Mario Kart DS

Mario Kart DS, abbreviated to MKDS or MK:DS, is a racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It is the fifth installment in the series and the first to use Nintendo's free online service, Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Released in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe in November 2005, in Japan in December 2005, and in South Korea in which it is the very first WFC game launched, as well as the launch of WFC service on April 5, 2007. It was well received critically, scoring an average of 91% from Metacritic.

Like other games in the Mario Kart series, Mario Kart DS involves various characters from various Mario games racing each other in go-karts on tracks themed from locations in the Mario series. Less realistic physics, and the use of various weapons and or items to achieve victory differentiates kart racing games like MKDS from racing simulators like X-Box's Forza Motorsport.

Gameplay
In Grand Prix mode, the player competes against seven computer-controlled racers. There are two Grand Prix in Mario Kart DS, each consisting of four cups, and each cup consisting of four race tracks. Nitro GP contains sixteen brand new tracks while Retro GP contains sixteen tracks converted from previous entries in the Mario Kart series. There are three engine classes which serve as difficulty levels for the Grand Prix mode: 50cc, 100cc, and 150cc. The higher the engine class, the faster all the karts go. A 150cc Mirror Mode is also an unlockable, in which all the 150cc tracks are flipped horizontally, as if seeing the game in a mirror.

Another staple of past Mario Kart games, Battle Mode, also makes a return. Battle modes include Balloon Battle, in which you try to pop everyone else's balloons by attacking them or steal them with mushrooms and eliminate them, or Shine Runners, in which you try to collect the most Shine Sprites. Eventually, players with the least amount of Shine Sprites will be eliminated from the game.

In the new Mission Mode, players control a specific character in that character's standard kart, and must perform eight individual missions, whose objectives range from collecting coins to attacking enemies. Players are then ranked based on their performance, and given either a C, a B, an A, or one to three stars if the task is completed by a certain time. In order to advance to the next level, players must complete a "boss" task, which is unlocked after all eight of a level's missions are completed. Level 7 is only unlocked after the player achieves at least a one-star ranking on levels 1 through 6. Completing all missions in level 1 through 6 with at least a 1 star rating on each mission opens up a secret 7th level with more challenging missions to complete. It should be noted that there are no missions where one of the unlockable characters is playable.

Other Modes include Vs. Mode, in which 8 players can race each other using DS Download Play or Multi-card wireless LAN, and Time Trial Mode, in which the player tries to finish a course in as short a time as possible.

While racing, the top screen of the Nintendo DS displays a third-person perspective behind and slightly above the player's vehicle. The bottom screen lists the current race standings, items carried by each player, and a map of the course. The map can be toggled to show an overall view of the entire course, or a close-up view of the racer's immediate vicinity. The close-up view is very detailed, showing nearby racer positions, course hazards, item boxes, and even incoming attacks.

Each playable character starts out with two karts: one special kart unique to that character, and a standard kart resembling a real go-kart. These karts have slightly different stats, although their general strengths are the same. As a player progresses through the game, he or she can unlock a third special kart for each character, also with slightly different stats. Ultimately, the player can unlock the ability to use any of the 36 total karts with any character. When a player is selecting their kart for a race, the game lists the kart's max speed, acceleration, weight, handling, drifting ability, and the quality of items the kart is likely to receive.

Each course features numerous item boxes that players can drive through to receive a randomly-selected item. Whichever item the player receives is generally dependent upon their current position in the race and, to a lesser extent, the item stat of the player's kart; Players near the front will tend to receive rear-attack items, while players trailing in the back of the race will tend to receive more powerful items. Most attack items can be targeted forwards or backwards by holding the appropriate direction on the D-pad when using the item against other. New items like the Bob-ombs and Bullet Bill transformation have also been added in the game.

Mini-Turbos, a feature first introduced in Mario Kart 64, returns in Mario Kart DS. Mini-Turbos are momentary speed boosts that can be obtained while drifting.

Also featured in Mario Kart DS and not to be confused with drifting is the ability to draft behind an opponent's kart. If the player is close enough, blue streaks will start flying by their kart, and their speed will begin to increase. If the player maintains this position long enough, they will receive a noticeable speed boost, allowing them to easily overtake and pass the opponent.

New to the game are "emblems", or player icons. Using a simple drawing program interface, a player can create a customized emblem. During the race, each player's emblem appears as a decal on their kart, and in multi-player matches, opponents can see the player's name and emblem prominently overlaid above their kart's position on the opponent's screen. The player's emblem is also, on Wi-Fi play, shown to their opponents once the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection has found opponents and initiated a match.

Snaking
The execution of several consecutive mini-turbos, by drifting back and forth across a straightaway, is a technique known as "snaking", which has caused minor controversy in Wi-Fi play. Competitive gamers consider snaking to be a positive aspect of the game, as it makes the game more competitive.

Nintendo Power magazine once responded to a reader mail in its Pulse section, describing snaking as "kind of lame" and that it goes against the original intentions of the game's developers. However, it is important to note that this is not Nintendo's official position, but rather the opinion of one writer for Nintendo Power. Others have similarly argued that snaking is an exploitation of game's Mini-Turbo mechanics; on the other hand, a Nintendo of America official has personally described snaking as an intentional part of the game's design, considering that a similar technique could also be performed in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!.

Some players have formed online communities, exchanging Friend Codes to ensure that they can race exclusively against each other, whether snaking or non.

Nintendo WFC
This mode requires a connection with a wireless router, an access point, or a Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector. The American and European versions of the game use servers hosted by Nintendo of America Inc. After connecting to the Nintendo server, players can begin searching for opponents. Up to four players can be matched up for a (100cc) Wi-Fi race (although the server may also initiate a match between only two or three players). Once decided, each player selects their racer and kart, and vote on which track to race. The track chosen is a simple majority vote (or, if no clear majority is present, chosen randomly from the votes) and then the race begins. Players are scored in the same style as a Grand Prix, depending on the position they finish a race in; after a set of four tracks is played, the winners and losers are announced based on the points they earned, and each player receives one win for every opponent they scored higher than, and one loss for every opponent who out-scored them. Their total wins and losses are stored on the player's game card, and the score is shown to other players when opponents are found using the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection online service.

Also, it is important to note that any player disconnecting (or powering down) from an online race immediately receives one loss per opponent, regardless of how well they were doing up until the disconnect (the same thing occurs if a player does not press any button for 30 seconds); conversely, after all four races are complete, each player also receives one win for any opponent who disconnected during the match -- though if the match cannot be completed due to disconnecting, no wins are given to the remaining player.

Only twenty of the tracks can be played over Nintendo Wi-Fi connection. Several of the more complex and/or obstacle-ridden courses (such as Bowser's Castle) were disabled from online play due to concerns over potential bugs caused by latency.

Characters
There are 13 characters in Mario Kart DS, ten are from previous Mario Kart games and three of them are new to the series.

Returning Characters:
 * Mario
 * Luigi
 * Princess Peach
 * Yoshi
 * Toad
 * Donkey Kong
 * Wario
 * Bowser
 * Princess Daisy
 * Waluigi

New characters:
 * Dry Bones
 * R.O.B.
 * Shy Guy (DS Download Play only)

Note: Princess Daisy, Waluigi, Dry Bones and R.O.B. have to be unlocked. Also, Shy Guy comes in a variation of colors, but only has one white kart to race in. The colors are chosen at random or by using your set DS menu color. Due to DS Download Play restrictions, Shy Guy is only allowed to race in the Mushroom Cup and the Shell Cup.

Tracks
There are eight cups in the game, four tracks each. The first four cups contain new tracks listed in the Nitro Grand Prix and the other four are taken from all the other Mario Kart games listed in the Retro Grand Prix. A total of 32 tracks to race on.

Reception
Mario Kart DS received universally positive reviews. Many players regard it as the best entry into the Mario Kart series to date.

In their review IGN called Mario Kart DS the "best of the Mario Kart best" and went on to praise the games repsonsive controls and bottom-screen map. GameSpot noted that Mario Kart DS was "one of the best games to hit the Nintendo DS to date."

Sales
On November 21, 2005, Nintendo announced that out of the 112,000 copies of Mario Kart DS sold in the United States during the first week of release, 52,000 (45%) of those buyers had connected to Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Comparatively, 18% of Halo 2 owners connected to Xbox Live within the first three weeks of its release.

Mario Kart DS had a better launch in Japan, where it sold 219,000 copies during its first four days of availability, at the time this was the third best performance for a Nintendo DS title after Animal Crossing: Wild World and Jump Superstars.

On January 2, 2006, Nintendo announced that Mario Kart DS had sold over one million copies in North America alone, joining other million sellers such as Super Mario 64 DS and Nintendogs.