Another Mario Kart game that is enjoyable. There really isn't that much to unlock, other than long hours of fun.
In terms of concept, it's not any different than your traditional Mario Kart game. You pick Mario or his friends, you pick a course, and you race till the end, throwing items at each other to knock your opponents of the track. Though one big change in Double Dash is that there is two people in one kart. Not just your standard single driver. Now there is one person driving, while the other handling items. Though that doesn't really change much. It's still your standard racing game, just with a Mario twist, which always equals absolute craziness.
This game maybe simple, though it can last you a long time. The main goal of this game (well, on any Mario Kart game) is to go through the Grand Prix. There are 4 cups (one of them has to be unlocked, and there is also another event which also can be unlocked), 4 different difficulties (one of them has to be unlocked), and 4 races per cup. Your goal is obviously to win gold. Winning silver is about as useful as about finishing in 8th (last place). This can take a little while, though not really that long of a while. There are several cars and characters to unlock, and there can be a few challenges presented in some areas, though overall, it won't take long to finish everything in this area. There is also the Time Trial mode, where you select one course to race on by yourself and try to get the best time. The point of this is to try to unlock the Staff Ghosts, and then beat them. After that, you'll be looking at world records to beat. This area can certainly keep you busy, cause you've got to be quite skilled in order to even unlock those Staff Ghosts, let alone beating them. There is also the Battle and Verse modes for multiplayer action, where you simply face your friends. Overall, there isn't that much in this game, but it is a very replayable game. The multiplayer is just great, and chasing Staff Ghosts will certainly consume your time.
One of the new additions to the series is that there is many different karts to select. It's not like in older games where there is one kart for one player. There is some variety in these karts, especially in their design, but overall, they're not that different in terms of stats. There are basically 3 different areas in the stats. There is Speed, Acceleration, and Weight. The heavier you are, the harder it is to knock you around. Though drifting can be a pain. As for lighter guys, they may be easy to knock off your course... If you can even hit them that is. There are 20 different characters in this game (4 need to be unlocked), and there are 10 main pairings (like Mario and Luigi, or Yoshi and Birdo). Each main pairing have their own special move or attack(I'm calling them main pairings, but they don't need to be together). There are several items, including the devastating blue shell, which can make things crazy. As for the courses, they're very good. Each is different have their own characteristics. Every course has their own little quirks, shortcuts, or fake shortcuts. It will take some playing hours to learn all of their secrets. The controls are easy to learn and use. Though some techniques will require some experience from playing. Overall, all these elements combined together make for a very enjoyable game.
The graphics are very bright and colorful. They are actually quite underrated by some standards. They may not be realistic at all, but this is Mario, and the graphics do a very good job of showing you that this is a Mario game. They are easy to look at, they don't ever get boring, and there are no real major faults in this category. As for the sound, it's good. Nothing that's absolutely exceptional, but they do their job. The music is good, but I know I've heard better. The sound effects though are really nice and do their job. The character voices are very well done. This aspect overall is very good. Not that outstanding, but nonetheless, very good.
This in the end is just basically your traditional Mario Kart game. If you are a Mario Kart fan, you'll very likely enjoy this. If you really don't like the Mario Kart series for whatever reason, then I don't recommend this game to you. The only thing this game really separates itself from the other Mario Kart games is the fact that there are two people in one kart. Though even that doesn't really make a difference. Though this is still a game that's certainly worth picking up. In fact, it is fun to play together with a friend in one kart. Well, unless if you don't have anybody at your skill level, which then you would much rather be on your own. This game won't last you forever, but it's a game that you'll want to pick up and play every once in a while. Maybe try to break those world records on the Time Trials. Anyways, in the end, with it's colorful graphics, it's well done sounds, it's smooth controls, it's great bunch of traditional Mario Kart gameplay elements, and it's overall enjoyability, this is a game that many people should be able to enjoy and should at least try at some time or another.