Ragol.co.uk Mario Kart DS Racing Competition!

[Lee-yoshi]

Last week we revealed some of the classic courses that form part of Mario Kart DS’ massive track roster. Today we’re going to give you a sneak peek at a few of the brand new tracks made especially for the DS version, arriving on November 25.

While the classic courses were named under the banner ‘Retro Grand Prix’, the new tracks form the aptly-titled ‘Nitro Grand Prix’ and are further split into four Cups: Mushroom, Flower, Star and Special.

Mush’room to manoeuvre

We began our tour of the tracks with the Mushroom Cup’s second course, Yoshi Falls. Right away, you know you’re in for something special. Rendered in impressive 3D, this Hawaiian-style course is built at the bottom of a vast waterfall-filled valley where a giant Yoshi egg rests.

Wooden huts and palm trees line the track on one side, but the other side is a sheer drop into a watery abyss. The circuit has two levels: the upper one is flat and is full of dash panels that give you a kick of speed, while the lower level is set at a 45-degree angle and requires a steady hand to drive against the strong flow of gushing water.

Yoshi Falls isn’t the only course that offers multiple paths. With eight players taking part in each race, you’ll need plenty of room to manoeuvre. That’s why Mario Kart DS has some of the best-designed tracks you’ll ever play, with hidden shortcuts and branching paths a-plenty.

Rounding off the Mushroom Cup is a course with a name you might recognise: Luigi’s Mansion. If you’ve played the Nintendo GameCube title of the same name, you’ll be familiar with Luigi’s spooky old haunted house. But in Mario Kart DS, you’ll notice one massive difference - the racetrack running right through it!

After Yoshi Falls’ wide, open-plan course, Luigi’s Mansion’s tight corridors will have you bouncing from pillar to post on your first few tries. Inside the mansion, you’ll have to contend with swinging chandeliers and rickety staircases, while outside in the gloomy grounds, giant gravestones chill your bones while wizened old trees come to life and walk across the track.

Race in the sunshine

After the spooky darkness of Luigi’s Mansion, we took a break in the sunshine of Delfino Square, part of the game’s Flower Cup. Once Mario’s favourite holiday destination, Isle Delfino now plays host to this 'Monaco'-style road-based race.

The track begins in the town square before winding through tight shopping streets, across the harbour littered with kart-stopping crates, before ending at the open drawbridge where you need to make a massive boost-assisted leap and skid to the finish line.

Next up in the Flower Cup comes a course as crazy as the purple-clad weirdo Waluigi himself. Waluigi Pinball is constructed inside a giant pinball table complete with high-speed tunnels, treacherous ramps, twisting turns, bouncing bumpers and tumbling steel balls.

Like a mad rollercoaster ride, the track is tremendous fun and shows off the graphical power of Nintendo DS to its fullest. Chock-full of neon-bright colours, gleaming metal and Waluigi’s wild face looming over the playfield, Waluigi Pinball will become one of your favourites - trust us!

Even more modes

As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end, so that’s all we can reveal about Mario Kart DS’ new tracks for now. The four tracks above represent merely a small portion of the new courses designed for the game; which, when you add in the classic tracks, makes for the biggest collection of Mario Kart circuits ever created.

And that’s not all. What we haven’t talked about yet are the other single-player modes. As well as the standard Grand Prix, Mario Kart DS features four other game variants: Time Trials (go for the best lap times), Vs (race against computer opponents), Battle (burst rivals’ balloons or steal Shines) and Mission Run (mini challenges with pre-set courses and characters).

Plus - don’t forget that you can also play these tracks with your friends by local wireless connection or race online against the world via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection - making Mario Kart DS the best and the biggest Mario Kart you’ve ever seen!

Yoshi's Falls and Waluigi Pinball sound... ARGH i wanna play this game darnit! XD