Mario Kart has appeared on each one of Nintendo's consoles since the Super Nintendo introduced the series back in 1992. Every release of this genre-spawning kart racer has been met with insane amounts of anticipation and excitement. When the Nintendo DS was first revealed back at E3 2004, Mario Kart DS was one of the first titles that appeared on its teaser trailers. From that moment, DS owners have eagerly awaited the day that they'd get the chance to take Mario, Peach, Yoshi, and the other Nintendo characters out for another spin around the banana and turtle shell-infested track. Well, the wait was well worth it.

NOTE: Because one of the most enjoyable things about a Mario Kart title is discovering the unlockable content, this review will be as spoiler free as possible while still explaining the major details of the game.

Facts and Features

• First Mario Kart to implement online play
  
• Tons of unlockable courses, karts, and characters
  
• 16 new tracks in addition to 16 classic tracks
  
• New and classic weapons
  
• New grading system
  
• New single-player mission mode
  
• 2-8 players via download or multi-cartridge play
  
• Available November 14, 2005
  

Presentation
Everything in Mario Kart DS is presented in slick and solid fashion. From the moment you start navigating the menu system, you'll see that this is the most feature packed and beautifully presented Mario Kart game to date. The navigation is simple and easy with tons of modes to choose from. The classic conventions of the series are still intact, such as the sky camera view before each race and trophy presentations, while new surprises are around every corner.

The characters are very lively and well-animated in their karts. The familiar cheer that your racer lets out when you cause another racer to wipeout is enough to cause you to crack a smile each time, and enough to drive you nuts when you hear an opponent's cheer. The presentation of this title will draw you in and, for long time fans, nostalgia will consume your senses and emotions.

Gameplay
The most important part of any game is the gameplay. Mario Kart, as a series, has undergone several gameplay tweaks and changes as it has moved from Super Nintendo to Nintendo 64 to GameBoy Advance to GameCube to finally the Nintendo DS. The DS version is closer to the original formula than any of the others, but it retains the best parts of all of the other versions as well. It seems that Nintendo has taken the "greatest hits" of Mario Kart gameplay and fused them together in this version along with new tracks, characters, karts, and gameplay modes.

The racing mechanics remain simple as always, but this time around each racer handles based on a choice you make before the race begins. When you select your character, you also select which kart you want to use. Initially each character has two karts available to choose from, each with its own strengths and weakness in several categories. Later in the game, more character karts will be unlocked as well, but the specifics of that will stay a surprise for the gamer.


Wario power-sliding in the all-familiar Baby Park (GCN)
Once you've chosen your character and which kart to go with, you'll be ready to race. The A button is used for the gas pedal, the B button is brake and reverse, the L button fires your weapon, and the R button initiates the power slide.