Mario Kart Double Dash - GameCube Savior Or Rehash?

Thanks to GamesDomain for its review of Mario Kart: Double Dash for GameCube, as the reviewer rates Nintendo's latest kart update very highly, but comments that "...more seasoned gamers may grumble a tad at the general lack of progress", a view occasionally echoed by the overwhelmingly glowing reception from other sites, reminiscent of the (cynically?) subdued positivity regarding Soul Calibur II's release. However, IGN Cube is more critical still, suggesting the game "doesn't progress far beyond the N64 version other than in the visual department... [and] introduces new imbalances to the item system", plus "has axed a few trusted control mechanics like the hop." As for the title's reception outside the U.S., EuroGamer rectifies IGN's downer angle, and C+VG reports significant sales in Japan, with a knock-on effect for GameCube hardware, and a similar effect in the UK for a Mario Kart-including hardware bundle.

Comments

It's a good game

[edwdig]

I got Mario Kart yesterday. I'm very happy with it. I've never played the original Mario Kart, but I do own Mario Kart 64.

In MK64, I've never been able to consistently manage to avoid slipping on a bananna peel. It was frustrating when I played against someone who could, as it made the peels useless. So I'm glad they took that out.

Item management is much more interesting now. You can now lose items by getting hit. If you hit people the right way, you can steal their items. Dropped items fall onto the course, and become live. Really sucks to get a turtle shell knocked out of your hand, then have it land right in front of you and hit you as soon as you start moving again.

The two characters adds to the handling of the cart as well. Weight distribution affects turning.

I greatly disagree with IGN's comments that the courses are uninspired. Although they seem to draw a lot from MK64's ideas, I find the new courses more interesting. I especially liked the cruise ship course; I thought it was an interesting new course.

Although I liked Mario Kart 64, I never got into it as much as a game like say Smash Bros. I'm really liking Double Dash so far, I definately think it's a much better game than the previous one.

Quite honestly, I don't see how people can trash Double Dash but give Wind Waker high scores. Wind Waker was a step backwards compared to the previous game (lots of flaws in the game compared to past Zeldas...), but Double Dash doesn't seem to have any steps backward, unless you're mad that they've taken away the ability for experts to totally destroy newbies.

As a fan...

[Hedonist123]

As someone who's played the past two Mario Karts excessively, I of course bought this game immediately. I think it's a bit of a mixed bag, but certainly a fun new challenge and doesn't really warrant the somewhat poor reviews that it has received.

First of all, the levels are a little repetitive of the 64 version yes, but that doesn't mean that they aren't fun. The Cruise Ship level is a blast, as is the DK race. Wario's track is amazing too, so much chaos all at once.

The single player mode still suffers a little bit from cheating AI. They'll really nail you when you get out in front, especially 150 cc. I still haven't gotten the gold in all of them yet, after several hours of play (read, stayed up all damn night). But who cares, it's all about the multiplayer anyway.

Multiplayer quite simply rocks. The challenge of the races with friends on your tail is an absolute blast. So are the baloon and bomb modes, though the Shine mode of play leaves something to be desired.

Coop mode on multiplayer is definitely revolutionary in the Mario Kart world. Having eight guys play on two cubes is a blast and a half. The cooperation with your partner keeps the game fun practically forever. I love the fact that you can play on 8 cubes with 8 people, though I have yet to experience it, I'm sure we will.

All in all, a great buy, well worth the money. As a college student, nothing better on the weekends than getting hammed and playing great party games like this one.

hed.

Re:Lack of Progress = Bullshit

[zonker]

some folks won't be happy until nintendo is out of the hardware business and makes mario games on the xbox where the princess wears skimpy outfits and has accurately modeled bouncing boobs and all of the folks in the mushroom kingdom carry bfg's and can perform bullet time.

btw, egm says on their frontpage "Could this be the most fun game of this year? Probably."

here's, their complete review (10, 10, 9.5).