| Product: |
Mario Kart Super Circuit (GBA) |
| Date: |
10/09/02 (229 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Superb Graphics, Great gameplay, Nintendo Characters!
Disadvantages: er..., ...Still thinking...., ...Some old but great tracks...
If I gave you an option of a serious driving game resembling the likes of Gotham racing equipped with a massive assortment of modes, opposed to an amusing kart game or other simple racer with extremely tempting multiplayer availability and comical powerups, what would your choice be? If I was to also tell you that the second option included the finest, unsurpassed of Nintendo’s characters ever seen, would it be a stupid point to raise which you might be more tempted to want? Of course it would be.
There could only be one thing I was talking about in that last paragraph. Mario Kart for the Game boy Advance. The old legend of a plumber and his companions we have seen so many times before has been brought back once again in a fantastically well-presented game. Everyone knows about the Mario kart series and perhaps the reason it is so popular is the way you can race Mario against Wario, Peach versus Bowser, but all in one big race with 8 contestants in. There are many, many tracks to scoot around on, with 3 modes to play them on too. The tracks are also spiced up with boosts and powerups, to help you go faster or to kick anyone’s butt who is in front of you by…oh lets say shrinking the whole pack to make them slow and squashable! : D
As I said there are 3 main modes in the game and you will play all of them a lot. You can start off with the quick run mode, where you pick your character, the track and then have a single race with 8 other ferocious racers nipping at your heels. There is the time trial mode in which you shave seconds off your best times, with your ghost to compete with which is from previous laps and tries at it. The biggest and best mode in the game is the grand prix mode where you choose your character, then you cc varying from 50cc, 100cc and last 150cc each getting faster and harder. You then have to pick a cup which has 4 tracks in, and if you do well on the cups you will unlock the special cup, also if you get 100
coins on a cup you will get an extra cup for that cup that you have won the coins on.
The visuals on Mario Kart: Super Circuit is superb for the Gameboy Advance, but then in my opinion they match the n64 graphics too. Each track as a totally different background that is all done to the last detail and the colours are amazing for such a tiny machine. There is nothing left out and even objects in the distance look great and the colours and shading are to perfection. With 8 racers with some of the wildest powerups ever seen, there is bound to be some slowdown…nope, the little machine holds up fantastically and I wouldn’t put it on any other console at the moment as I still just pick it up and play it anytime.
If you turn up the volume on your GBA you will notice that there is some tunes playing while you are racing and the sound can be annoying but it is very good quality for a pocket console. The sound effects are classic cartoon noises, which are all very well, but bit that annoys me is the sounds of the drivers. Whether its Mario saying “Ere we go!” or Donkey Kong making some…inspired sounds it is just irritating, but you will be ok with it if you here them screaming after you hit them with a decent powerup.
The most important implement of Super Circuit is the game play and boy how very good it is. It is so very smooth how you can just plough your way around a circuit, and something quite realistic, is the way you slide like a rally car when going around the rougher courses. The gameplay is excellent, but there will be other racers and obstacles that stand between you and a shiny new trophy so all eyes must be on the track. As I mentioned there are obstacles, but feat not, there is a way of hopping the smaller objects by using the R button to do a small jump. This element can also be used when going around a bend to do a power slide that will help you maintain speed and staying on the track!
Overall
this is a stunning buy and you must get it with only Golden Sun bettering it in my opinion. A Masterpiece!
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