Highlights

Campus News

Wildcat Weekly Minute for Nov. 17, 2011

A look at what's happening on campus this week.

Faith

Louisiana College ‘Voices’ along with LBC Call for an ‘Awakening’

Debut of project at Evangelism Conference

Sports

LC hoops teams wrap up homestand with pair of wins

Off to Ozarks, UT-Dallas next

Organizations

LC media student give to Toys for Tots

More than 100 toys will help local charity

Campus Life

February is Heart Health Awareness Month

Stay healthy and 'God Red'

Culture

All the Shakespeare you could laugh at… and more!

tlc's adaptation of 'Shakespeare Abridged' pulls out all the stops

Special Coverage

LC brings another successful ‘Follow the Star’

'Christmas on the Hill' and 'Gala' add to festive weekend

Mario Kart DS speeds into the Nintendo DS’s list of must-have games

by Quinn Lavespere

Mario Kart DS continues the tradition of excellent racing games for Nintendo.

The year 2005 saw the return of one of gaming’s best racing franchises, as Mario Kart DS hit stores on Nov. 14 of that year.

The Mario Kart series began during the golden age of gaming with the release of the original Super Mario Kart for the Super NES in 1992. Proclaimed as an instant classic, Super Mario Kart would be given a sequel four years later when the critically acclaimed Mario Kart 64 was released for the N64 in Feb. of 1997. Two more sequels would follow, with Mario Kart Super Circuit released in 2001 for the Game Boy Advance and Mario Kart: Double Dash!! released in 2003 for the Nintendo GameCube.

Whether an avid fan of racing games or not, anyone can find Mario Kart DS enjoyable and worthwhile.

There are five main modes for Mario Kart DS’s single player mode: Grand Prix mode, Mission mode, Vs. mode, Battle mode, and Time Trial mode. In Grand Prix mode, one of eight characters is chosen to partake in special racing cups (such as the Leaf Cup) in order to shoot for gold trophies in each of these cups. These cups are divided into two main Grand Prix sections, one being the Nitro Grand Prix (new courses), and the other being the Retro Grand Prix, which is made up of courses from the previous Mario Kart entries that longtime fans will recognize and be pleased with.

Grand Prix mode is made up of three main difficulties -- 50cc, 100cc, and 150cc -- ranging from easy to hard. On 50cc, winning races isn't difficult, but on 150cc, it becomes much harder to win. Every available item and trick available must be used to emerge victorious. Grand Prix mode is also where a majority of Mario Kart DS’s secrets can be unlocked with winnings at each difficulty level. Without giving any important information away, there just may be more characters and racing karts available after secrets are unlocked.

Mission mode is the best since it is mostly action. There are seven main levels overall containing eight regular missions and a boss level. These missions range from easy to hard, with varying objectives, such as taking out a number of enemies or winning a race against a fellow racer. The main objective to aim for is a star ranking on these missions, with three stars being the highest ranking. A one-star average on each of the regular six missions must be obtained in order to unlock Mission 7.

Vs. mode is similar to Grand Prix mode, except that it does not have prizes. This mode simply tests the gamer's skills against opponents on different courses for fun. Several options are available to choose from, such as the CPU difficulty and team mode or single player. Battle mode is somewhat disappointing; it has only two main modes -- Balloon Battle and Shine Runners -- and six courses to play these two modes in. The objective of Balloon Battle mode is to pop your opponent’s balloons and be the last one standing, while the objective of Shine Runners is to earn the most shines and be the last one standing.

Finally, there is Time Trial mode. In Time Trial mode, the gamer simply tries to get the fastest time on each of Mario Kart DS’s 32 courses. There is also the option to race against the “ghost”, that is, a saved copy of your previous performance. If the gamer's course times are good enough, there is the opportunity to play at the course times of the “Staff Ghosts”, which are course times set by the staff members of Nintendo.

In addition to single player mode, Mario Kart DS contains a multiplayer mode and Wi-Fi Connection mode that hosts a variety of fun activities. In 2005, Wi-Fi was relatively new in gaming, and Mario Kart DS is one of the first games to put this to use. Mario Kart also is strong in the other gaming essentials; the graphics are pleasing to the eye, and the music and sound is clear and enjoyable.

Along with games such as Kirby Super Star Ultra and Super Mario 64 DS, Mario Kart DS is one of the better games for the DS.

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