Together with the insanely fast F-Zero GX, the new Mario Kart was the most anticipated game at this year's Nintendo preview day. And though the event was located on the sunny Dutch beach, the Cube-Europe team didn't let the sun, sea and bikinis distract them from what was really important: a four player Mario Kart LAN game!

The cartoon style fun racer genre was practically invented with Super Mario Kart. One generation later, the Nintendo 64 version introduced four player racing and made the battle mode nearly perfect. Now it's time for Double Dash!! to push the genre further. In what direction the genre was going to evolve has long been kept secret. Since the Mario Kart formula has often been copied, it wasn't until this year's E3 a first version was shown to prevent the competition from copying Mario Kart before it even was released. Two things attracted attention (besides everyone's favourite mushroom Toad not being available as a playable character). First, there are now two characters per kart (if those vehicles still qualify as karts, that is) and secondly the multiplayer mode. Double Dash!! supports LAN up to eight players, but there is some disappointment about the absence of the long rumoured on-line option.

Some feared two characters per kart would ruin the familiar Mario Kart experience. While playing, it doesn't really make much difference. One player controls one kart, and not, as some believed, one character, thus requiring two players to control one vehicle. The second character merely adds a tactical element. You can switch drivers at any time during the race by pressing the Z-button. This way you can select Luigi to accelerate and then change to Donkey Kong to increase top speed. At least, we think so because the effect didn't seem very strong. The second driver also comes in use when picking up weapons. The rear character, despite just being a passenger, can only carry one weapon at a time. When switching drivers, the one holding the item keeps it, so the other can also pick up a weapon. This way you can have two weapons at your disposal. When the co-pilot has used his (or her) item, the drivers automatically switch places again so you can quickly fire again. Big differences in use of weapons between characters have not yet been noted.

Traditionally, eight karts enter Mario Kart championship races. Due to the second drivers, Double Dash!! was in need of eight extra characters. The sixteen characters consist of eight 'pairs', i.e. two more or less equal drivers. For instance, Mario and Luigi are a pair, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, etcetera. The result of this is that Toad has been left out and some less-popular (or downright stupid) characters as Baby Mario and Waluigi have been included (and even worse: Baby Luigi has probably played the tiniest role in videogame history, but gets a place in the Double Dash!! line-up? Honestly, who wants to use Baby Luigi!? But I digress…). However, Double Dash also marks the glorious return of Koopa Troopa, so who's complaining. Besides, Kamek (a.k.a. Magikoopa) was originally intended as a playable character in Mario Kart 64, but was replaced by Wario before release, so there's a still a slim chance we might see some changes.

And now for some more important matters, handling for example. There seem to be two camps about this issue. On the one hand there are those who would have liked to see the Mario Kart 64 power slide technique again. On the other hand, there are people who hope for the return of the tight handling of the SNES original. For now, Double Dash!! seems to be more like the 16 bit version. Steering feels good and it's easier to drive in a straight line than it was in the N64 game. Sliding is just little different from previous Mario Kart games: though pressing the R- or L-button doesn't make your kart jump, it does turn into a slide. The control stick-wrecking power slide technique is not included, which is not a bad thing. True, the powering up in turns added some depth, but it could also be used on straight roads, turning a race into a competition of who can gain most turbos in a lap. Besides that, the tracks feature far greater differences in height and have bumpier road surfaces (Donkey Kong's circuit for example) than the last Mario Kart, making N64-style power sliding virtually impossible. There has not been made a final decision about the issue yet, so the handling in the final version could be different and some kind of power sliding might still be added. Anyway, the handling of the current version was satisfying, so I doubt the final version will disappoint.

Graphically, the game is a huge improvement to Mario Kart 64. Characters are now fully 3D and the tracks are less flat. Compared to the current standard, the visuals don't offer anything out of the ordinary. It's not a major complaint, as the game runs smoothly and there's hardly any pop-up. I'll take frame rate over graphics any day, especially bearing the four player split screen in mind.

The frame rate is good, but I can't say the same about the sense of speed. Though the races were at 100cc, the karts seemed slow. This is of course partially to blame on our lack of Double Dash!! experience. Knowing the circuits by heart and making better use of the boost on track should benefit our average speed, but I couldn't shake the feeling the game was just a bit slow . When driving up a hill with the Donkey Kong kart I thought the kart was going to stop halfway and roll back down. However, Nintendo has promised that the final version will run faster. In fact, even 50cc should be faster than the 100cc we played. Lets hope they keep their promise.

Naturally, speed is important, but let's not forget Mario Kart is a fun racer. Most of the usual weapons are present, though there are some differences. It's not possible to keep a shell or banana behind your kart anymore, which makes it more difficult to stay in the lead. In addition to this, the character on the rear now holds triple shells (they used to circle around your kart), so you can't rely on them for protection anymore. Also, when you get struck by a lightning bolt, you'll lose your weapon. These changes make the battle more equal but I'm not yet sure if it's an improvement. Of course, the use of weapons is part of the very nature of this game, but it should not eliminate competition in driving skill and cleverness in use of weapons completely. The introduction of some special weapons, such as a winged bowsershell and a series of fireballs, may upset the balance between racing and fighting, making it a game of luck. The tracks seem to be more difficult however, as they're full of obstacles like falling rocks, unsteady bridges, traffic and gaps, giving the skilled driver an opportunity to distinguish himself. In my opinion, Mario Kart 64 depended to heavily on catch up and lighting bolts. It's too early to determine what Double Dash!! is like, and whether you will like it or not is of course a matter of taste. Hopefully Nintendo can please everyone by including an option screen like in Super Smash Bros. Melee, which could allow to adjust the frequency of weapons, as well as the possibility to disable certain items.

Whatever may become of the final version, I'm pretty sure it will be an enjoyable multiplayer experience. Four player versus was good and battle mode will probably be even better. Perhaps even the championship mode will support four players. The LAN option is a fine addition. It's not yet known what modes support LAN, but we do know it has one drawback. For LAN play, you'll need at least two Cubes, both with broadband adapter, a cable to connect them, two copies of Mario Kart and two televisions. Needless to say, not every gamer will be able to enjoy this feature. LAN play is nice, but online play would have been better. Playing over the internet is not yet included which is regrettable, especially because this would have been the ideal opportunity to launch a Nintendo network.

After each race, the text “Don't forget to play the final version when it's released!” appeared on the screen. I certainly won't. In spite of some missed opportunities, Mario Kart: Double Dash!! looks like it's going to be a lot of fun and it'll probably be a worthy sequel in the Mario Kart series. It still has some faults, but if they will be corrected as promised, we'll all be throwing red shells and bananas again this autumn.