Introduction
What is Mario Kart?
You've heard of Mario right? Stomps on goombas, defeats Bowser, saves the Princess? Well yeah, he had his own kart-racing game which was a smash-hit back in 1992 called Super Mario Kart! Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Princess Toadstool, Bowser, Donkey Kong Junior, Toad and Koopa Troopa raced in a set of tournaments in their karts to win the cup! Whether the Mushroom, Flower, Star or Special Cup. Seems a typical racing game eh?Eh... Neh - It isn't. In Mario Kart, players throw shells up other racers' arses to get to first place. Whilst racing through some crazy courses, such as courses that have cannons, that shoot onto another part of the track; and the items are all lunatic. Green shells, that act like bullets; red homing shells, bananas to cause players to slip; lightning bolts to shrink players; there is a big list of items in this game, and items are obtained by driving through item boxes.
To make the game even more fun, there are other modes beside racing, such as time trials and of course the ultimate multiplayer battle mode. All players battle it out within an arena whilst collecting items. Players all have a certain amount of balloons; that can be called the player's number of lives. Each time the player slips, gets hit, whacked or drives off the arena, the player loses a balloon. When all are gone, they lose. What happens when the player loses vary in different versions in Mario Kart; for instance in the 64 version losers turn into untracable bombs, that can blow up whoever they wish. On the DS version, players turn into item boxes and can help whoever they wish.
There are other modes within the game which add to the fun. But the "playability" of the game makes the game the best of its kind. The controls feel so flexible and easy, and you will develop a friendship with your favourite character; whether it be Mario, Yoshi or Toad. "Drifting" is a technique used within the game to allow players to go around bends, and even accelerate with small boosts.
A technique known as "snaking" familiar in Mario Kart DS, is where the player performs continous drifts to gain speed. Mario Kart is a game of skill; and in most cases, a game of luck! Players in the latter places usually receive the best items, just to give them the edge to catch up. They usualy receive a star which gives them invincibility and speed, or lightning bolts.
Whatever happens in a game of Mario Kart, players can always feel entertained; and the items bring more challenge to the better drivers. With crazy items, and crazy courses with cool shortcuts, Mario Kart is seriously one of the best - if thee best racing/ multiplayer game ever alongside Smash Bros that is. Mario Kart is a series which usually brings something different to each game... Hopefully the series will continue on as long as possible.