:
Mario Kart DS will drive players new and old to distraction as they race their way around a selection of tracks, including all-new extravaganzas and time-honoured classics from previous versions of the games. What's more Mario Kart DS will be the first Nintendo DS title to offer gamers online play allowing you to race anyone, anywhere, anytime for free.

Want to show off your skills? Then get excited as Mario Kart DS features both online and wireless multiplayer modes. By using the Wireless DS Single-Card Download Play feature, up to 8 players can link up with just one game card. Alternatively you can battle it out online with three other players either in the comfort of your own home using your existing Wi-Fi broadband; or in the High Street either at Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Access Points in store or at Nintendo Wi-Fi connection enabled public Wi-Fi hotspots. Never before has it been so easy to pick up a games console and challenge friends from all over the world for free.

Nintendo's unique new Friend Roster enables players to play online with their friends, all you need to do is set up a Friend Code by swapping a number with your friend, they will then be added to your Friend Roster and you can select to play with them online anytime, anywhere. Alternatively you can play with someone of a similar skill level. This is done seamlessly via Nintendo's servers through the use of a skill mapping system to ensure the environment is open to users of all ages and skill levels.

The Nintendo DS's double screens are put to perfect use in Mario Kart DS, moving certain features, such as the map onto the bottom screen, clearing the top solely for the fast paced action. Mario Kart DS also allows players to see what weapons their opponents have, thanks to a small symbol next to their faces on the lower screen. For the first time ever you will know what item to hang onto and what tricks your opponents have up their sleeves.

Following in the Mario Kart tradition, players must pick up items along the track such as power-ups which they can use to boost their own powers, mushrooms for a speed boost, a star to become invulnerable or shells, bombs and bananas to attack their opponents. Players can use these items to knock their opponents off the track and out of their way. These power ups can dramatically change the outcome of a race, so mastering these can give you the vital edge over your opponents.

Customer Reviews

beware - serious thumb ache
This game could have been seriously repetitive, but with all the different characters, all the different cars with their different handling problems keep you going for hours on end.

BUT, I would heartily suggest that you invest in a timer, set it for about an hour and take a break when it goes off, or you might suffer from the dreaded thumb ache, or even worse be woken in the night by the "thumb flick" as your thumb hits the accelerator while you sleep.

All in all it's a wonderful way to fill time, especially if playing with family or friends on the download feature.

Single player to practice, download to show off how good you've gotten.

Close to perfection
There may never be a perfect Mario Kart game, but this is close enough. Personally I love the coin-collecting and insane extra tracks of Super Circuit on the GBA, but there you're stuck with the same drivers and cars. Double Dash looks and feels fantastic but is short on courses. The SNES and N64 versions were classics, but are now showing their age against the multi-featured followups.

Mario Kart DS has almost everything going for it -- the only drawbacks are that eventually, I would guess, the tracks will prove a little easier than in most other versions -- and there's still no coin collecting ... or is there?! MKDS has a fab new 'Mission' section, kind of a story mode without a story (relief!), which involves guiding all the drivers through coin-collecting, box-breaking, poky-bombing and boss-bashing challenges of increasing nastiness. Watch out for the sneaky insertion of bosses from elsewhere in the Nintendo universe (no spoilers here).

The tracks themselves might be a little more straightforward, but the driving is harder. Both the start boost and the power slides are tougher to pull off, and veering into walls and verges will hurt you much more than in any other Mario Kart game, even in the lighter cars, so be warned. What it lacks in novelty of circuits (which isn't much, as some of the unlockable tracks prove) it makes up for in sheer skill required.

Again without wanting to spoil things too much, you'll probably be satisfied with the unlockability of MKDS: extra tracks, riders, cars, it's all there. I haven't mentioned WiFi because I haven't tried it yet, but I'd guess you'll be pretty pleased with the game even without the wireless dimension. A final nice touch is that you can play battle mode on your own against the CPU, which for some reason you couldn't do in Double Dash.

Another excellent MK game with plenty to keep you interested. Even if you're not sure how much you'll use WiFi, you should still definitely go for it.

A 5 star game without doubt!
When my brother had Mario Kart DS for his N64 I was addicted to the "balloon" battle mode - and it was the first thing I played when I got my hands on this.


The DS version is, if anything, an IMPROVED version! Before you could only battle mode against other 'human' players, whereas now you can do battle against up to 7 CPU controlled players.

There are tracks galore and more to unlock, lots of different characters to choose from and again - more to unlock.

There are new weapons too and for each character you select you can choose different vehicles. Some are faster, some are easier to handle, etc. This makes this classic game bigger than ever before. Once you complete all the tracks in 50cc mode, you can move to bigger engines. You can also play with different characters, select a different car (there are several for each of the CC modes - each individual to the character you choose).

I have played over WiFi via the Nintendo WFC service, and I performed pathetically compared to the international super-players I pitifully tried to beat! But I'll improve!

I have also played the DS to DS two player mode with just one game cartridge (Download play) and this was phenominal! I was beaten this time round too by my good colleague Marc - but I'll soon get him back. You can play Battle mode this way too, which is great - as we both have a DS, but we only have one game card between us!

This looks and sounds fantastic on the DS. The touch screen allows you to change the track view which comes in handy on battle mode. Whether you want to spend a good session on your DS, or a few minutes - this game is perfect - and so much fun on your own, or with others.