Mario Kart Double Dash

[sam1981]

Anyone ordered the Jap version from Play-Asia? My estimated shipping date is the 10th, should this be ignored or does this mean mine will be sent out after the first batch?

[ukplumber]

Everything i've had from Play-Asia (pre-ordered) has gone out on the day of release. So hopefully it should go on the 7th.

[Geoff D]

Anyone ordered the Jap version from Play-Asia? My estimated shipping date is the 10th, should this be ignored or does this mean mine will be sent out after the first batch?

I think they just allow themselves a little room for manouvre in case of problems. Shouldn't be a problem.

[Max M]

Here's the text from the EGM review. And a scan here

Shane: I don?t care whether you?re 12 or 42, the day you get Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Will feel like Christmas morning--pure, exhilarating glee will envelop your soul, demanding that you keep playing ?just one more game? into the wee hours of the morning. It?s that good.

On the surface, the Mario Kart formula hasn?t changed much. Anyone who?s played one of the previous incarnations will immediately know what?s up with item boxes, power slides, boost pads and the like. What really alters the game?s strategy is far more subtle: Selecting your characters and kart really matters. In previous games, you knew that a kart driven by a pipsqueak like Toad would handle differently than one manned by Bowser, but now, the pilot/gunner setup exponentially ups the variety. With light, medium, and heavy characters and karts to mix and match, you?ll have a blast experimenting with the vast possibilities.

But I digress?just go ahead and stick, say, Koopa Paratroopa and Baby Luigi in a kick@ss baby carriage and hit the track. First, you?ll notice the smooth, vibrant visuals. These imaginative courses don?t exactly upstage the detailed worlds of Metroid Prime, but they adhere nicely to the Mario aesthetic. Course design runs the gamut from deceptively simple ( the NASCAR-like simplicity of Baby Park) to the wonderfully insane (try racing through Daisy Cruiser, a tilting cruise ship, or rocketing down the no-rails cliffs of DK Mountain) ever track offers intense thrills.

Of course, you?ll also slip right into the silky, responsive controls. Everything simply feels flawless, from the tricky-to-time starting boost to the crucial power slides. Gameplay this instinctive, fun, and balanced is tough to find. Speaking of balance, the difficulty level offers newbie and vets alike a sizable challenge. Racing the pedestrian 50cc mode will help break you in, but once you jump to the faster, tougher 100cc and 150cc cases, prepare for serious competition. Unlike Mario Kart 64?s lame A.I. opponents (who blatantly cheated to keep pace), the enemy drivers here earn their competitive nature through deft power slides, smart item usage, and some nasty fisticuffs. Luckily, you?re suitable rewarded for triumphing in the single-player game--unlockable characters, courses, karts, and modes abound.

Man, I haven?t even gushed about the spectacular multiplayer action yet?so I?ll leave that to my fellow reviewers. I really can?t say enough good things about Double Dash!!--it?s an instant purchase, undoubtedly one of the most fun gaming experiences you?ll have this year, next year, and the year after that?


G. Ford: For me, Mario Kart 64 stands as one of the greatest multiplayer games of all time. It?s the one N64 game IU still go back to regularly, and it?s the game I?ve seen the most nongamers play (well minus Ms. Pac-Man and Tetris). And as high as my expectations were for the GC entry to the series, I am astonished at how amazing Double Dash!! is.

Shane already filled you in on the incredible single-player stuff and wealth of unlockables, so I?ll get right to the good stuff. Like its predecessor, racing in the Grand Prix and Versus modes with some buddies is multiplayer nirvana, with lead changes and last-second victories galore. Players who master the power slide (which is now easier to execute) have the advantage, although the new character-specific weapons help even the field. The secondary battle modes are all solid diversions (see sidebar), but the new co-op play steals the crown. With one player driving, the other controlling items, and both synchronizing on power slides, you have an incredibly satisfying team dynamic you don?t see that often.

Yeah, I miss Mario Kart 64?s hop and item-dragging abilities, and Double Dash!! begs for online play, but when seven hours of playtime feel like one, you know you?re experiencing an exceptional game. I don?t know if I?ll still be playing Double Dash!! six years from now, but I wouldn?t be too surprised if I were.


Demian: The wacky hijinks of Mario Kart have always appealed to me much more that the teeth-grinding speed and frequent, fiery deaths of Nintendo?s other big racing franchise, F-Zero. And this latest version of Kart further cements the reasons why I?d rather be tossing bananas on the Sherbet Land track: Double Dash!! is nonstop, relentless fun, and I can?t think of a better (or more accessible) game to play with a group of friends. Nintendo sometimes errs on the side of caution when it come to updating classic franchises like this, and I was worried that Double Dash!! would just be a prettier version of Mario Kart 64.It?s much more than that (although I do wish for still more Battle modes and arenas). With to characters per kart--each able to hold an item--there?s a whole new layer to the power-up metagame. Playing co-op is even better; with a skilled partner; you can pull off power slide boosts much, much faster, and post significantly quicker lap times than if you?re driving solo. Individual karts have subtle handling differences, too, even within the same weigh classes.

While none of these changes are revolutionary by any stretch, the do put a new twist on the time-tested Kart formula, making for even more frantic multiplayer action?and even more ways for Shane to lose."

[SharkAttack]

I thought you could pick any Kart. According to the text you mix and match characters to get different weight and handling, yet on their diagram it shows you get made to take the default Kart of the Heaviest character you choose, and the Kart decides the handling.

[sam1981]

I think you can choose any kart as long as it's not smaller than your biggest character. So Donkey Kong, Bowser, etc... can't get into the little karts...

Think that's what I read anyway.

[JibberX]

Playing co-op is even better; with a skilled partner; you can pull off power slide boosts much, much faster, and post significantly quicker lap times than if you?re driving solo. Individual karts have subtle handling differences, too, even within the same weigh classes.

Well that's very very very interesting.

[Mayhem]

Does this mean the person at the back isn't just for firing weapons, but can also control the powerslide?

[Jason]

This just sounds better and better. I must admit I was totally indifferent to this at first, but this drip feed of news has really stoked up my interest.

[Bomberman UK]

Does this mean the person at the back isn't just for firing weapons, but can also control the powerslide?

Yep, they can help you around corners by leaning to the side.

[Geoff D]

Does this mean the person at the back isn't just for firing weapons, but can also control the powerslide?

The C&VG impressions seemed to suggest that if both players powerslide together, the effect is greater than just one doing so.

[demon9k]

Does this mean the person at the back isn't just for firing weapons, but can also control the powerslide?

The C&VG impressions seemed to suggest that if both players powerslide together, the effect is greater than just one doing so.

One player must move the kart left to right and back while the other jumps. Sounds it could be a barrel load of laughs. Also will make a great game to master in both single and multiplayer.

[nips]

Damn, my girlfriend had better get good at this game quickly then

I'm saving this bad boy until Christmas Day. Imagine the glee of finding that in your stocking.

[Pikman]

nips Posted: Fri Oct 24, 12:02 am

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I'm saving this bad boy until Christmas Day. Imagine the glee of finding that in your stocking.

If you manage it Nips you're a very patient man.

[taurusnipple]

Nintendo have started showing MKDD commercials on USA TV.