Mario Kart is one of those games that needs very little introduction - one of the best-selling Wii games of all time, and one that features quite heavily on adverts, especially since the recent Wii price drop. It's sold bucket loads on the DS too - so it makes sense that Nintendo are now making one for their latest handheld, the 3DS. So far it doesn't have an official name, but if past iterations Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart Wii are anything to go buy, Mario Kart 3DS is elementary, my dear Watson.
A big addition this time round is the new customisable karts and abilities - you can pick a car with a hang glider on the back to glide over a jump, or a propeller could pop out the back when you go under water so you can drive along the river bed. You can also swap the tyres depending on the course you're racing, as smaller tires work best on tarmac, but the larger monster-truck-type wheels are made for going off road. Unlike the Wii version, the bikes seem to have been omitted from every screenshot or trailer - which is probably good, seeing as it is called Mario Kart after all. Although, one thing we would like to see added is the ability to have races with no items, or with varying item selections (so we can get rid of that annoying Blue Shell) - although it's probably not very likely that'll happen.
Donkey Kong went to great lengths to get his bananas back.
There's also some new courses coming too, letting you ride round mountain roads, down city streets and through a dusty desert - as well as tracks based on WuHu Island (of Wii Fit/Wii Sports Resort/Pilotwings Resort fame) and Donkey Kong Country Returns' jungles. We may even see the return of a few old tracks, like they did in Mario Kart Wii - hopefully they skip on that awful Wario's Gold Mine stage from the Wii game though, seeing as I don't stay on the track for more than a few seconds at a time and always finish last...
Darling it's better, down where it's wetter - take it from me.
The ability to do up to 8 players locally is still there - Mario Kart DS' download play entertained us for many weeks at my Gran's house - as well as 8 player online games. Nintendo have also confirmed it will have both StreetPass and SpotPass functionality, although they haven't said what. We'd imagine the StreetPass will trade your fastest track times or ghost data with people you walk past in the street, but the SpotPass functionality could potentially be more interesting. Maybe we'll get new downloadable karts, characters or courses once in a while from SpotPass? Or maybe just the same sort of online competitions the Wii version gets via the Mario Kart Channel?
Racing onto shelves this winter, Mario Kart is very definitely driving home for Christmas. Until then, here's a trailer:
