A quick breakdown...

Mario Kart returns onto the Nintendo DS, with a new(ish) play system and WiFi capabilities - play friends or random people online!

Mario Kart returns (again), this time to the Nintendo DS. It was also the first (if not, one of the first) games with WiFi capabilities. The gameplay itself is near enough the exact same which had been going on in the previous versions – you get from A to B, then back from A to B another two times (or more) in first place. Simple as. Though this time they also introduced a fun little diddy – mission mode, where you…complete missions. How they thought of missions involving go-karts I don’t know.

There are, in total, about 32 tracks. 16 new, 16 older ones returning. Kinda  ‘blast-from-the-past’ kinda effect, only, with go-karts hitting your face. So unsurprisingly, completing each tourney on 50cc, 100cc and 150cc can take a chunk out your life. And if that wasn’t enough, they have a weirder ranking system this time around. When you complete a tourney, depending on how many ‘points’ you got, you get a rank slapped on you. These range from an E to an A, then one star, two stars and three stars. Getting the holy three-star ranking on every cup can take forever and a day, though if I can do it you should be able too. Nyaa.

Visionary-wise, the graphics take full advantage of the DS’s abilities. All levels, cars and characters are designed to a level and look quite good for a handheld. The levels are fully 3-D (which is an obvious one), and there are plenty of hidden details/nooks and crannys in each one which make the game feel even awesomer.

And along comes the WiFi.

Friggin heck, bring on a whole load of awesome and throw in an extra suitcase of it. The first time you play WiFi is pretty awesome, since you are actually playing someone you don’t know – across the world somewhere. Or in some cases, you’re actually playing someone. It’s a brilliant feature which shows off the DS’s power to the full. Though too bad of the quitters and that.

So, my advice, if you haven’t already then buy this. It can last for a long time if you stick to games for a while, though if you’re like me the awesomeness slips away after a few weeks. Nevertheless, it’s still a great game

-Shez