Mario Kart: Double Dash! (GameCube) Nintendo ( 14 November, 2003 ) Video Games Our Price : £ 29.99 List Price : £ 39.99 You save £10 (25% off) Prices subject to change. usually dispatched within 24 hours.

Worth the wait...

Well, Ive been waiting for this to turn up for ages, and it finally dropped on the mat on Saturday morning as I was on my way out to my mother-in-laws 60th birthday party....noooooooooooooo.....all day I had to spend couped up eating cake, being polite to relatives etc. knowing that DD was there waiting at home. Having now spent the remaining hours of the weekend playing it, I can definitely say it is worth the wait. Whats it like? Well, its like Mario Kart of course! And that is exactly what we all wanted, isnt it? The improvements are subtle yet worthwhile - improved graphics etc. The handling of the karts is superb, and playing around with the character/kart combos gives endless possibilities. There is nothing else in life quite as satisfying as power-sliding around a 180 degree hairpin, preferably knocking off a quick red shell in the process. Make no doubt, Ive loved every minute of this game so far, and I havent even got onto multi-player yet! However, I do have a couple of concerns. First, Im worried about how long the single-player appeal will last. Id managed to win gold on all but 150cc star cup after only a couple of hours playing (of course, Ive spent many an hour on previous versions of the game, so Im pretty good.) That said, I havent finished yet and Im sure I have more to unlock. Only time will tell on that one. My other moan is about the use of the Z button to swap characters. To me, that button is the only fault of the cube, and its use during high speed shenanigans can be tricky (I constantly keep firing power-ups when trying to switch drivers and vice-versa.) Im sure Ill get used to it, though. But forget those worries, this is still brilliant and a must-have, whether youre new to Mario or a karting die-hard.

Double Dash

As Im sure youll all agree, Mario Kart on the N64 was the pinnacle of multiplayer racing. It still to this day gets the odd run around with a few friends, that was until I recieved this delightful package! Double Dash is a spruced up version of MK64, with gorgeous graphics, a shed loads of characters to play with and a new take on the kart classic. This being that there are two characters per kart - so you get to weigh up the Speed, Acceleration and Weight attributes by carefully choosing two different characters as well as the actual racing kart. The Single player game and multiplayer VS. modes are very similar to the MK64 version as are the general track layouts. This, however, isnt a bad thing as it is what kept the Mario Kart games a cut above the rest. Hitting the? blocks will reveal the original weapons from MK64 as well as character specific ones - whoever is on the back of the kart will collect the weapon - you can change mid race between the driver and backseat thrower, in order to get each characters special weapon. The game really shines in the 2-player CO-Operative Mode! Yes you heard me right - player 1 starts off as the driver and player 2 as the weapon thrower! You can, as always switch characters, but in order to win, you will have to practice transferring positions and turbo skids in order to time them right. This is the real change to the Mario Kart franchise and is not to be missed - A Grand Prix, 1 cart and 2 players - Let The Good Times Roll.

GOD BLESS YOU NINTENDO

When I was a wee little nipper, dad brought home a SNES, plugged in super mario kart and my addiction was born. Ten years on, the grand master of the gaming world Shigeru Miyamoto gave us a second lil taste of magic. We sat on our seats grinding our teeth wating eagerly for double dash to be released. Now its with us, and our gaming lust an be sated. Double dash is not a racing game. It is in league of its own. FURIOUS addictive and vibrant gameplay. Graphics so sleek that you could shine a shoe with them. THE sound is brilliant too. As the shells fire you hear the koopas inside rattling with mischevious joy. The graphics are perfect, its why they made the console. Double dash aint for gamecube. Gamecube is for Double dash. But why were all after it is the character combo system ( in the name :) Pick any two characters from the new cast ( Baby bowser and diddy kong ) and a car ( no more go karts, personalised veichles are home) Switch racers at any time to manage weapons. New courses, new racers AND the first MK title with unlockables. Buy this game at the amazon sale price of thirty pounds ( Those sharks from retail charge u forty) dont have thirty? Sell your house! Sell your car! Sell your mum! Your life is GARBAGE without this game!