Pretty much Super Mario Kart, but with two Karters. Does that mean double the fun?
New and Old levels look good and are presented very well
Controls work well
Two karters mean more weapons
Fun Multiplayer
...::The Bad::...
No Online Play
Only 16 Characters
The fourth installment in the Mario Kart series takes a leap by adding an additional racer into the Kart. But it's not just this that helps it improve greatly on Mario Kart 64.
First, the obvious difference. Graphics. The character models are nice and smooth, tracks are very well detailed and everything is bright and colourful but not too distracted at the same time. Though there are a few texture problems here and there. Music has been brought back from previous games which is a nice touch, but new lively themes have been thrown into the mix.
Speaking of old and new; some old courses return to the fray, where new, crazy courses such as Baby Park have been added. The main new feature though, is the two drivers. Basically one person drives, the other deals with your weapons. This feature wasn't really neccessary and all the difference is that instead of your weapon firing randomly out of the back of your kart, your partner will fire it. Also you are able to carry two weapons this time somehow. Mario and pal must be able to drive one-handed...
Two karters = More Characters?
You'll find all the old clas-sic characters in here, but you'd expect alot more characters added into the fray since you can now have two karters. Well theres only 16. Not alot more than what you previously had. Yeah there's unlockable characters, but 2 doesn't really count...
Finally the Gameplay. Has it really changed from Mario Kart 64? The answer. Yes. The analouge stick is easier to use than the old N64 Control Stick. Accellerating is donne by holding 'A' and to break you press 'B'. Weapons can be fired with a tap of the 'X' or 'Y' buttons, and easily swapped along with your character by simply pressing the 'Z' button.
The powerslide has been a key mechanic in all Mario Kart games, but Double Dash relies on it even more. The hopping business that preceded a powerslide in past Mario Kart games has been stripped out, so you can now go straight into a powerslide by pulling either of the shoulder triggers while midway through a turn. As you slide, you'll see little sparks shooting off your tires. If you jiggle the analog stick while sliding, the sparks will turn from yellow to red, and then from red to blue. Once you're sparking blue, you can let go of the shoulder trigger for a momentary speed boost.
Mario Kart Double Dash!! is definitly far superior to Mario Kart 64 with all it's nice new features, especially the Multi-Player which is a blast with friends. Sadly no online function from Nintendo.
Any Mario Karter should pick this game up, and anyone new to the series, this is a great way to start off.
8.5