Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Garage Party

Launch event for Mario Kart: Double Dash!! goes down a storm

3rd November 2003 - An East London Lock-Up was the ONLY place to be last Thursday, as it played host to the karting event of the year.

Over a hundred journalists from far and wide arrived at an authentic East End Lock-Up to play the finished version of the Mario Kart: Double Dash!! game two weeks before UK release. Surrounded by Mario's mechanics, mugs of tea, bacon sarnies and authentic go-karts they were invited to compete in the Mario Kart: Double Dash!! championship. Journalists raced against each other around the many tracks of Mario's fantasy world, utilising the multi-player format.

The adventure began when guests were collected by Mario himself from a central London location, welcomed aboard the Double Dash bus and escorted to East London in true style. Here they were welcomed with a cold beer and true garage fare, led into a venue reminiscent of 'The Arches' and treated to a party that would do Mario and friends proud.

Excitement rose as thirty-two people began the Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Challenge, with eight journalists playing simultaneously. After some truly awesome races, only four remained. Emily Newton Dunne, from the number one Channel Four games review show 'Bits', compered the competition and finally announced the lucky winners. Chandra Nair from Cube won the grand prize, the chance to get behind the wheel of a real F1 car and put it through its paces for a full day. Chandra climbed a podium to be presented with his prize by Emily and the Mario pit girls and in true Formula 1 style sprayed the crowd with champagne.

After the winners had recovered from the excitement, the drive time DJ James Braybrooke, one of Essex's finest, turned up his classic 1980s tunes and the party began. Dancing commenced and guests even got to take home a copy of Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

Mario Kart: Double Dash!! will be released in Europe on 14th November at the estimated retail price of around 60 Euros.