Joystiq

Mario Kart DS (Nintendo DS)

This 2006 portable release was surprisingly faithful to recent console versions, save for a slight downward bump in the graphics. The game expanded the single-player offerings for the series with a Mission mode that asked players to complete specific tasks, from collecting coins to defeating bosses.

Mario Kart DS was the first Kart game to have online play, meaning it was the first game to let random strangers mysteriously drop their connections as soon as you got ahead of them in a head-to-head race. It was also the game that popularized snaking , the controversial practice of using power-slide mini-boosts to gain speed on straightaways.

Fun Fact: Mario Kart DS was probably the first game ever to feature a video game controller as a fully playable character, with the unlockable R.O.B. making the jump from tangible plastic hardware to virtual racer.

23/04/08