mario kart: double dash first impressions

[pg]

i've only played an hour or two(finished first in 2 50cc cups along with some multiplayer) but mk:dd seems to be much better than mk for n64. it's quite fun so far and i'm optimistic about it's longevity.

everything seems much closer in spirit to snes mk(which is one of my favorite games of all time, especially when played with 2 or more people) and this is reflected in course design, and control. the new mode which allows 2 players to share control of a kart is pretty fun and not just a gimmick imo. cup racing is the strong point of the game because battle mode, while much more fun than the n64 incarnation, has pretty weak maps due to their open nature and lack of architexture to use for advantage. i really miss the snes battle maps which were packed full of tight corridors.

i was a bit irked by the graphical intensity of some of the maps. while nowhere as bad as f-zero for the cube it strained my eyes a bit playing 2 player split screen on a 27 inch tv. on our 40 inch tv it's much better but i imagine 4 player split screen might be really painful.

most importantly the game is pure fun so far which is refreshing compared to most gamecube games i've played.

[Guynemer]

Rented it. Loved it. Hope I get it for Xmas (along with a bigger TV).

[Buck Birdseed]

I quite enjoyed it, but everyone else at the party we were at seemed to think they'd made it too visually intense, with too many things going on on-screen at once.

[asleepathewheel]

Love it, haven't played it too much (purchased right before had to go away for the holiday) Love to play against the wife. Never played the N64 game. Very fun so far, so far I'm pretty bad at it to, struggling to medal in the 100CC races.

[pg]

well, me and my brother have played practically all day with infrequent stops to choke down some turkey. we just finally beat the 150cc special cup race with 2 people playing 2 separate karts. which helped us a lot because i was racing good but my brother tried a different kart than his normal one and ended up near last each race. him doing so badly was the key because i think the ai didn't go as fast so he had a chance to catch up.

all the other 150cc races we used the 2 person per kart mode with each person racing his 2 best maps. i really like this new mode! hopefully we'll get 2 more controllers for xmas.

gotta cut this short but i have a lot of tricks, etc i could share. bottom line is this - if you play multiplayer or want to play multiplayer(even if it's just 2) get this game! the 2 person per kart mode is great if you have some gamers who aren't comfortable with hard competition.

[Guynemer]

Couldn't even beat Mushroom at 150. Need more practice.

[Snotty]

How does the two person on one kart thing work? My gf likes to play but she whines when we play head to head. Am I going to cringe every time she takes over the kart, or can I help her drive it straight somehow?

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by Snotty
How does the two person on one kart thing work? My gf likes to play but she whines when we play head to head. Am I going to cringe every time she takes over the kart, or can I help her drive it straight somehow?

Don't know anyone with a Gamecube so I doubt I'll play this, but Mario Kart was awesome in its day.

[Guynemer]

Well, when she is driving the cart, you can give it a little "oomph" one way or the other with L and R.

[Zero]

MaRiO KaRt D^2 pWnZeD j00!!!11!!!11!!!!


OMG WTF ROFL!!!11!!!!11!!!!!

[FlameFlash]

Wife and I are very very tempted, she and I loved Mario Kart 64. Now all we need is some spare cash...

Can't you be a team on this one? One driving and the other lobbing items?

[asleepathewheel]

Originally posted by FlameFlash
Wife and I are very very tempted, she and I loved Mario Kart 64. Now all we need is some spare cash...

Can't you be a team on this one? One driving and the other lobbing items?

yes

get it, you won't be sorry.

[pg]

me and my brother finally beat all the cups. the hardest cup we played was 150cc special cup by far. after that you unluck an all cup tour which is all the cups in one sitting which is much easier than playing a single cup at once since the computer players are much less consistent in their driving than we were(we usually place 1st but always in the top 3). the last mode to be unlocked is mirror mode which was somewhat disappointing as i hoped there would be 200cc(iirc snes had this) as 150cc can be pretty easy once you learn the shortcuts and courses. the last kart you unlock is quite good; it's the gold kart toad drives during the award ceremony(stats being 4 speed, 3 accel, 4 weight).

few tricks...

1. you can gank other kart's items(R and L buttons)
2. mushrooms can now be used as a weapon if you hit someone when going fast
3. run into someone right before they finish recovering from spinning out, and they will spin out again

advice...

1. we used baby mario and koopa to beat all the cup racers. with a kart rated 2 speed, 4 accel, 2 weight. this one seemed way better than all the other karts but to each their own.
2. learn the short cuts - some of them are very easy and if you can pull them off will almost guarantee 1st place finish on some boards. a good example is the short cut on bowser's board where you jump down over a lava pit near the end of the board where the big bowser statue is shooting fireballs.

there are a couple bugs in the game though i think. for one thing i was surprised how easy the light karts where compared to the medium and heavy karts. considering there is really no advantage to the heavier karts this is a bit weird. also on 150cc it was really amazing to see some of the things the ai drivers could do especially their ability to dodge red shells or just out run them! red shells in general seemed a bit wonky as you could be driving on a long straight away drop an item behind you to block the red yet still get hit seconds later.

[FlameFlash]

Originally posted by pg
me and my brother finally beat all the cups. the hardest cup we played was 150cc special cup by far. after that you unluck an all cup tour which is all the cups in one sitting which is much easier than playing a single cup at once since the computer players are much less consistent in their driving than we were(we usually place 1st but always in the top 3). the last mode to be unlocked is mirror mode which was somewhat disappointing as i hoped there would be 200cc(iirc snes had this) as 150cc can be pretty easy once you learn the shortcuts and courses. the last kart you unlock is quite good; it's the gold kart toad drives during the award ceremony(stats being 4 speed, 3 accel, 4 weight).

Actually the SNES only had 50, 100, and 150. 150 was the special unlockable one to my memory.

Hang on... you can choose your kart as well as your drivers!?

Crud... my time as being the heavy-weight Wario and the wife being Yoshi are over... she's good with DK too, she just prefers Yoshi but if she can have a heavy karted Yoshi I'm screwed.

few tricks...

1. you can gank other kart's items(R and L buttons)

eh?

2. mushrooms can now be used as a weapon if you hit someone when going fast

So, the heavy kart ram spinout technique is possible with all karts now... great...

3. run into someone right before they finish recovering from spinning out, and they will spin out again

advice...

1. we used baby mario and koopa to beat all the cup racers. with a kart rated 2 speed, 4 accel, 2 weight. this one seemed way better than all the other karts but to each their own.

What strat do you generally depend on though? Need for quick start or need for sustained high speed and slow start? I'd want a kart with 4 speed, 2 accel, 4 weight... if that's even possible...

2. learn the short cuts - some of them are very easy and if you can pull them off will almost guarantee 1st place finish on some boards. a good example is the short cut on bowser's board where you jump down over a lava pit near the end of the board where the big bowser statue is shooting fireballs.

Very cool... must look up tips online then...

there are a couple bugs in the game though i think. for one thing i was surprised how easy the light karts where compared to the medium and heavy karts.

Light karts always were easier for me on the N64...

considering there is really no advantage to the heavier karts this is a bit weird.

Hang on... are you serious? So what is the weight rating for?

also on 150cc it was really amazing to see some of the things the ai drivers could do especially their ability to dodge red shells or just out run them!

Nothing new... I remember my frustration with the SNES version because the AI characters permanently had feathers available to them...

red shells in general seemed a bit wonky as you could be driving on a long straight away drop an item behind you to block the red yet still get hit seconds later.

They probably purposefully put in a work-around so players have to think up a new strat to blocking red shells.

[Zero]

Played it. It was FUNTASTIC.