Mario Kart 64 is a racing game with one thing in mind, pure fun.
Why: Mario Kart delivers a solid racing game that allows for you to play with your favorite mario-type characters while adding a wonderful twist: weapons. You get to choose from a vast array of turtle shells, lightening, and mushrooms (among other things from the Mario universe) while trying desperately to finish first and be crowned the champion of all cartoon characters.
The gameplay itself would be great if it wasn't, however, for one annoying minor inconvenience: the computer players cheat. How do they cheat do you ask? Well, the answer is: many ways. For starters, they don't take as much time to recover from a shot from a weapon or some other slight incapacitation that a human player would. For example, when you slip on a banana peal, it takes a while to stop spinning, and get back into the race. For the computer, they run over it, stop for a brief second, and accelerate at a much faster pace. Also, in many levels, the computer will end up getting so far ahead of you in such a short ammount of time, that you wonder what kind of alien technology they have working for their little buggy.
Now, this may all sond bad, and it is, but in a way, it's ingenious. The fact that the AI cheats makes blowing them into oblivion via some kind of weapon, just that much more satisfying, and one never gets tired of the screams of peril the AI let out when they fall victim to just such an attack.
Graphics: 4
Why: Not the best the N64 has to offer, graphics are wonderfully cartoonish to fit in with the theme, but the racers look choppy around the edges and the game features that same "wall of trees" that the Zelda games where plagued with.
Sound: 8
Why: Well, if you've read alot of my reviews you might know that I'm a sucker for good video game music and, although Mario Kart 64 doesn't feature the best soundtrack, the dialog and music in the game don't go wrong.
Value: 7
Why: Highly addictive, and highly annoying. Kinda like a Zelda game, only not so it's an added plus. I'm still playing the game, though, and I still have a good time when doing so.
Reviewer's Tilt: 7
Why:
Pros: Gameplay is fun, soundtrack is pretty solid
Cons: Graphics aren't the greatest, Computer AI cheats like you've never seen before.