Forgive me for making YET ANOTHER Mario Kart topic, a deluge that I myself have contributed to.
With the journos who already have the game (Kobun, Toasty, myself, MarkMacD, etc) looking to GAF to talk about the game and members with lots of questions, I thought it would be better to make the official topic now and let the others slowly die.
If it wasn't so late I'd make this first post a compendium of knowledge, complete with screenshots, etc. Instead you get a simple FAQ. This isn't like "corporate factsheet" Qs though... its more the Qs that I've seen come up on GAF repeatedly. In fact, we can use this as a Q & A topic prerelease.
Online play - sup?
-4 player races are all that's available for online play. No battle mode, no 8P races.
-Not all courses are available. Basically ones with moving parts (traffic, etc) aren't available. 20+ are, however.
-No dragging items.
-All characters and karts selectable, although many will have to be unlocked through 1P
-MOST IMPORTANTLY, online play is still a hell of a lot of fun. Do you know how tempting it is to have my DS bedside, now? I know that within seconds I can be up and racing possibily Konno himself. Just one quick online GP before bed... yeah right. Everyone already knows that 8P local wireless is where Mario Kart is at... it's the most fun I've had gaming in a long time. Online play provides added value, not primary value.
Tell me about the new tracks.
By and large I like the new tracks a lot. Actually, I like the old tracks a lot too. Although there are exceptions, a general rule of thumb would be that the new tracks feature more crazy-ass gimmicks and zany setups, while the old tracks are more technical with S-curves, etc.
I think my personal favorites of the new batch and Peach's Garden and... I think its called Shroom Highway. Peach's Garden features a hedge maze complete with roving chain chomps, and several sections with flowers thatcan be turboed through for a shortcut. Shroom Highway is basically a course with a lot of turns and a lot of traffic, which leads to a lot of fun.
Mission mode?
The game isn't really "about" mission mode... it's another example of added value instead of primary value. There's 60 missions, most taking literally seconds to complete. I had completed all 60 very quickly... in just a couple of hours. Most on my first try. The challenge comes from trying to get the highest rank for each mission. Beating levels with Cs is easy; beating levels with ***s isn't.
Is it worth it if I'll mostly be playing single player?
I think that for the majority of gamers the answer is yes. An all-night session of 6-8 player mario kart switching between battle and race is probably one of the most purely enjoyable gaming experiences one will ever experience, and makes MKDS a toss-up for best game released for the system...
...So without that experience, its obviously a shame you're left with battle adjustable bots, but at least the game HAS bots for battle. The game has 32 tracks, time trials for each (with unlockable staff ghosts), the aforementioned mission mode, and a grand prix with 8 cups and 3 (4th unlockable?) speeds. Granted I haven't played every DS game, but in my opinion Mario Kart is the largest game released for the system. It certainly has more on the little chip than any of its predecessors.
With the journos who already have the game (Kobun, Toasty, myself, MarkMacD, etc) looking to GAF to talk about the game and members with lots of questions, I thought it would be better to make the official topic now and let the others slowly die.
If it wasn't so late I'd make this first post a compendium of knowledge, complete with screenshots, etc. Instead you get a simple FAQ. This isn't like "corporate factsheet" Qs though... its more the Qs that I've seen come up on GAF repeatedly. In fact, we can use this as a Q & A topic prerelease.
Online play - sup?
-4 player races are all that's available for online play. No battle mode, no 8P races.
-Not all courses are available. Basically ones with moving parts (traffic, etc) aren't available. 20+ are, however.
-No dragging items.
-All characters and karts selectable, although many will have to be unlocked through 1P
-MOST IMPORTANTLY, online play is still a hell of a lot of fun. Do you know how tempting it is to have my DS bedside, now? I know that within seconds I can be up and racing possibily Konno himself. Just one quick online GP before bed... yeah right. Everyone already knows that 8P local wireless is where Mario Kart is at... it's the most fun I've had gaming in a long time. Online play provides added value, not primary value.
Tell me about the new tracks.
By and large I like the new tracks a lot. Actually, I like the old tracks a lot too. Although there are exceptions, a general rule of thumb would be that the new tracks feature more crazy-ass gimmicks and zany setups, while the old tracks are more technical with S-curves, etc.
I think my personal favorites of the new batch and Peach's Garden and... I think its called Shroom Highway. Peach's Garden features a hedge maze complete with roving chain chomps, and several sections with flowers thatcan be turboed through for a shortcut. Shroom Highway is basically a course with a lot of turns and a lot of traffic, which leads to a lot of fun.
Mission mode?
The game isn't really "about" mission mode... it's another example of added value instead of primary value. There's 60 missions, most taking literally seconds to complete. I had completed all 60 very quickly... in just a couple of hours. Most on my first try. The challenge comes from trying to get the highest rank for each mission. Beating levels with Cs is easy; beating levels with ***s isn't.
Is it worth it if I'll mostly be playing single player?
I think that for the majority of gamers the answer is yes. An all-night session of 6-8 player mario kart switching between battle and race is probably one of the most purely enjoyable gaming experiences one will ever experience, and makes MKDS a toss-up for best game released for the system...
...So without that experience, its obviously a shame you're left with battle adjustable bots, but at least the game HAS bots for battle. The game has 32 tracks, time trials for each (with unlockable staff ghosts), the aforementioned mission mode, and a grand prix with 8 cups and 3 (4th unlockable?) speeds. Granted I haven't played every DS game, but in my opinion Mario Kart is the largest game released for the system. It certainly has more on the little chip than any of its predecessors.
ami, plz sticky. or anyone.
