First Impressions: Mario Kart DS

Staff 34 Comments 2895 views Infendo

I went, I saw, I Wifi-ed. Got my copy from the Nintendo World Store on Monday. I was pleasantly surprised when I found my friend and Infendo reader Silent K already there, making new pals via Mario Kart. The 3 of them were already enjoying the free Wifi provided by the store. Soon as I got one of the numerous stocked copies of the game, I sat next to them and the multiplayer was ON.

What hits you like a ton of bricks when you first start it up is how much of a full fledged DS game this is. So many options are at your disposal. Right from the main menu you choose between single, multi, and Wifi races; it makes you feel like a kid in a candy store. From there you can customize the emblem that appears on your kart at all times and above your head in local and Wifi multiplayer. You can also access the friend codes section where you register other people’s 12 digit codes and find your own to give to them. The great thing about Friend Codes is they automatically get traded between players after wireless matches.

Like most multiplayer DS games, not a frame was spared. It plays fast and furiously. The new items like glooper and Bullet Bill aren’t intrusive enough to get annoying, but are effective. Alot of aspects such as the hop powerslide felt weird to this Double Dash weaned karter, but it also felt right once i got used to it. You’ve probably heard this enough by now, but let me tell you, this is THE Mario Kart experience.

Tuesday I’ll return with my man K to burn some more global rubber. It should be available at all stores by then, so fear not the whole “ship date” trip, you’ll find a copy easy. If you live in New York and wanna have a good time with fellow racers in person, stop by the Nintendo World Store. A cool thing of note is that an employee there confirmed that their Wifi is always active, even after they close. For everyone else, my nickname in the game is Rollin and my friend code is 330771 905074. I’ll be the dude with the Infendo emblem, powersliding like a mug.

[Pictures coming tomorrow]

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34 Comments

  1. I pre-ordered my game from Target on October 14, and my expected SHIPPING date is November 25… I hope that’s wrong.

  2. MKDS is making me want a DS now…

  3. I’m sold. I can’t wait to get MKDS, but I have to wait until Christmas for my DS. MarioKart will be at the top of my list though.

  4. Got it at Bestbuy on my lunch break today! Played a quick round and had to go back to work 🙁 Can’t wait to go online when I get home tonight but in the meantime I’ll just sit in my cubicle and read the manual I guess.

  5. I got it yesterday and played it several hours last night and several more hours at work today until the battery needed recharging.

    It’s such a great, great game.

  6. good stuff man i will be racing you soon

    Thunder

  7. I pre-ordered the DS Mario Kart Bundle. The plan is to wait till X-Mas day to play it. Do you guys think it is possibile or a mission imposible to wait that long?

    BTW I envy you guys that live in NYC (US for that matter), looks like we are not going to get the WiFi deal here in Puerto Rico.

  8. HEY BLAKE!

    Hurry up with the pictures already will ya!!

    We from the UK still won’t get our hands on it till next Friday (25th Nov – don’t laugh).

    :o)

  9. I got mine!

    343656
    854817

    Starman power!

  10. 420966
    217795

    I am the best out there!!!!!

  11. isn’t there an emblem editor program/template out there to help with making your icon? i thought i saw it blogged somewhere. i need to look cool while i’m rocking the competition!

  12. Yea, it was blogged here too. Here’s the URL: http://www.zsivanys.nl/mkdecal/ It loses quite a bit in traslation with alot of pics cause the emblem maker in the game only supports about 12 colors. Sometimes ur better off copying it manually.

    Jorge: mission impossible, bro. This is the DS game everyone has been waiting for.

    “HEY BLAKE!

    Hurry up with the pictures already will ya!!”
    It’s actually me, and i’m working on it. You’ll get em soon.

  13. By the way, post ur nicknames along with ur friend codes, not just the code.

  14. glimajr 214807 850138

  15. That was the first time that Rollin and I had a chance to DS-it-up since the spectacular Miyamoto event.

    I was very surprised that the store was not more crowded tonight.

    I can hear the ‘looking for other players’ sound when nothing else is filling my ears, even if the DS is off…
    …It’s like I’m connected to the online DS world, even though I’m not jacked in…

  16. You’re ALWAYS jacked in after ur first time. It’s always a hotspot away. Now can we set up a NYC meetup at NWS? I wanna meet some of you guys, kick some ass and such. Who’s up for it?

  17. 240577 599310

    NukeIce is the nick thanks to the limitation on length.

  18. HEX
    201922
    923206

  19. Oh yeah, nicknames.

    4th reich

    420966
    217795

  20. tiktok

    442441
    114911

    Had to wait until 3am last night to play online but definitely worth it.

    Where is everyone from? I’m in Los Angeles, CA.

  21. Hehe, we gotta do the “Where Do You Live?” post again.

  22. i added you, infendo, as a friend. my code is 446736 117168

    people, add me and send me your codes insanedoodle58@gmail.com

  23. i live in the Canary Islands, Spain and i have to wait one more week 🙁 Oh well meanwhile ill practice playing Super Mario Kart non-stop hehe

  24. Don’t crush my Waluigi too bad, please–the humiliation is killing him 😉

    330771
    995028

  25. Fuzz

    000059
    537255

  26. Anyone else get disconected with error code 94030? It usually happens during my 3rd race

  27. Yo, Rollin–bad Internet connection or poor sport? 😉 I laid down the whupass for one race and you disappeared!

  28. Same Error 94030 whenever I reach the begining of the 3rd race in Mario Kart — I use D-Link 624+

    Setting transfer rate to 2Mbps does not help…

  29. Same here, error 94030, like nds roms, and it freezes at the 4th race, which is around 10 minutes after the connection. I too use Dlink 624+, firmware updated and Mbps lowered to 2 or 1.

  30. I have a 3Com router and live in the UK… I can’t change my tx rate… Anyone know how to do this???

  31. i have error 94030 as well. i also have a 3com router, so if ^anonymous^ wants to contact me on myspace, feel free to do so

  32. Hi guys!

    Got my Mario Kart DS bundle, could not wait till X-Mas.

    Anyway I fired up my DS tonight near a wireless router at a mall near my workplace and
    whatya know I saw a blue lock. I was WiFi and running in no time.

    Izzy : 030 125
    418 656

    Guaynabo, PR

  33. Hey guys,

    Doe anyone know what to actually do agains that error 94030!!!

  34. Frisby

    253465
    442704

    I added all posted on this thread

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