Gaming Target - GameCube: Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

Written by Jeff Milligan on April 30, 2003

Updated Look: Vroom Vroom Vroom

From the Super Nintendo to the Nintendo 64 to the Game Boy Advance, the Mario Kart series has shown its face in lots of different places. In both single player and multiplayer modes, Mario Kart has been one of the most enjoyable games to play, ever. Since GameCube owners first heard news about the next installment in the series oh so long ago, the now named Mario Kart: Double Dash has been one greatly anticipated video game. Now, with Double Dash closer to release than ever, we've got some of the latest info, and from what we know thus far, Double Dash is going to be all the Mario Kart you and 7 of your closest friends can handle.

When first playing any Mario Kart game, the thing most fans are going to do right away is find the character that's going to consistently win them races. Double Dash already has a laundry list full of confirmed available characters, including Mario, Luigi, Peach, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Yoshi, Birdo, Wario, Waluigi, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Bowser, Bowser Jr., Koopa, and Paratroopa. There are a few names that we were expecting to be on the list still missing, but things can still change between now and when Double Dash is officially released.

Hang on just a second, why do I see two characters riding in the same kart in some of the released screenshots? No, you're not seeing things. This is one of Double Dash's new gameplay elements. Instead of having one person control each kart during races, Double Dash allows two players to control the same vehicle co-operatively. Two players can choose different characters and ride in the same kart, controlling different aspects during the race. Player 1 will focus on steering, accelerating, braking etc., while player 2 controls the firepower. The teammates can even switch roles mid-race, so nobody hogs all of the fun.

Another newly released feature is the special abilities each character possesses. Depending on which character is chosen, players can utilize special items that can only be used by that character. No specific examples have been given, but we do know that there will be six normal items and eight special items available.

Although single player games in the Mario Kart series are extremely fun, the heart of the series lies within the multiplayer modes. Although Shigeru Miyamoto has stated that the Double Dash formula doesn't work well online (online play still hasn't been totally canned, but it doesn't look promising), another feature has stepped up to fill in the void. Up to eight players will be able to race at once using a GameCube LAN. Two GameCube systems, 2 televisions and 2 copies of Double Dash = eight player Mario Kart madness. Each television will be able to handle 4 players via split-screen. Team gameplay anyone?