Mario Kart Arcade.

[Reality]

Arcade GP features many of your favorite characters from the Mario world, including the likes of Mario, Peach, Koopa and Wario, and adds a few Namco originals like Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man and the Pac-Man red ghost. These characters fit in perfectly with the Mario cast. Pac-Man has been given a whiney little voice which he uses to shout out as you race.

In the JAMMA demo version of the game, we were able to select from two modes: Grand Prix and Time Attack. Grand Prix is split into six cups: Mario Cup, Donkey Kong Cup, Wario Cup, Pac-Man Cup and a secret cup that requires unlocking. Each cup features four races, making for a total of 24 courses.

Once you've gotten out to the race track, you'll find a different experience from the GameCube Mario Kart, as the partner-based play of that title is nowhere to be found. Still, looking at the basics, Arcade GP has classic Mario Kart gameplay, along with what feels like a shot of speed over previous titles. Also, in Arcade GP, when you bump into an opponent, your character will play dirty by punching away. Everyone was much nicer in the original SNES title.

The big change, of course, comes from having a steering wheel setup. We can report that Mario Kart controls so well through a steering wheel that going back to a controller may be hard once you've experienced it this way. Namco has even replicated the series' trademark jumping play mechanics, allowing you to make your kart take short leaps by tapping the brake while accelerating.

Items are as big in this title as they've always been. Once you've picked up an item, you finalize your selection by tapping a button square center on steering wheel. This button lights up blue when you have an item in stock and is also used to shoot the item. Your character automatically locks on to the nearest opponent, meaning you won't be relying on red turtle shells as much this time (in fact, we were unable to even pick up a red turtle shell as we played -- maybe they're gone).

Tracks are well designed, with plenty of twists, turns and even a few obstacles. Overall, the tracks seem more straightforward than they were in the GameCube Mario Kart, but that might be a plus in a competitive arcade environment.

Namco certainly got the Mario Kart feel right, and it didn't have too much trouble with the look, either. The tracks in Mario Kart Arcade GP are bright and colorful, fitting in perfectly with the visual look Nintendo tends to go for with the series. Overall, on strictly technical terms, Mario Kart Arcade GP looks better than the Game Cube version of Mario Kart, with better textures for the tracks.

Mario Kart Arcade GP, like pretty much every arcade game these days, uses a card system to record stats. You insert a card prior to the start of play, although there's no penalty for not having one. If you don't have one, the game will issue one at the end of play. This was free in the JAMMA version.

The game runs on the GameCube-based Tri-Force arcade board, so a home version should be a snap. It is, however, far more likely that Nintendo would opt to release this title for its next-generation console, codenamed Revolution. Mario Kart Arcade GP is designed from the ground up to be multiplayer-centric -- much like Nintendo's new machine, according to the company. Nintendo has not yet announced if any home versions of GP are in development, but such a move would make sense, especially if positioned as a launch title for Revolution.

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We need this game. Double Dash was crap.

[gearhound]

hell yeah.

that looks awesome, and it will be ported to the gamecube for certain one would think. i also like double dash.

[MarionetteKazuk]

Yeah, double dash was somewhat good, but not worth getting excited over. This new arcade one looks good though. I hope the levels are a lot different. They should add a bit of realism to it and have it so when your kart hits a guard rail then it goes slower. That would force people to race a bit better.

[justin_credible]

I really hope it gets ported to GC, but I'm thinking it's way more likely to go to Revolution.

[camac]

Originally Posted by MarionetteKazuk

They should add a bit of realism to it and have it so when your kart hits a guard rail then it goes slower. That would force people to race a bit better.

That isn't much of a problem, someone who rides the rails like that isn't going to be as fast as someone who power slides anyway.

[Seraph]

and adds a few Namco originals like Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man and the Pac-Man red ghost. These characters fit in perfectly with the Mario cast.

That makes me want to throw up. I really dont mind it when mario makes cameo apperances in other games. Heck he has been doing that since the NES days. But dont put crappy namco characters into great nintendo exclusives. "characters fit perfectly" my butt. Tell me how a giant yellow circle, or a giant yellow circle with a bow fit perfectly into the mario cast.

[otho]

i just can't imagine how pacman could possibly apear next to so-much-realistic italian plumber who needs to jump on brown guanos with eyes and feet to get points or green extrectioning eggs and oftenly acting like a horse dinosaur. damn, that would be so weird.

[Seraph]

I sense the sarcasam ^^;;

I think Pac-man would fit into say, the kirby world really well. I just dont like the idea of a giant yellow ball character sitting in a mario kart. It bothers me that namco is trying to intergrate itself into nintendo games. Like how starfox assult came with retro namco games. Its probably just me though.

[Reality]

Star Fox Assault was crap. You shouldn't be playing that game anyway!

[Seraph]

Originally Posted by Reality

Star Fox Assault was crap. You shouldn't be playing that game anyway!

I didn't as soon as I read all the stuff about foot missions. Kinda sad, starfox is a great series and had potential on the Cube.

I just read about it online.