Best Nintendo DS game to date, and an absolute must have.
I will first start with the gameplay. Mario Kart DS combines high-speed racing with vehicular combat. Every race you are in (excluding time trial), you have item boxes which you can pick up. In these item boxes are, well, items. The items range from a star that gives you a temporary speed boost to a bullet bill that transforms you into a bullet bill, allowing you to get a huge speed boost that also knocks down any players in your way. There are many different items. There are also many different modes of play. You have Mission Mode, which puts you on "missions" like "collect five coins". You have Grand Prix, which allows you to race against computer AI. You have my personal favorite, battle mode, which lets you battle against enemy AI or your friends. The three other modes are versus, which allows to race with up to seven other players with one game card, WiFI, which lets you race with people from around the world, and finally, there is time trial, which has you race on a track, trying to beat your own times. In time trial, you can unlock the "staff ghosts", which are insanely hard to beat. The gameplay is great, and it gets a nine out of ten.
The next portion of my review is the graphics portion. The graphics in the game are great. It looks pretty good, and definately shows off the DS's abilities. However, in the WiFi mode, I have noticed a little lag sometimes, mainly opponents skipping magically across the screen. It looks weird. However, over all, the graphics are good, and they get an eight out of ten.
I now move on to the sound. The sound in this game is excellent. From the roar of an engine starting up at the starting line to the satisfying sound of the bullet bill blasting off, the sound effects are great. The soundtrack has some pretty catchy tunes as well. I give the sound a ten out of ten.
The next to last category is the value. This game has tons of value.It never ends. You have four unlockable characters, 16 unlockable tracks, tons of unlockable carts, and I am sure there is more. I give the value of this game a ten out of ten.
Finnaly, we have the reviewers tilt. I love this game. My love for it is probably unhealthy. This game spends the most time in my DS, and not just because it is the first game I got for my DS. This game is, without a doubt, one of the best games for the DS, if not the best. Do yourself a favor, and go buy this game. Now. The reivewers tilt of this game is a nine out of ten.