Mario Kart DS (DS) review "This game is a great addition to the whole Mario Kart series and I think that it's one of the best. I enjoyed this game a lot and I definitely got what I paid for. Not only is this game single player, but multi player too. Single card, multi card, and Wi-Fi are all available on this game so whether or not your friends have it, they'll still be able to appreciate the fun that this provides. However, on Wi-Fi, there isn't as much detail as there is with multi/single card download play. When people..."

This game is a great addition to the whole Mario Kart series and I think that it's one of the best. I enjoyed this game a lot and I definitely got what I paid for. Not only is this game single player, but multi player too. Single card, multi card, and Wi-Fi are all available on this game so whether or not your friends have it, they'll still be able to appreciate the fun that this provides. However, on Wi-Fi, there isn't as much detail as there is with multi/single card download play. When people power slide, you can see the flames and there are other minor details left out but that's okay with me. Also, another down point about Wi-Fi is that when you are seeking opponents, it takes a while for them to show up and the game always tries to find 3 other people besides you. If there aren't 3 other people that show up in a certain amount of time, the game will automatically start with the number of people that you have. However, the game waits a long time before deciding to start the races so you may spend a while just seeking opponents. Another bad point is that if you're playing against a sore loser, they'll just power off when they start to lose and you'll have to search for opponents once again. This isn't really the game's fault but rather the humans that are playing it. If you're playing against someone who doesn't care if they win or lose, you'll have a much better time playing. I believe that Wi-Fi is the game's largest con.

In single player, there are many different modes: Grand Prix, Missions, Battle, VS, and Time Trial. In Grand Prix, you compete in 4 races that are grouped together. The better you place in each race, the more points that you'll earn. At the end of all the races, the person that has the most points wins the Grand Prix and they get a trophy!

In Missions, you go through levels and try to beat different missions that range from racing as fast as you can, to blowing up big bosses! There are fun challenges for everyone.

In Battle, you can play balloon battle or shine runners. In balloon battle, you can blow up balloons on your kart and then try to use items to hit other people's karts. When you get hit, you lose a balloon. If you lose all your balloons, you lose the game. In shine runners, shine sprites appear around the course and you have to pick them up. If you can't find any, you can always use an item, hit another person, and then steal theirs!

In VS, you play against the computers in single races. You can pick your kart, character, and the course. Try to be first! There are 32 courses in total. 16 of them are especially for the DS version and the other 16 are from versions from GBA, NES, SNES, and GC. Now you can enjoy all of your favourite races from the past on this one version!

Finally, in Time Trial, you have to try and race your fastest. Can you beat your previous record? They also give you the option to save your ghost which is basically just saving everything you did in that time trial. You can then load your ghost and try to beat it when racing again. If you set a certain time, you can earn staff ghost data and try to beat Nintendo staff records! Can you do that?

That's the game play and I'd have to say that I was impressed by it.
Game play: 9/10

The next thing that I'd like to cover are the graphics. For sure, the graphics aren't as great as the GameCube version but this isn't a console! The graphics are great for the DS and I don't think that they could be any better unless it was for the GameCube itself!
Graphics: 10/10

The music and sound effects were great too. I loved the music that was at the beginning of the game and I always had the racing music stuck in my head! As for the sound effects, they were also great. You could hear the sound of the cars engines and you could hear items being fired. There are also sounds whenever the car crashes or items hit the car. If you drive into a banana peel, you will hear the characters talk sounding disappointed. Also, whenever you pass someone, your character will make a sound or remark showing that they're happy.
Sound: 9/10

Replayability: This is a game that you can just keep playing over and over and over again. It doesn't ever really get boring. If you ever want a tough challenge, go on Wi-Fi. There's always people who are extremely good out there.

So my final recommendation would be to definitely get this game. It costs about 35 US dollars but it's well worth it. If you get it as a gift, don't give it away. It's an awesome game and it lives true to its reputation!

Overall: 9/10

Community review by Stevewins123 (December 22, 2007) A bio for this contributor is currently unavailable, but check back soon to see if that changes. If you are the author of this review, you can update your bio from the Settings page.