Mario Kart DS

Christopher Taylor takes some magic mushrooms and zooms down Rainbow Road.

Mario sure is talented. He plays tennis, golf and baseball. He excels in elaborate mini-games involving everything from inflating balloons to controlling submarines. Occasionally he makes time for fighting monsters and saving princesses. And sometimes he drives.

In many ways, Mario Kart DS doesn’t change much from previous titles in the series, but, truth be told, we wouldn’t have it any other way. The characters we’ve come to know and love all make a return, as do some of our favourite tracks like Moo Moo Farm and Donut Plains. Don’t think this is merely a rehash, though – there are plenty of new tracks, unlockable characters and little features.

This Mario Kart takes advantage of the unique setup the DS has to offer, displaying a map and leader board on the second screen. The map alters the dynamics of gameplay dramatically, especially when you’re playing against experienced Karters – it shows where other racers are, what they’re carrying and alerts you to potential hazards such as rogue shells and various environmental obstacles. Another notable feature is the ability to gain a little boost in speed if you stay close behind other racers, which puts you at risk of wearing a banana or explosive shell. In short, Kart DS is the most strategic iteration of the series.

This is also the first handheld version of Mario Kart to be fully 3D. It looks great, too, showing off just how powerful the DS really is. It’s also one of the first DS games to support online play, although multiplayer is more fun and less prone to lag when you’re within kicking distance of each other.

The amount of content is also impressive – there’s not only the standard racing and battle modes, but a series of missions which see you collecting coins, racing to checkpoints within a set amount of time and fighting bosses. Some of the missions are a little dull, but the point is that there are heaps of things to do and you won’t tire of this game any time soon.

In fact, there’s nothing one can really pinpoint as being bad in this game. Yes, the AI has its quirks, but that’s just how Mario Kart works and it’s not like they’re especially terrible anyway. This is a game that’s so easy to pick up and play and will have even your most game-apathetic friend wanting to play “just one more race.” Is it the best Mario Kart game ever? That’s really up to your own personal tastes, but we’d certainly say that it is.