Mario Kart: Double Dash

Some of you may hate me, some of you may envy me, and some of you may just not care, but lucky me, I got to play a demo of Mario Kart today at GameStop. It is soooo cool. The two person thing works wonderfully, I only got to play one track, but it was still pretty good. The Kart seemed to handle a bit differently than those of the past games, but then again, they don't look like most GoKarts anyway. Has anyone else played the game? I'm glad I preordered it, and now if I just buy Mario and Luigi, I can get that Zelda Disk.

Is the adventure mode in the game only 2 player mode? is there a computer user if you are alone when you play?

Um, I just played one race, but I think I know what ya mean, If there is only 1 human playing, then you control both people on the kart. It sounds hard, but it works great.

I why should I envy you, I have the full version game!!

I must say, I love the new system where you can switch beween attacker and driver aswell as how you can lean with the characters to cut curves better.
Another thing is, you get new karts by winning cups and the award ceremony is just awesome!

Originally posted by Deku Butler
Is the adventure mode in the game only 2 player mode? is there a computer user if you are alone when you play?

The co-op mode is completely optional. When you are doing it by yourself you control both, which is the default way. The co-op mode is the exception, not the norm.

I'm going to get it. Duh.

What really annoys me is why IGN Cube gave it such a low score. 7.9?! Come on! They said it was too much of a rehash of the older games. I say that it's bull. The Mario Kart franchise is perfect right now, and doesn't need any huge new innovations. If it were to stay like this right now, I'd be happy.

They also complained that it was too easy/short. Um, yeah? Racing games have traditionally always been short, and have little to no replay value. When you see Mario Kart's multiplayer, you see fun game modes such as LAN play, co-op, battle, classic four-player, and more. Most racing games don't have nearly as much variety.

Bleh, thus ends my semi-rant. I could post tons more, but I feel I'd end up being slightly redundant.

Racing games have traditionally always been short, and have little to no replay value.

Traditionally, yes. Since the release of Mario Kart 64? No. Gran Turismo raised the bar, and we see it reflected in franchises such as Sega GT, Auto Modellista, Project Gotham, and even F-Zero with its inclusion of a depth-adding story mode on the Gamecube.

It underscores IGN's principle complaints: Nintendo has taken strides to improve their other Gamecube upgrades. Games that could have been superficially improved rehashes were touched by specific innovation to make them worthwhile. This innovation is lacking in MK: DD, according to IGN.

And if it's only superficially improved, why bother "upgrading" at a $40-50 cost? As you yourself note, SearanoX, the franchise has reached perfection. If there's no need for huge innovations, from a company that promotes itself on constant innovation, why bother at all?

They're also critical of the learning curve, relating primarily to the uncreative course design, and over-abundance of item pickups. Not to mention the removal of small-jumps. Again, valid criticism, if it holds true.

I'm buying the game, of course, but I'm definitely taking IGN's criticism to heart, and not going in with high expectations. Would it be so surprising to find out that Nintendo had skipped seeming non-sequitors in favor of a Christmas release? Or in a simple rush to put out, as with Wind Waker?

By perfection I don't mean that the franchise is perfect. There is always room for expansion, no matter how good the game and/or series may be. For instance, I'm sure they could add new gameplay modes, characters, etc., but all of that would be just gravy. However, these additions, to me, are definetly worth the upgrade, and the new depth and innovation added by the character-swapping system makes a huge difference when it comes to gameplay.

Is Mario Kart: Double Dash!! overly new and original? Of course not. Is it a revolution of the Kart Racing genre? It's arguable. Is it a fun as hell game? You bet. The impression I received from IGN's review is that the reviewer is mad that Nintendo didn't add a whole lot, and evidently, it takes more to entertain someone these days. I don't remember playing much more than Battle Mode, 2-player, and Grand Prix in the original. These three gameplay modes kept me entertained for more than one hundred hours. Now, what do we have in DD? All of these, and their formulas, as far as I can tell, are more refined than ever. While yes, they are relatively the same, the key changes to the gameplay should give the series the extra "burst" of innovation that will keep us playing for just as long as the original.

I don't deny that the game may not be as magical as its previous installations, but as long as the game is fun, has good controls, decent graphics/framerate, and a good sound selection, I'm hooked, and Double Dash seems to contain all of these. I really don't know. Perhaps people simply need an overpowering orgy of choice (which of most won't be used for more than half an hour) to be fully satisfied.

All of these, and their formulas, as far as I can tell, are more refined than ever.

Except now the tracks are apparently inferior, judging from their review. They've also taken out short-jumps, which added amazing depth to so many tracks in MK64, and have cut back the speed in battle mode. And now, items, which had long been the the gambler's boon to new under-capable players, are in double abundance. I hardly call that refinement.

One thing to remember is that the folks over at IGN were hyped themselves. They express that fact. And they were disappointed. They didn't go in looking for faults. They just found an experience that was inferior, in their minds, to the previous two games, largely due to the lack of innovation.

Ultimately it's their opinion. As noted, it's definitely an opinion I'm keeping in mind, even though I do intend to purchase the game.

And, of course, my own elaboration is my own opinion.

I bought it today, with a 10% discount o_O
(why they would put a game on discount on it's release date is beyond me at this point)
but who cares I'm gonna go play it in a minute and see what I think, no doubt I'll love it.

Edit: wow.. the 50cc is really really easy o_O hehe but a very enjoyable game! ^__^
I wouldn't -complain- about the game being short (I've had it for a few hours now and I've only got the 150cc left to beat)
but the driver/attacker works fantastic, it's just soo much fun to find exactly the right way to get through a curve in the road by leaning and stearing.. =) my fav are the little guys with high acceleration. And I think it's fun there are karts and chars to unlock, woohoo
on the Snes I thought it was a bit annoying that it took so long to get back on track once you fell off, I don't know how that is with N64 but I'm glad it doesn't take that long in this one.
I like the tracks too.
Can't wait for my friends or cousins to get here so I can play with them too, it's an awesome game

I like how you people use reviews and opinions of others as if they are your own. You haven't even played the game and your set on what somebody else said. Why don't you wait until you play it before you start making judgements. Sure, its helpful to see what others think of the game, but you don't know what their expectation were coming into playing it or what they like in a game. These things can be totally different from your own and thus some people like some games and others like other games.

That's not true. Whenever I read a review, I know that it's an opinion of someone else. For instance: Pikmin. It was rated highly, and I went out and bought it...and I didn't it after about two weeks. It was simply too monotonous and repetative for my tastes, and the 30-day limit was very annoying, IMO, especially because the days were too short. I still enjoyed it while it lasted, but I don't think it was worth the buy.

When it comes to reviews, I don't buy any highly-rated game that comes out - instead, I'll perhaps rent it, see if I like the genre, asess replay value, etc. I don't take the reviewer's words over mine. However, if the game is rated very poorly all-round (I'm wary of most games that score under 8), then I won't touch the thing. Chances are, if most reviewers gave it a bad score, it isn't very good.

Samurai: Generally, the opinions of reveiwers like IGN, EGM, and similar places have some thought put behind them.

You don't see anyone here, not even Dryth, taking them as the absolute truth, do you? Only a complete fool totally ignores all outside opinions when it comes to spending yet another 50$.

I was planning on buying Star Fox Adventures, but after all the bad press, reveiws, and impressions from people whose opinions I trust, I didn't. I have since played the game, and those opinions were totally on the mark. Thank god I didn't waste 50$ on that piece of crap.


As for Mario Kart... as far as I can see, IGN is the only site with such low opinions of the game, and I'm inclined to believe the majority in this instance.

Isn't it supposed to be out on the 17th?

SearanoX, your not getting what I'm saying here. You played Pikmin, you haven't played double dash yet. Also, I agree that professional reviews have good backing to them seeing as they are professionals, but different magazines and sites seem to disagree so I guess its best to go with the majority.

The release date depends on where you get it. Some stores don't get it until the day after the shipping date which I believe is the 17th. I looked on Amazon and they aren't getting it until the 20th. Gamestop told me that it would be in on the 18th.

I got it today here in the U.K the day after it came out here yesterday and its brillent

I'm gonna go to EB tomorrow, to see if they have the Zelda Collector's Edition bundle yet, or any news on it. If not I'm probably going to wait till sometime after Christmas with getting it.

I'm a bit low on cash at the moment. I haven't even got 100 $. Recently lost my job :\
I can't live without the Zelda Collector's Edition Bonus Disc, but I'll have to sell my Cube to get it, but I can't be sure to get it sold before those bundles are sold out. *Looks worried*

Samurai, I don't see how I'm "not getting it". I answered your question, didn't I?

Plus, buying MK: DD!! is the only way I'm going to get the Collector's Disk, it seems, so it's worth it in my opinion.