"A Mario Kart Ass Kicker."
This game is head and shoulders above Mario Kart 64. I could spend this whole review griping about the gameplay deficiencies of MK64, instead of praising the genius of DKR. But that would be wrong. If you have written off DKR as a rip-off of Mario Kart 64, you are right. It is a rip off, but in the same way the Porsche is a rip off of a Dodge Dart. They are both cars, but one is a dung heap. (No, not the Porsche...)
Both games involve racing. Mario Kart is limited to Karts. DKR offers up: Karts, Planes and Hovercrafts (water vehicles, not UFO’s.) Both games have powerups. DKR’s powerups can be "powered" up to three times their strength and abilities. Projectiles, Speed Boosts, Oil Slicks and Magnets are some of the things that can be found hidden in different colored balloons along the various tracks.
Unlike Mario Kart, which only features racing, DKR throws in an adventure mode. This mode has you racing to earn balloons, which, in turn allow you to access new worlds. Some worlds can only be entered when you have earned 10 balloons etc. (This is a rip off of Super Mario 64’s star collecting.) Once you’ve earned first place in all of the races in a given world, you must race the Boss of that level. Beat him and you’ll have to race all those worlds again, but this time not only will you have to come in first place, you’ll have to collect 8 silver coins during each race. Once this is completed, you must race the Boss again, who is really tough the second time. Beat him again, and you will receive 1/4 of the Wizpig amulet. Collect all the pieces of the amulet and you’ll open a Future World! Once you beat a level in the adventure mode it becomes open in the Tracks mode. This is where you can race any track you like, and usually select your vehicle of choice.
As you can tell this game has a lot of things going on. Each level, world and vehicle offers up it’s own set of challenges. But it’s a blast every step of the way. However, be warned that although this games looks like a kiddy game, it is one challenging S.O.B. Some levels will drive you nuts, due to their difficulty. Persevere and you will eventually win. By the skin of your teeth though.
Racing one player against the CPU is a treat due to the fact that the other racers in DKR don’t cheat. If they are miles behind you, they are really miles behind you. Not like in MK64 where all of a sudden they are on your ass, and taking over first place! Thanks to Rare for overseeing that little detail! Maybe Miyamoto learned a little something...
Graphically, this game is amazing. You have to see it to believe it. Fast frame rate and brilliant colors make this game everything you could want.
In conclusion, if you have written this game off as a Mario Kart wanna-be you are depriving yourself of a great video game experience. It doesn’t get any better than this. This is one game that really judges intelligence. If someone prefers Mario Kart 64 to this game, then you can safely make the assumption that they are mental and you should stop being their friend immediately. No kidding. This is the high water mark for cutesy racing games, in terms of innovation, graphics, control, gameplay and depth. Ladies and Gentlemen we have a WINNAH!
Final Analysis: