Introduction: Mario Kart DS needs little introduction. Super Mario Kart, the first of its kind, has remained undefeated for many years as the best kart racer in existance. Its sequels included the fun but lackluster Mario Kart 64 and the somewhat ill-accepted Mario Kart Double Dash, as well as Mario Kart Super Circuit on the Gameboy Advance. None of these, however, ever managed to compare with the original, let alone surpass it. Mario Kart DS succeeds where all others have failed, and is now the new king of kart racers.

GamePlay: There are very few games which can be described as having perfect gameplay, and this is one of them. MKDS's singleplayer and local multiplayer modes are flawless in both design and execution. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for its sketchy internet multiplayer mode, but more on that later.

Right away it should be noted that Mario Kart DS is perhaps the meatiest racing game of all time. There's so much to do and so much to unlock that you will almost never become tired of this game. With over 30 tracks (and several hidden ones), a plethora of singleplayer modes, loads of unlockables (including karts and tracks), kart decal design via the touchscreen, and an admirably good AI, there's enough content here to keep you fully entertained for at least 40 hours, and that's only as a singleplayer game!

Looking beyond the colorful, fun-filled surface and into the actual gameplay itself, we see a truly deep racing game lying in wait for serious players. Several simple yet useful techniques exist to give you an edge above the other players. The first and oldest of these techniques is the Rocket Start. Right from the beginning your twitch skills and timing will be put the test in an attempt to gain a quick boost above the other players. Be careful, mis-timing it could end you up well behind the others.

The next technique you will need to master is Drifting, which allows you to Power Slide around corners without losing speed. In fact, if you time it right you can even gain a bonus boost of speed which can quickly change your fate in the race. I can't count how often a well-timed Power Boost has jumped me from third to first place in the last leg of the final lap.

Another technique is the "Slipstreaming" trick. Although it's been around since Mario Kart 64 days and is virtually omnipresent in racing games, it's still not very well-known. Because of this, it's a serious boost of advantage to players who know how to utilize it. Quite simply, you can gain a boost of speed by trailing directly behind another kart. This is an almost vital tactic against competent players, and can gain you an unexpected win (or loss, if you're the one being slipstreamed) at the last minute.
Of course, we could hardly go without mentioning the most important part of Mario Kart DS (and all kart racers in existance, for that matter): weapons and utilities. Like its predecessors, MKDS is choc-full of them. From the lowly Banana Peel to the almighty Lightning Bolt, these items are the core of the gameplay, like it or not. As always, you pick these up by running over special boxes and randomly obtaining one. In the central Mario Kart system of balance, the farther you are behind in the race, the better weapons you will receive. Although this can provide major frustrations for players who have their victory plucked away at the last second by a Purple Koopa Shell, it's really necessary for the whole experience to work, and it allows new players to be fairly competitive right off the bat.

As I have pointed out throughout the above, the entire Mario Kart formula remains intact - and much improved! But let's not forget something even more important: the true focus of Mario Kart has always been on its multiplayer, and Mario Kart DS delivers. Even with only one or two friends, you will find yourself immersed in this incredible game for countless hours, and even if they don't own the game themselves you can enjoy an excellent Download Play version! With such a huge selection of maps and gameplay modes, you won't become bored any time soon. You can either go head to head or compete in a Grand Prix together if you wish. Even better, you can participate in the highly popular Battle Mode, which strips away the racing theory and leaves you with a lighthearted shooter of sorts, in which your life consists of balloons tied to the back of your kart (balloons that can, by the way, be blown up rapidly by puffing breath into your microphone). Overall, the Mario Kart DS local multiplayer is essentially flawless, and the download play, while not as full-featured, will not disappoint.

The online multiplayer experience is a different matter, however. Simply put, it's just not as good as it should (and could) be. There's no way for players to communicate with each other at all, and even worse: there's no way to add people to your Friends list within the game! To add a Friend, you will have to get their unique Friend code from them outside of the game. Needless to say this is a major hassle and seems entirely unpolished. Another major problem is the lack of penalty for disconnecters: anyone about to lose can simply disconnect from the match without any kind of reprecussion, thus taking away your well-earned Win on your record. This can be so frustrating at times that it's almost enough to make you stop playing online. For a little while, at least. Ultimate you'll be drawn back to its sheer addictiveness.

Hopefully, future DS games will have a much more polished online system, as Mario Kart DS feels like the internet options where added just as a bonus feature. In the end, despite its major problems, the online play is good enough to get you hooked potentially forever. Hopefully, future DS games will have a much more polished online system, as Mario Kart DS feels like the internet options where rushed out of production before they were entirely finished.

Control: The controls are perfectly responsive and utterly flawless. All of it is done via the buttons and D-pad, and the only stylus usage is for designing your kart decal. This is a major relief, as many fans were worried that Nintendo would make the fatal error of forcing you to control your kart via the touchscreen. Thankfully they opted for a more classic control scheme, and it gets the job done mighty well. The A button accelerates the kart, the B button manages breaking and reversing, X or L activates your item (L is far more comfortable), and you hop via R. Never once does this feel the least bit clunky, and you'll be amazed that a D-pad can deliver such smooth controls.

Graphics: Graphically, Mario Kart DS is second only to Viewtiful Joe DT. The best way to do it honor is to say that it holds its ground along side the graphical quality of Mario Kart: Double Dash on the GCN! Not even the late N64 games managed to come close to this kind of beauty and fluidity.

Sound & Music: The music is the weakest point of Mario Kart DS (aside from the online play). It's neither good nor bad, but fortunately it's never annoying. The sound is an entirely different matter, and couldn't possibly be any better. With headphones plugged in, you'll hear every minute sound detail, every koopa shell rushing by your head, every cute little cry of Yoshi in the distance behind you. In fact, the sound is good enough that it actually gives you a tactical advantage if you pay attention to it. The DS stereo is certainly put to good work here, possibly the best job I've seen it do yet.

Dual Screen Use: Mario Kart DS opts for the oh-so-common DS scheme of gameplay on the top and a map/menu on the bottom. This doesn't really take advantage of the touchscreen at all, but it's actually a great help having such a detailed, highly controllable map visible at all times. The touchscreen is also used for designing your kart decals, a remarkably fun little bit of polish on an already amazing game, although you can bet your life that some people will abuse it for their own personal perversions.

Final Comments: Not only the best kart racer ever made, but one of the greatest racing games of all time! Mario Kart fans have been desperate for internet-play a long time, and Nintendo has finally delivered, although it's quite rough in its current state. Fortunately, the singleplayer and local multiplayer are just about as polished and perfect as they could possibly be, and give an experience unparalleled on any console. Mario Kart DS is becoming widely accepted as the "killer-app" for the DS, should you choose to use that term, and is perhaps the best reason to buy the system if you haven't already.

Pro: Perfect gameplay. Perfect controls. Amazing visuals. Tons of unlockable content. Vast amount of well-developed modes extend the life of the game near infinitely. Excellent local multiplayer.
Con: The online play could have been better.
Final Score: 9.5

Reviewed by: Caleb