a good solid review covering all the basic points (sound,multiplayer,graphics etc)
the graphics in mario kart ds are very good. the game is in full 3d and the effects from bombs etc are very nicely done. the animations on the characters are ok and the cars are pretty detailed. the graphic style is a bit like WoW in the sense that they are chunky and cartooney but overall the graphics are far more than adequate.
the sound effects are very good and contain all the classic noises from the mario games. there is a different piece of music for every track and some of them are quite memorable.
there are 12 characters and 36 cars so there is a wide range to choose from.
there are 4 grand prix's (50cc 100cc 150cc and 150cc mirror) these dont take long to complete but there is also the mission mode to keep you going. these involve basic objectives like collecting coins and if you get at least 1 star in all the missions you unlock mission 7. although these offer a little more play time they do get old once you've completed them all. this is where multiplayer comes in. you can play multicard,single card (limited tracks and players) or over WFC. i found that multicard is the best as it is great fun playing while next to your friends. also while playing over WFC there is a bit of lag and there are some people that turn off their ds if they are going to loose a race, also some people snake and if you dont like this multicard is best.
so in conclusion a great game that is great fun multiplayer