Mario Kart GameCube a Dud?
Posted November 13th, 2003 @ 09:56am by Erik J. Barzeski
I've now read two reviews of Mario Kart for the GameCube (Double Dash! they're calling it). In all, I'm disappointed. It seems that very little was done to innovate, aside from having two players on each cart. Heck, they even removed the hop! They removed the hop!!! The tracks are dull, the multiplayer arenas are duller, and unlocking sections of the game is a boring affair, they say.
What's worse: the game has LAN play, but lacks the ability to play others over the 'net! How ridiculous is that? It gets even better: when you're playing a LAN game, you don't even get to choose your characters!
I like Nintendo, I really do. Unfortunately, they're dropping the ball when it comes to the online thing. This, more than the titles they historically produce, are going to put them squarely in the "it's a kiddie system" category. College students play Mario Kart like crazy from what I've heard (and having participated, I can personally attest to it). It's not the games, then, that make a system "kiddie."
I don't play games on my Mac because I've got a PS2 and a GameCube. Finally consoles are getting networkable games - with voice chat and other nifty features - yet the Nintendo console is stuck five years in the past. I remember playing NFL2K1 (I think) on my Dreamcast online, for crissakes!
I may still get the game, but dammit, now I'm just pissed.
Donate Life
Posted 13 Nov 2003 at 10:41am #
Being a college student I can say that the one game that is played most frequently is Madden 2004. This game is an integral part of day-to-day life in the dorms on campus. Hell, there have even been intense Madden tournaments. I normally don't play video games, but when it comes to some competition I'm all for it.
Posted 13 Nov 2003 at 10:56am #
I know that there are people who are working on making it so you can play over the internet using a computer to forward the packet requests. Who knows if they will get it to a playable state, but I hope so.
Even if Mario Kart: Double Dash isn't much of an 'improvement' I think it will still be worth my gaming dollar. Especially given that Mario Kart is one of the easiest games to get those that normally care for games (i.e. women) to play.
Posted 13 Nov 2003 at 11:05am #
Good call on the women bit. Now, where to find these elusive creatures... 😉
Posted 13 Nov 2003 at 11:41am #
Here at purdue a lot of people play NCAA Football, Madden, or NFL Fever. However, we seem to play a lot of Animal Crossing at our apartment 😉
Posted 13 Nov 2003 at 2:23pm #
Halo? I'm at UF and there is always some Halo going on. It will only get worse when Halo II comes out this winter. NCAA Football and Madden 2004 is requisite too.
Posted 13 Nov 2003 at 5:08pm #
I'm surprised to hear all of this. Looking at EGM, the game got two 10s and a 9.5, and the game of the month, which is pretty impressive considering the number of titles coming out.
What reviews are you reading?
- Scott
Posted 13 Nov 2003 at 5:39pm #
When I lived in the dorms it seemed that Dr. Mario for the NES was a big hit along with GoldenEye for the N64. Now that I share a house with a couple of the same goons from the dorms we play alot of Super Smash Brothers and TimeSplitters 2. Halo was fun for a while but it get's kind of old quickly.
Posted 13 Nov 2003 at 6:16pm #
Scott - The IGN review panned the game, probably one of the reviews Erik read.
Now, I'm totally looking forward to MK:DD because it's a great game to play with friends. My wife and I will play and my daughter will play as well.
The LAN is going to also be used online via the Warp Pipe project (http://www.warppipe.com). No worries!
Posted 13 Nov 2003 at 10:59pm #
An IGN review was one of the few I read, yes. I know how to cut through their BS and figure out what they really mean to say. The politics of it all. They're usually pretty easy on Nintendo. Not this time!
Posted 14 Nov 2003 at 1:43am #
A buddy of mine works at a video game company and has played MK:DD extensively. He said that it is REALLY REALLY GOOD and he said to ignore the IGN review, which, according to him, is horribly inaccurate. He's usually dead-on in his reviews of games -- so I am going to believe him. Plus, EGM loved it, so that is all I need as far as a blessing goes in getting it. I can't wait!!!
Posted 20 Nov 2003 at 12:51am #
Mario Kart on GameCube
So I’ve been officially Mario Karting for a day now and wanted to share some early thoughts. Overall I think I like the two player per kart and each karts having their own attributes. It does add a bit of complexity out of the box for new players...
Posted 01 Dec 2003 at 10:09pm #
i have the game,disgusting game from nintendo in my opinion single player is just reliant on the kart getting decent powerups and the other 7 gettin nothing which happens bout every 10009 games.the ai is nothing short of a joke .U see the guys thats supposed to be in first jump 4 pos. and accel. instantly because the ai decides he supposed to be first ..absolut insult to mario kart snes and 64,i whish nintendo would atleast bother abit with their games but obviously they willing to cash in on the other nintendo classics to make a dollar
in my opinion nintendo couldnt have done worse
its like playing a pokie if u get the feature u win money if not u lose regardless of skill
Posted 10 Dec 2003 at 12:31pm #
i rented game mariokart too, and i own all nintendo systems as well and all other mariokarts but this game just sucks !!!!!!!!!!
everything the guy above me said about AI is true, it is so frustrating when you have the top speed ppl and the comp decides this person should be in first and they speed by you, it is just a gay game! i have decided after this never to buy another nintendo system, i just wish i bought a PS2 instead of this crappy system, windwaker is the only game that is good.
Posted 15 Dec 2003 at 4:50pm #
I wasted my college years playing mario kart on N64 with my buddies, and now i'll be selling insurance for the rest of my days on earth, instead of becoming a doctor, as I originally planned But i say it was worth it. Greatest game ever. i hope the GameCube version is just as fun. Whoever wrote the above blurb is dissatisfied with the lack of the "hop" in the new game. The hop was worthless anyway, it wasn't like you could jump over or away from anything. And as for not being able to play people over the net? WHO CARES? i mean really. the funnest thing about mariokart was spending time w/ friends and cracking jokes. on Yoshi, on Luigi on Donkey kong!
Posted 17 Feb 2004 at 10:51am #
:-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Posted 21 Nov 2005 at 11:00pm #
how do i get toad and toadet i tried 4 weeks and weeks.i realy need them. and how do u get king boo and the plant. how do u beat the whole game?i realy need u.
from jackie