It’s obvious from the get-go that Double Dash doesn’t steer off the straight and narrow path paved by its older siblings. The controls, weapons, and track locales are akin to Mario Kart 64 in almost every way, shape, and form. Gameplay is mind-numbingly easy, even if you’ve never played a kart racer, or a videogame, at all. You go, you stop, you can powerslide through turns, lob weapons at the opposition, and do it all on tracks that are the staple of the Mario Kart dynasty. There are tiny nuances to learn, such as boost sliding (which, if you played MK64, you’ll have no troubles here), when to defend against attacks, when to pass the leader, when to swear off the game for good for being so unbalanced...

Which is really what it all boils down to: balance. It’s as if Nintendo knew or feared that it was too easy, and decided to toss in a troubling amount of high-tier weapons to anyone but the player in order to make Double Dash more difficult. Difficult it is, but not in the way I would wax on about decades down the line, like I do when thinking about Pacman or Super Mario Bros. Imagine the typical race breaking down to this; start off with the pack and, if you have any semblance of driving skill, make your way to the no.1 spot in the first lap. Now, if you play smart, 90% of any attacks can be blocked; it’s just a matter of holding those green shells and banana peels for defense.

However!

There will be that 10% chance, where the odds are with you and Heaven is smiling on your face, that Nintendo decides to give last place a Spiny Shell - the one weapon which deliberately hunts 1st place and takes them out, destroying all their held weapons in the process. Add insult to injury by following this attack with not one, but maybe two or three homing shells; without proper defense, you’re at their mercy. Now that comfy lead which you earned has been thrown into a struggle to regain dominance, all thanks to an AI that’s dealt an unfair hand. It wouldn’t be too bad if only happened once in a blue moon, but it happens much more than that; enough to be noticeable and enough to be a drag on the rest of the game itself.

Truth be told, if the AI wasn’t so evil, Double Dash would be a great one player experience. As it is, the foundation of gameplay may be nothing new to kart-veterans, but it gets the job done and makes a good display of it. Fighting, racing, and barreling down turns are frantic in 100 and 150cc modes, whereas 50cc is a good place for newbies to get acquainted with the track layouts. The tracks themselves are creative in conception and design, albeit a bit bland in execution due to a feeling of “been there, done that.” Just play the Special Cup for yourself and see if you aren’t wishing that the entire game had been like that.

Although it does feel like more of the same, the double in Double Dash is an entirely new and refreshing idea brought to the genre of kart racers. Simply put, not one but two characters race per kart now, with the front-runner driving and the weapon’s handler bringing up the rear. It sounds like a gimmick, but toss in unique specials, different kart classes, and the ability to carry one weapon per character then it becomes apparent that picking your team isn’t a just a choice of who you dig in the world of Mario. For example, if you’re the type who craves speed and recklessness, you’ll have to have a heavy-hitter on your team, such as Bowser. If you like to play it safe, Mario or Luigi can help out. Or, if you’re like me and love control over all else, you’ll have to learn to love the lightweight characters. Toad + Koopa = unstoppable.

Another unstoppable force in the game is the multiplayer draw. Since the dawn of time, or at least since Super Mario Kart, Nintendo’s series has prided itself in multiplayer mayhem. Double Dash stands up to the long-lived reputation of trash-talking and tomfoolery by injecting all the usual elements of the series and tossing a few new things. You can still play against friends in races or do battle in versus modes, but it’s in versus where some new modes have been added. There’s one that involves grabbing a Shine and holding it, ala capture the flag. There’s the obligatory Balloon match and then there’s the semi-forgettable Bob-omb Blast. What will make or break multiplayer lies in who you play with, though, and not so much as the so-called deep intricacies of track layouts or balance issues. Which is what makes Double Dash so appealing - if you have friends who can have a good time, the appeal of the game increases tenfold.

And if you really want to have fun with a buddy, there’s always the Co-Op mode, which allows two players to share the same kart and race in the grand prix mode. At first the idea sounds like a gimmick - how much fun could someone have by dividing the workload, anyway? Funny as it may seem, it’s a blast: you and a pal have to navigate, fight off the opposition and (gasp) communicate with each other to make the most out of Co-Op. Since first player steers and second player fights, your performance in the tracks begins to peak; it gives you a chance to focus on one element, to achieve that zen-like state of shell tossing or driving…until your partner screws up a shot, or you hit a wall. So remember to communicate, as well; thanks to the need for a simultaneous button-press, it’ll be the only way to swap places anyway. Nintendo did the impossible and created a traditionally competitive game with the need for teamwork in Co-Op. Easily the best mode available.

I almost forgot to mention the inclusion of LAN play! Thanks to Nintendo’s shortsightedness, Double Dash!! lacks the inclusion of any real online play (which is easily remedied, thanks to The Warp Pipe Project), but does include system to system play. Which means 4 players per system on two systems, or even one payer per GameCube, up to 8 in all…if you know that many people with GCs, broadband adaptors, copies of the game, and such. Well, if Halo could pull it off...

To make a long story short, Mario Kart: Double Dash!! easily becomes the best Mario Kart yet, simply because it's the same deal, only with a few new things tossed into the mix and a nice 128-bit gloss on top. It’s not a bad thing if you can stand the AI in one-player, it’s a must-have for multiplayer excursions, and it won’t leave a bad taste in your mouth, so long as you have more room for more Mario. If you hate all things Nintendo, just Mario in general, or have sworn of the series since the SNES, Double Dash won’t win you over.

· · · Kevin Cameron