With how many low effort, dime-a-dozen licensed Mario Kart clones out there, South Park Rally deserves recognition for trying something new. Tracks in South Park aren’t circuits, but rather tiny open maps with multiple routes. Dotted across the map are checkpoints, which are in different places in each mode (and can be randomised as an option), meaning you may have to move back on yourself, and can take a different route from your opponents’.

It’s a shame, then, that the minimap is so useless. In this game, the ability to quickly glance at the map, identify where you are and where you need to go, is vital. Unfortunately, everyone on a map is an arrow, with yours being slightly bigger, it’s not enough of a visual difference to be useful when you’re approaching a junction and need to quickly decide which way to go.

South Park Rally has a lot of fun with its concept, as there are a ton of different game modes. There’s not a huge amount of variety in them – some involving collecting objects, some where you collect an object and then have to make it through all checkpoints, others have you all fighting for one object – but it’s a really neat idea that makes the game work well as a party game, especially as you all have the same map issues (unlike the CPUs, who know exactly where to go).

Fun

Initially, the excercise doesn’t seem to have worked all that well – you’ll probably dismiss Sotuh Park Rally as an annoying, unnecessarily complex version of Mario Kart after your first few plays – but once you’ve become familiar with the maps, weapons and styles of play and then gathered some friends in the same room to share the experience with, it becomes blatently obvious that Tantalus’ dabbling with the format has paid handsome dividends.

Mark Green, N64 Magazine #38. Reivew Score: 88%

Remake or remaster?

A mode like this in the next Mario Kart would be amazing.

Official ways to get the game.

There’s no official way to get South Park Rally.