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Still, Nintendo's expertise at sucking players into the game world is strongly evident, and Mario Kart 64 offers enough challenges to keep players (especially casual gamers) entertained. Placing a familiar Nintendo personality behind the wheel of a sputtering kart powered by a 50, 100, or 150-cc engine, the game lets players race computerized opponents or up to four other players on a variety of well-designed tracks. Because karts lack the power and speed of race cars, drivers must focus on collecting power-ups and nonlethal weapons rather than negotiating hairpin turns on two wheels. Grabbing and using on-track items is the heart of the game's fun: a strategically-placed banana peel sends the unlucky victim into a spin, nailing an opponent with a turtle shell launches their vehicle skyward, and a rocket provides a quick boost to near-breakneck speeds, if only for a moment.
The multiplayer mode provides enormously chaotic fun for up to four players--flip it on at a party and watch the guests congregate around the screen. --Eric Twelker
Pros:
Like the SNES version, this game includes 3 modes of play: GP (Grand Prix), Battle, and Time Trial. In GP you choose one of 8 characters: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, Wario, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, and Bowser in a large variety of courses in the Mushroom Cup, Flower Cup Star Cup, or Special Cup (which you unlike by getting gold trophies in each of the 3 basic courses) in 50cc, 100cc, or 150cc mode. 50cc is the easiest, but in 100cc and 150cc the computer gets much faster and more challenging. There are several items you can collect by driving through the question mark boxes which help you during each race. Lightning bolts (the rarest item to get) makes all of the other opponents small, mushrooms give you a speed burst, banana peels make one of your opponents crash if they slip on it, red shells are used to shoot directly at an opponent to get them off course, and green shells keep bouncing off the walls until it hits one of the racers. Unlike the SNES Mairo Kart game, there are several objects you need to avoid to stay on course. In different races there are trucks and cars that will make you crash if you hit them, snowmen that will blow up if you hit them, and many other obstacles in different courses.
In Battle mode you and up to 3 others choose one of the 8 characters. You drive around a course trying to pop each other's 3 balloons. You can pop their balloons by shooting red or green shells at them or throwing banana peels at them to make them slip. You can also use the other items to avoid being hit by them. Once all of your balloons are popped you become a bomb which you can drive around the course trying to run in to the other players. This mode is a lot of fun, especially if you get tired of continually playing Grand Prix mode.
In Time Trial mode you race in any of 15+ courses and try to set records for each lap and/or race.
The controls for Mario Kart 64 are very simple and easy to master, and the music and sound effects are great as well.
If you want a great racing game for your N64, I highly recommend that you check out Mario Kart 64.
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