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E3'2003: Mario Kart Double Dash - Hands On Preview
Chris Leyton
22/05/2003
Big surprises lay in store as we go hands on with the latest Mario Kart title...
Without doubt Nintendoās jewel in a less-then-sparkling E3 crown was the next eagerly awaited instalment in the Mario Kart series. Although the game was announced prior to E3 and appears to be virtually complete, the E3 demo was giving away precious few details, as only three courses were playable.
In a welcoming move to breathe some life into the franchise and hopefully make amends for the lack of innovation witnessed in Mario Kart 64, Nintendo talked before the show on the differences that lay in store. In a move designed to increase the tactical level of racing, Nintendo have increased the number of racers on each kart to two ā“ one at the front and one at the rear.
The character roster will please any Nintendo fan, including the likes of Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Koopa Troopas, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Baby Bowser, Wario, Waluigi, Bowser and Yoshi; whilst all have a natural pairing, players are free to mix-and-match to their own choosing. We were a little concerned to note the lack of a fan-favourite with the disappearance of Toad, hopefully the character list hasnāt been finalised or the mini-mushroom will appear as a secret character. The type of character you select determines which kart youāll race in, as certain characters just literally wonāt fit into others; i.e. try sticking DK in Baby Marioās pram.
Players are free to switch between characters as they see fit, so if youāre in need of some speed it would probably make sense to switch to the fastest driver, whilst those hogging the top spot would do well to have a character such as DK on the back dishing out the banana skins. However the tactical aspect of the switching feature runs even deeper then that; weapons are scatter throughout the course in a similar manner to previous titles, however there are now two different types ā“ one which contains one weapon as before, whilst the other contains two weapons one for each character. By collecting these or switching the characters around you can ensure each character has a weapon, giving you the possibility of six red shells, or perhaps the deadly combination of a lightning bolt and mushroom power-up to speed through to the front.
Whilst that may all sound wonderfully complex, the weapon system goes even deeper then we initially expected. The game sees the return of all your favourite weapons such as banana skins, shells and mushrooms; however there are now eight special items which only specific characters can use. Whilst weāre still not 100% sure on the exact weapon list, weāve seen the likes of Super Bananas from Donkey Kong, which literally take over the whole track; Chain Chomps from Mario, which pull you along at super speeds and devour the competition ahead of you and the much welcomed return of the Mario Bros. fireball. Weāre currently unsure as to whether both characters have to have a specific combination of weapons to activate these, or whether it is just pure luck.
Thankfully the handling and controls remain as wonderfully intuitive as ever, although itās interesting to note the car actually slides instead of hopping when you tap the shoulder-buttons to activate a power-slide around the corners; itās also nice to see the return of super-starts from the starting line and characters stealing items whenever two karts collide ā“ presumably removing Booās from the process completely.
The E3 demo offered three circuits to try out (Luigi Circuit, DK Mountain, Mushroom City), each of which captured that classic Mario Kart feeling wonderfully. From what weāve been told the game will contain a wealth of different circuits and arenas for battle modes, which should go some way to improving upon the weak selection featured in Mario Kart 64.
E3 also gave us the opportunity to check out the 8P-networked game in action. Prior to the event we were slightly confused by how this would set-up, however we can now confirm that the system allows you to hook up to eight machines via the Broadband Adaptor to daisy chain the machines together. Players are free to set up the system anyway that they see fit, so itās entirely possible to run an 8P game from two machines playing split-screen 4P. As you would expect this technique runs as smoothly as the single-player mode and is set to re-ignite the Mario Kart battles once again.
Visually the circuits and characters that weāve seen offer clean and crisp recreations of the cartoon style featured in Mario titles, oozing charisma and charm by the bucketload in comparison to other racers on the track. The tracks themselves are brimming full of classic little Mario touches, such as faces on the volcanoes and Chain Chomps scattered throughout.
