silverorange stuff

The great part of the original game was the balanced gameplay. It was never a complicated game, just racing around in little cars throwing things at each other, but it was the even balance of characters, obstacles, and weapons that made the original so compelling. If anything, they've improved on this in Double Dash. For instance, it's fantastic how players at the back get better weapons to help them rein in the leader and if you're way behind. And, if you're way behind, you only get speed boosts to try to catch up but not allowing you to seriously affect the outcome of the real contenders ahead of you. Very slick.

The courses are balanced too. Different courses are tailored to different racing styles, so you might suck on one course (I hate Luigi's Circuit) but you might be better at another (bring on DK Mountain!). Shortcuts on the levels too nicely balance the risk of calamity, such as falling in the lava or water, with shaving seconds off your time or getting better bonuses.

Like the original, the multiplayer action is great. We frequently play with four people and have occassionaly played with eight (two to a cart). You'll actually notice that some details and obstacles are removed from courses between one, two, and four players to keep the processing under control. It works well.

One complaint is that the "Congratulations" piece after completing the whole game was pathetic. I mean, the lengths you have to go through to complete the thing are ridiculous: you have to beat every level in each of three skill settings and then in mirror mode to finish. And then all you get is a lame image of the characters saying you finished. Um, gee, thanks.

We've also noticed some glitches. Characters driving through obstacles, blue shells disapearing, etc., but really nothing more than you'd expect from a game.

All in all, a great game and a worthy successor to a Nintendo classic.