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''Mario Kart DS'' is a Video Game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS portable gaming system. ''Mario Kart DS'' was one of Nintendo's most anticipated games at the time, as it is the first to use Nintendo's free online service, Nintendo Wi-fi Connection . ''Mario Kart DS'' is the latest installment in the hit series Mario Kart in which Mario , his buddies and his enemies race in Go-karts while fighting for the top position through the use of weapons (such as Koopa Troopa shells) from the Mario Bros. series. The player's character races on tracks themed after various locations in the Mario universe. GAMEPLAY ''Mario Kart DS'' is a Racing Game in which characters from the Mario universe race each other around also Mario-themed tracks. Power-up items, such as homing projectiles, speed boosts, and explosives can be found on each track in Item Boxes. Both skill in driving and use of items is important in ''Mario Kart DS.'' 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. As the closeup rotates in orientation to the racer, it is possible to complete an entire race focusing only on the bottom screen. Mini-turbos A feature first introduced in Mario Kart 64 , Mini-turbos are momentary speed boosts that can be obtained by alternately pressing the Left and Right D-Pad buttons while power-sliding ('drifting') around the track, until orange sparks appear around the kart -- when the player stops drifting, their kart will receive a short turbo boost. The execution of several consecutive mini-turbos during races has caused minor controversy in Wi-Fi play in the form of "snaking" -- players who weave their karts back and forth across a straight stretch to generate repeated mini-Turbos (a movement likened to actual Snake s, hence the term, "snaking"). This technique is viewed as an unfair tactic (or outright cheating) by some players since it gives the user a distinct speed advantage over other, "non-snaking" opponents, especially with karts featuring powerful mini-turbo boosts. However, an argument for snaking is that snaking requires a great deal of skill to perform, and that the game's developers confirmed that they placed the ability to snake into the game on purpose. The use of mini-turbos on straightaways was a technique seen in previous Mario Kart games (excluding '' Super Mario Kart '' and '' Super Circuit '') although to a more limited extent, since the mini-turbo boosts were generally shorter, and the computer-controlled karts didn't use Mini-Turbos at all. Some players have attempted to form leagues or "friend" groups composed of avowed non-snakers, but the distinction between a "snaker" and "non-snaker" is vague, largely depending on whether the player uses Mini-Turbos on straight areas of the track or on curves. The dispute over snaking can be compared to the wavedashing phenomenon in '' Super Smash Bros. Melee '', or the snaking technique in '' F-Zero GX ''. Most if not all of the quickest Time Trial records in Mario Kart DS were accomplished using the snaking technique. Drafting A new technique featured in only Mario Kart DS (it existed in MK64 but was rare and misunderstood), drafting allows for a temporary speed boost. To start drafting, a player must drive directly behind another kart for a short distance. If they are close enough, blue streaks will start flying by the kart. After a few seconds, a blue, pulsing circular form will appear in front of the kart, giving the speed boost equivalent of a Star for three seconds. Emblems New to this game are emblems. Using a typical drawing program interface, one can create emblems or choose from a variety of pre-selected items. During races, they show up as a decal on the player's kart and are displayed prominently in the blurbs; players can see custom emblems when the racer is in front of them. During Wi-Fi, they are shown in the selection screen and in the blurb above the player during a race. A Decal Maker program has been created by DS Meet , which allows people to convert computer images into resolutions and colors fit for manual copying into the emblem maker in ''Mario Kart DS''. DSmeet also offers a decal gallery for people to share their works done through the decal maker. KARTS Each playable character starts out with two karts, one "special" kart unique to that character, and a "standard" kart, with an appearance similar to that of a real Go-kart . These karts have slightly different stats, although each character has similar, unique configurations for all of their karts. As a player progresses through the game, he or she can unlock a third special kart for each character. After that, they can choose between seven karts for each character, four being other characters' karts. Eventually, each character can use any kart (there are 36 in total, three for each of the twelve characters). The karts are rated in the following categories:
The large array of stats stands in contrast to previous ''Mario Kart'' games, where karts were openly rated only in their Acceleration, Speed, Weight, and (in some games), Handling. List of karts For each of the three karts unique to one racer, they can be grouped into three categories: the standard, go-kart style karts; karts with a high Items stat, but lower speeds; and karts with higher speeds, but a low Items stat. Note: Shy Guy cannot normally be selected. It only appears during Single-card Download multiplayer sessions as the Client 's racer. Grand Prix In Grand Prix mode, the player competes against computer-controlled racers, or, in Multiplayer mode, other players. There are two Grands 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. A 150cc Mirror Mode is also an unlockable, in which all the 150cc tracks are flipped horizontally. Only twenty of the tracks can be played over Nintendo Wi-Fi connection. Several of the more complex and/or obstacle-ridden courses were disabled for online play due to possible Latency issues. Fans have expressed anger and confusion in which courses were included. For example, Cheep Cheep Beach is playable online, while the similar Koopa Beach 2 is not. Other examples include how Mario Circuit 1 is online-enabled, while the similar Donut Plains 1 is not. A more obvious example is how DK Pass, with rolling snowballs that change size, is playable, whereas the simple-looking Banshee Boardwalk is not, apparently due to a stream of bats in the middle of the track that slow karts down. Battle Mode Battle Mode is not available online, and can only be played in single-player and regular multiplayer. The maps available in Battle Mode are:
These are tracks that are typically in some circular or square form, with no start or finish line and no offroad. Some, but not all, have edges that can be fallen off. Balloon Battle In Balloon Battle mode, players attempt to pop each other's balloons, while keeping their own intact. Each player starts with five balloons, one of which is inflated. Additional balloons may be inflated by holding the Select button or blowing into the DS microphone while the kart is stationary, with a maximum limit of three inflated balloons at any one time. A player loses when he or she has no remaining inflated balloons. Balloons belonging to other players may be popped by attacking them with items. Balloons can also be stolen if a player has less than three inflated balloons and runs into another player while using a Mushroom. Players with fewer balloons inflated receive more powerful items; however, they run a higher risk of losing if their remaining balloon(s) are popped. The last player or team remaining wins the battle. If a player dies in Wireless Play mode, they become invisible and will periodically collect item boxes which can be dropped for other players to pick up. Shine Runners A new battle mode called Shine Runners was introduced, in which players have to collect the most Shine Sprites, which are dotted about the level. They lose Shine Sprites if they get hit. When the clock reaches zero, drivers with the fewest Shine Sprites are eliminated. If all remaining drivers have the same number of Shine Sprites, the clock starts again with no racers eliminated. This continues until one player (or several players all on the same team) are remaining. This is the only battle mode with the Thunderbolt enabled. Shine Runners is similar to the battle mode "Shine Thief" in . Shine Sprites first appeared in Super Mario Sunshine . Local Multiplayer The game features 8-player single-card and multi-card LAN play. Single-card play can be played with a mix of players with and without cards. In single-card play, while the players with cards can choose their characters, downloading players are forced to play as Shy Guy . A limited number of tracks are available for use during single-card multiplayer play. When all players use game cards, all tracks become available. Mission Mode 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 from 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. All of the bosses are from Super Mario 64 DS. Level 7 is only unlocked after the player achieves at least a one-star ranking on levels 1 through 6. However, completing Mission Mode does not unlock anything. Here are the individual Bosses and the task players must complete with each one: # Big Bully — Knock Big Bully off the platform using mushrooms. # Eyerok — Hit Eyerok's eyes (in its hands) with shells. # Goomboss — Beat Goomboss to the finish line on Baby Park. # King Boo — Collect fifty coins while avoiding King Boo. # Big Bob-omb — Hit Big Bob-omb with three Bob-omb items. # Chief Chilly — Knock Chief Chilly off the platform three times using mushrooms. # Wiggler — Reach the finish before Wiggler on Mushroom Bridge. Time Trials In this mode, the player is able to race against the clock; the results of a Time Trial run are saved as "Ghost Data", which the player can compete against later (for a faster time), or traded with friends. Also, it is possible to unlock ''Mario Kart DS'' "Staff Ghost Data" by completing a circuit within a certain amount of time. Nintendo of Japan has recently revealed that they will begin holding official time trial tournaments. Times will be validated by an official 16 digit code. The code can be found by viewing the time trials records accessed from the main menu and pressing up, down, L, R, Y, and A in that order. Whether or not Nintendo of America and Nintendo of Europe will hold similar tournaments has not been announced. Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection This mode requires a connection with a Wireless Router , an Access Point or a Nintendo Wi-Fi USB connector. After connecting to the Nintendo server, players can choose to gather opponents worldwide, locally, based on the player's wireless win and loss record, or only friends. The game tries to find as many opponents as possible in a certain time until the maximum of four is met, after which the players each select a kart and vote on the track they would like to race on. The track with the most votes wins, however, if none of the tracks are voted for more than once, or if two tracks are each voted for twice, the result is selected at random. After a set of four tracks is played, the winners and losers are chosen based on the points they receive after each race. All online races are conducted at 100cc. The service is hosted for the American and European versions of the game use servers hosted by Nintendo of America Inc. Each ''Mario Kart DS'' card stores a player's online win/loss record, which is displayed to other players when opponents are found using the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection online service. At the end of each series of four races, every player receives one win for each opponent they placed higher than, one loss for each opponent they placed lower than, plus one win for any opponent who disconnected during a race (regardless of how well that opponent was doing before then). It is also important to note that any player disconnecting from (or powering down during) an online match immediately receives one loss for every opponent in that race at the time of disconnect. Normally, there are only twenty tracks available for online play. Recently, however, a user with the alias "Parasyte" discovered how to unlock single player tracks for use over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, using a PassMe and a Game Boy Advance Flash Cartridge. Tracks such as Airship Fortress, Tick-Tock Clock, Waluigi Pinball, and others have been played online. Apart from a few minor glitches, these tracks can be played just like the others. A hack has been released online by another user, with the alias "Natrium42." [http://www.natrium42.com/downloads/mktest.ds.gba Anyone with the proper equipment can load it onto their game and race these single player tracks against other players using the Wi-Fi Connection. These people are in great demand, seeing as many of the most popular tracks are disabled for online play, but users still want to race in them. ITEMS When a kart drives through an Item Box, a short Slot Machine animation begins, eventually stopping on an item which players may use to their advantage. Which item is obtained is mostly dependent on the player's current position in the race, and to a lesser extent the kart's item rating. Players near the front of the race tend to get weak items such as the Banana or the Green Shell, while those near the back of the race tend to receive more powerful items, such as the Star or the Bullet Bill.
In Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection matches, the "Triple" items are disabled (except for Triple Mushrooms), and players cannot drag items behind their karts. If a kart is hit when trailing a single item, that item will be dropped in place. If it is a shell, the shell will not move yet is still dangerous. Sometimes, Mushrooms and even Stars will fall on the track, and cause their speed effect to be used on the next kart to hit them. SALES INFORMATION On '' owners connected to Xbox Live within the first three weeks of its release. {Link without Title} ''Mario Kart DS'' had a better launch in Japan, where it sold 219,000 copies during its first four days of availability, the third best performance for a Nintendo DS title after '''' and '' Jump Superstars ''. {Link without Title} 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 ''. COMMUNITY There are several online Clans and Communities for ''Mario Kart DS''. Most of these clans and communities are started by ''Mario Kart DS'' enthusiasts on sites such as GameFAQs or the Nintendo forums to reduce the number of disconnectors. TRIVIA
REACTION Game reviews
SCREENSHOTS Image:MKDS1.jpg Image:MKDS2.jpg Image:MKDS3.jpg Image:MKDS4.jpg Image:MKDS5.jpg Image:MKDS6.jpg Image:MKDS7.jpg Image:MKDS8.jpg EXTERNAL LINKS
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