Mario Kart: Double Dash is the fourth in the historic kart racing series. The series takes Nintendo characters and has them race against each other on zany tracks loaded with every weapon imaginable. This time around, there are two characters on each kart. I’ve been playing the game for insane amounts of time both with and without my friends. The single player racing game is very good, though the two character aspect does not show itself very well in this mode. Having two characters allows you to have two items, but there is no need to switch between the two. If the front player has an item and the back player does not, the two will automatically switch positions so the armed character is in the rear. Because of this feature, character management is almost non-existent in single player. The only time you will ever manually switch characters is to pick up a second item. The 50cc mode is an absolute breeze, as usual, though the difficulty quick ramps up in higher classes.

Multiplayer is where this game really shines. In previous Mario Kart games, Battle Mode has always been the best part of the multiplayer experience. Driving around and trying to take out each other is a blast. The two new modes, Shine Thief and Bob-omb Blast, freshen up the Battle Mode with some new ideas. They’re both even more hectic than the classic Balloon Battle. However, I have been having the most fun with the multiplayer Co-op Grand Prix. The two character system is awesome in this mode. The front player handles driving and power sliding, while the rear player can launch weapons, side-swipe other karts, and also activate mini-turbo boosts while power sliding. This mode requires coordination and team work, and turns out to be an absolute blast.

There are also tons of things to unlock in the game. Every gold medal in Grand Prix unlocks something new. Among things to unlock are various new karts, a new cup of four tracks, and a few battle arenas. Look for my final opinions on Mario Kart: Double Dash soon.