This Christmas will be the first Christmas the handhelds will be battling it out in Australia, with the PSP offering Burnout Legends, Grand Theft Auto & V8 Supercar 2 and the Nintendo DS offering Kirby: Canvas Curse, Nintendogs & the almighty Mario Kart DS,. Come Christmas time, the handheld wars really will be on. With the mounting excitement and new details about Mario Kart DS coming out recently, we thought we'd take an extended look at the fifth Mario Kart incarnation in the franchise.
Mario Kart DS will feature a total of thirty tracks, which is the most seen in the franchise, however, not all of these tracks will be new, with fifteen new tracks and fifteen classic tracks. To complement these new courses, Nintendo have added a retro cup which reflects back on all those memorable tracks of old.
Some decent graphics there
Whilst Nintendo have been very tight lipped about what characters will be playable in the game, all the Mushroom Kingdom favourites are expected to return, with Toad, Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Bowser, Donkey Kong and Wario all being spotted in the E3 demo. We also expect Nintendo to add a lot more characters to the mix, which should ensure Mario Kart DS has the largest character roster from any Mario Kart game.
In a first for the series, the game will also take advantage of Nintendo's new online service, and up to four players will be able to play against each other online. Wi-Fi support will also be included and will allow support for up to eight players, either way, the game should be chaotic online and with wireless play. When online, different colour schemes will be used to distinguish players, and player names will also be displayed. There'll also be the option of customising your kart with personalised decals, thanks to the inclusion of a basic Paint-style program.
Luigi returns to the mansion?
We can expect to see just about every Mario Kart power-up that has ever appeared. The feather from the Super Nintendo version of the game will also be appearing for the first time in a decade. To take advantage of the Nintendo DS microphone, a balloon power-up will also appear, but Nintendo have yet to elaborate on exactly what this power-up will do.
The DS version will also employ the boost technique which appeared in the Nintendo 64 and Gamecube versions of Mario Kart. By sliding around corners, (which is done using the DS shoulder buttons) players can gain enough boost to fly away from their opponant.
In true Nintendo fashion the game will retain the DS tag at the end and officially be titled Mario Kart DS, so it should be easily recognisable. The game will be available at some time in Quarter 4, 2005.
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