The bottom screen acts as a map, but also alerts you to hazards and item weapons on the map. You blow into the DS's microphone like you are blowing up a balloon, and voila! New balloons will inflate and appear, (yes you can push a button if you don't want to look too silly, but it really does get you into the game.) The Time Trial ghost images you made and saves can be sent to friends and challengers through the console's wireless capabilities, so others can try to beat your best time and vice versa. In Mario Kart DS, you initially start with 1 balloon, and have several in reserve that you blow up, literally. Simply that this iteration seems to not only have taken the best parts of the previous Mario Kart games, but it also leverages the innovations brought about by the Nintendo DS console itself.įor instance, remember the Battle mode I described earlier? In the previous Mario Kart games, your racer started with 3 balloons. What makes Mario Kart DS worth my time and money? If you haven't, you might be saying that these modes are found in other racers. So, you say, you have heard most of this before from the previous Mario Kart games. The increasing levels of difficulty will definitely bring out the advanced go-kart racer in you. In addition, a new Mission mode tests your go-karting expertise with skill-based tasks that unlock new mission leading to a boss battle. After every lap, you will have a ghost image of your fastest lap time for you to race against and beat to gain an even faster time. Time Trials pits you against yourself, as you race to achieve the fastest lap time on a track. Battle places you and your computerized opponents in an arena with balloons over your go-karts and items in the arena to burst your opponent's balloons.

In Grand Prix, you must race in 4 different locales and rack up points to be the overall leader. There are several options to choose from in 3 overall game types: Single player, Multiplayer and Nintendo WFC.įrom Single player, you can choose from old favorites such as Grand Prix, Battle and Time Trials.

Mario kart ds balloon battle