• It's Mario Kart. All the fun and crazy action from previous games.
  
• Really wacky tracks. Oddities include a pinball machine, giant clock, and haunted boat. Also some tracks from older MK games - 16 of them in addition to the 16 new ones. The Records screen reveals that there may even be more. (It lists 2 cups I don't recognize... ) The SMK courses look cool with the raised borders, and even have functional SMK-style jumps. The music's still not what it was in SMK, but it's better than it was in MK:SC.
  
• 6 battle courses (maybe more ), also wacky, including a DS and a cake.
  
• Each character has 2 karts, a boring-looking one and a cool-looking one, with different stats.
  
• The graphics are nearly as good as MK:DD's. Sound is also great, with nice voice clips.
  
• VS and Battle can be played in 1-player, and with up to 8 players, with CPU players taking over the empty slots. Let me repeat that - 1-Player Battle Mode vs CPU. FINALLY. Also, CPU players have 3 difficulty settings in these modes, and they actually don't suck even on Easy (unlike in GP mode) - they power slide and everything. With the improved AI (and reduced attack frequency to compensate) VS mode with CPU players is almost more fun than GP mode. Still too many spiny shells, though.
  
• All sound distorts when you get shrunk, rather than playing another track entirely. It's quite neat.
  
• Triple shells act as a shield again, and you can get triple bananas which work like they did in MK64.
  
• You can design a logo to stick on the karts. It also shows up above you in VS mode. AI characters have their own predefined logos as well.
  
• Your name is used in place of the character's name for that personal touch, including in Time Trial records. Japanese characters are also handled correctly.
  
• Green shells no longer suck. Unlike in MK:SC, if you fire one ahead of you, you aren't doomed to have it bounce back into you. In fact, unlike in any other MK game, they usually hit the target! They also move a bit slower, still fast enough to hit people, but slow enough to track them on the map (and that they don't just fall off a cliff right away).
  
• Map screen is really cool, showing a rotating 2D version of the track. It's even actually useful as it displays the location of shells and item bombs. In Time Trial it even shows your path. Also, each player's position and item is shown. You can also switch to the 'classic' map view as seen in MK64.
  
• You can save THIRTY-TWO ghosts in Time Trials, and download more from friends.
  
• Secret characters. Star and Special Cup tracks are also hidden until you beat the cups before them.
  
• The new squid item is neat, and surprisingly not that annoying to get hit by. It splatters ink on the screen. As a touch of realism the ink flies off faster if you drive faster. However, I'm not sure what effect it has on the AI. It's actually as if there were ink on the windshield - except most of these vehicles don't have one.
  
• Mission mode - haven't tried it yet, but it sounds cool.
  
• Rocket start is a cinch to get - just hold A when the 2 starts fading. For extra realism, the CPU players randomly get a boost start or spin out.
  
• Like in MK64, you can get a small wind boost by driving behind someone, and this time, it's easy and clearly indicated.
  
• Bob-ombs are items once more!

• The physics, mainly regarding deceleration and sliding, just plain suck. If I had made the game I would have considered them critical bugs. If you drive off the track as anyone besides Toad, or hit a wall at any angle, you practically stop dead (and Toad sucks at everything else). After power-sliding you'll often find yourself drifting sideways long after you've turned back the other way. This is worst with Toad where you could almost do an entire lap sliding sideways. Sliding is a pain as the sparks disappear (but remain, invisible) at random and it's just difficult to pull off with a D-pad. (It does get much easier once you get used to it, though. [edit: Bolded for emphasis. But don't mis-interpret this; it still doesn't feel right compared to other MKs.])
  
• In previous Mario Kart games, the AI was pretty bad... in this one, it's terrible. It usually takes me all of lap 1 to get into first, unlike in previous games, but once I'm there everyone just seems to slow down so much they're not even on the visible part of the map anymore. How did Nintendo make up for this? Increase the attack frequency! So long as you're in first place you'll be hit at least every 30 seconds by a red shell, spiny shell, squid or Boo. VERY annoying.
  
• No quick run mode! [edit: doing VS with 7 CPUs is effectively the same.] Also, no multi-player GP.
  
• The manual fails hard. No explanation of:
  
  • Game modes (save for a ~9-word description)
    
  • Items
    
  • Characters
    
  • Karts and their stats
    
  • Tracks
    
  • Cups
    
  • GP Classes
    
  • etc
  
  Some of this is explained in-game, but there's a lot of guesswork involved.
  
• Amount of Mushrooms given in Time Trial mode seems to be totally random. Or not...
  
• Spiny shells explode. Big. This means if you're in a close second (which I often am, because it's hard to stay in first for long with the constant attacks), you may see a spiny shell fly in and home in on the guy ahead of you - 'woohoo!' Then it hits them, and you both get blown up. [edit: Yes, this happened in DD too, but it wasn't as bad there because there were less of them and the character was usually further away.] Also, once the shell gets close enough, it locks on. This means if you drop down to 2nd, or for that matter 8th once a spiny shell is heading for you, it still hits you.
  
• Once a red or spiny shell is on your tail, you're fucked [edit: unless you manage to spot it on the map and aren't crowded]. One of the best features of MK:SC was the fact that red shells were only slightly faster than you, which meant if you were lucky enough to jump a nearby gap or toss something behind you, you could survive. With some luck and skill you could even dodge spiny shells. Not anymore!
  
• Too many bottomless pits, and Lakitu is too slow.
  
• If you crash or fall off the track, you lose your item. Even in Time Trial mode. Combined with the way-too-many-items-hitting-you-in-first-place problem, and the very large gaps between item boxes, you won't be getting nearly as many items as in other MK games.
  
• You can drag items behind you, except in multiplayer online. Bad enough they removed it in multi, but to leave it in other modes means nothing more than utter chaos as people try to hold something behind them only to have it fire off.
  
• Team Battle is broken. The battle still goes on until only one person is left, which means once you've offed the other team, you have to kill your teammates too! This isn't difficult, however, as your attacks will hit them and red shells just choose random people to target in battle mode.
  
• Either my DS's microphone is toast, or there's something seriously wrong with the 'blow in the mic to inflate balloons' logic. You could damn near pass out trying to inflate the damn things, and the angle you're forced to view the screen at will make you dizzy.
  
• Music is too quiet. I can barely hear it over the sound effects. Using Stereo mode helps, but not much. This is most noticeable in GP mode with several karts nearby, as the engine sounds drown out the music.
  
• No confirmation on pause screen if you select quit/change course/etc, which is all to easy to do with big buttons on a touch screen.
  

• No speedometer or horn.
  
• No way to replay ghosts. I loved the hell out of this feature in MK:SC.
  
• Big bug with music engine: The music silences, but keeps going, when paused.

• Toad's voice and weird mushroom kart thing. Yech!
  
• Bowser's voice also makes him sound stupid. Maybe that's why he's so agressive.
  
• There's a fenced-in area in Rainbow Road with some weird mini-booster... DO NOT power-slide here. Dunno what happened - I think the game bugged out - but I ended up turned 90° facing toward the edge of a non-fenced area doing 150km/h.

• I already unlocked a staff ghost on Figure-8 Circuit... but is the name supposed to be 'Ninten*たなか' (Ninten[star]tanaka... Google translates 'tanaka' as 'shelf' )?

Originally posted by HyperHacker

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• The physics, mainly regarding deceleration and sliding, just plain suck. If I had made the game I would have considered them critical bugs. If you drive off the track as anyone besides Toad, or hit a wall at any angle, you practically stop dead (and Toad sucks at everything else). After power-sliding you'll often find yourself drifting sideways long after you've turned back the other way. This is worst with Toad where you could almost do an entire lap sliding sideways. Sliding is a pain as the sparks disappear (but remain, invisible) at random and it's just difficult to pull off with a D-pad. (It does get much easier once you get used to it, though.)

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Originally posted by HyperHacker

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In previous Mario Kart games, the AI was pretty bad... in this one, it's terrible. It usually takes me all of lap 1 to get into first, unlike in previous games, but once I'm there everyone just seems to slow down so much they're not even on the visible part of the map anymore. How did Nintendo make up for this? Increase the attack frequency! So long as you're in first place you'll be hit at least every 30 seconds by a red shell, spiny shell, squid or Boo. VERY annoying.

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Originally posted by HyperHacker

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Amount of Mushrooms given in Time Trial mode seems to be totally random.

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Originally posted by HyperHacker

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Spiny shells explode. Big. This means if you're in a close second (which I often am, because it's hard to stay in first for long with the constant attacks), you may see a spiny shell fly in and home in on the guy ahead of you - 'woohoo!' Then it hits them, and you both get blown up. Also, once the shell gets close enough, it locks on. This means if you drop down to 2nd, or for that matter 8th once a spiny shell is heading for you, it still hits you.

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Originally posted by HyperHacker

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Once a red or spiny shell is on your tail, you're fucked. One of the best features of MK:SC was the fact that red shells were only slightly faster than you, which meant if you were lucky enough to jump a nearby gap or toss something behind you, you could survive. With some luck and skill you could even dodge spiny shells. Not anymore!

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Originally posted by HyperHacker

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Too many bottomless pits, and Lakitu is too slow.

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Originally posted by HyperHacker

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If you crash or fall off the track, you lose your item. >: Even in Time Trial mode. Combined with the way-too-many-items-hitting-you-in-first-place problem, and the very large gaps between item boxes, you won't be getting nearly as many items as in other MK games.

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Originally posted by HyperHacker

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You can drag items behind you, except in multiplayer. Bad enough they removed it in multi, but to leave it in other modes means nothing more than utter chaos as people try to hold something behind them only to have it fire off.

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Originally posted by HyperHacker

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Team Battle is broken. The battle still goes on until only one person is left, which means once you've offed the other team, you have to kill your teammates too! This isn't difficult, however, as your attacks will hit them and red shells just choose random people to target in battle mode.

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Originally posted by HyperHacker

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Either my DS's microphone is toast, or there's something seriously wrong with the 'blow in the mic to inflate balloons' logic. You could damn near pass out trying to inflate the damn things, and the angle you're forced to view the screen at will make you dizzy.

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Originally posted by HyperHacker

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No speedometer or horn. :(

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Originally posted by HyperHacker

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Music is too quiet. I can barely hear it over the sound effects. Using Stereo mode helps, but not much.

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Originally posted by HyperHacker

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No confirmation on pause screen if you select quit/change course/etc, which is all to easy to do with big buttons on a touch screen.

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Originally posted by HyperHacker

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Big bug with music engine: The music silences, but keeps going, when paused.

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Originally posted by Zem

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Frankly, I disagree with your critique of the physics. They feel great to me. It depends a lot on which character you're playing - I play Yoshi, and I have tons of control before, during, and after slide boosts.

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SC, but they do feel way too loose even after playing for a while. I use Yoshi too, and he (she?) certainly seems to handle a lot better than most others, but there's still a lot of sliding around, especially if you don't complete a power slide.

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the sparks don't disappear "randomly" ... there's two levels, the blue and the red. Blue sparks just flash and then disappear, then the red ones stay on.

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Yeah, noticed that aftterward. It'd still be better if the blue ones stayed though. It worked fine in all the others, why change it?

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Easy to keep in first? Have you played 150CC? Do I just suck?

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Uh... Where did I say it was even moderately easy to stay in first? It's easy to get really far ahead, but then you get attacked a bunch and knocked back to 2nd within a few seconds.

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Spiny shells exploded in DD too. Just the way it works. This could be good or bad, but since you can learn to avoid it and the computer can't, it's better for you.

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I don't think they exploded that big, though. The only real way to dodge it is to slam on the brakes, which isn't much better.

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Yes, you can avoid red shells - by holding things behind you.

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Hasn't worked for me so far.

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I can hold items behind me in multiplayer just fine... but not online. This is odd, since you say you haven't tried playing online. Maybe you can't hold items behind you if there's more than two players?

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I haven't actually tried either... I knew you couldn't do it online, so I figured not in multi either.

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(edited by HyperHacker on 12-25-05 06:17 PM)

Originally posted by Alastor the Stylish

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So slow down or move to the side. Boom; you're not hit by it. It hardly takes any skill at all. And if you're paying attention to who has what items, and they're not RIGHT FREAKING NEXT TO YOU, it's pretty easy to drop to second before it locks on to you.

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You can still dodge red shells with your own items or by tricking them in to hitting walls, and it's still possible to dodge blue shells, it's just much harder, unless you have a green shell or fake item box, in which case with some skill you can hit yourself with it and use the temporary invincibility to avoid the explosion, thus greatly lessening the effects.

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Solution: Get better at the game and stop falling off cliffs.

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The solution to the last problem is the solution to this one.

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Why the hell are you playing team battle, though? Or battle, period.

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So?

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Solution: Stop using the touch screen.

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So?

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Originally posted by Jingle ATW

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You... (Yoshi is a he)

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Physics: You hit a wall. WHAT DO YOU THINK YOURE GOING TO DO, KEEP GOING?

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And since when do karts not lose speed offroad?

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AI: Seems fine to me. I never get hit with that many items, and if I do, Im far enough ahead.

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Quick run: What?

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Manual: The manual doesnt teach you everything. It doesnt have to. It just needs to get you in the right direction.

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Spiny shells explode SMALL compared to double dash. And you can dodge them, it just actually takes REAL SKILL to dodge.

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Shells: Its called trailing. And yes, the red shells to swerve a little to make sure they hit you, but you can get rid of them.

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Lakitu is fine... youre just impatient

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Falling off ALWAYS had you lose your item. What world have you been living in?

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Team battle is lame. Dont play it.

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The trick is to blow softly... not have Category 5 hurricane winds going into the mic.

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Music: Get good headphones

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Originally posted by HyperHacker

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(and Toad sucks at everything else)

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Originally posted by Squash Monster

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...am I the only one who finds it amusing that it seems like everyone has taken personal offense at complaints about a game they have had no part in making?

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Originally posted by Alastor the Stylish

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Originally posted by Squash Monster

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...am I the only one who finds it amusing that it seems like everyone has taken personal offense at complaints about a game they have had no part in making?

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Prove I wasn't secretly a beta tester.

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