Mario Kart war journal: now online

Sunday, December 11, 2005 » gaming thought

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I was originally going to write about Rainbow Road here, since router issues were preventing me from playing anything but the single player mode, but since acquiring a new (actually, old) router last week, my online experience has been exceptional. While I've seen some complaints about how bare-bones Mario Kart online is (no lap/item options, no chat, etc.), the way Nintendo implemented the online play is amazing. Especially after the nonexistent online support for the Gamecube, the Wi-fi Connection really came out of left field. It's as simple as everyone says to get your DS to connect with your network, and then (provided you have a compliant router) a 4-player race is literally just seconds away. It's even better now that I can play with friends online instead of being matched up with random Internetters. (Although, it's exciting to be paired with Japanese racers, now that the game is out there.) When I think about how much I enjoy the experience as it is now, I wonder if all those extra options would even add that much.

There's only one thing sorely lacking: I'd like to play an online battle mode. Not with the current arena lineup, though. What the game really needs is battle course #4 from the original Super Mario Kart. It upsets me that they brought back courses from MK64 and MKDD, but neglected the greatest battle arena of all time. Hey Nintendo: I will pay $35 for another cart if it includes battle course #4. Imagine: Four people all skidding around in circles, trying to blast each other with red shells just as they come around the corner. Just think about that for a while.

Anyway, here are my friends who have gotten online with the game. If you encounter them, you are to give them the right of way:

Hi, jerks!
Kline
Leigh
momo
wilykat

And here's probably the last installment of OpponentWatch, now with commas:

I respectfully salute these individuals
Arnold, BLIZZERD, BOBO, Bolotov, Bon★Jovi, byron, cat, cfr1, DarkMario, Dashiel, Djohn, EJ'S Jeeps, Eval Paul, Fay, GEO, Groudon, Han, Headache, hector, Ike, joker, Justice, ☆カブト☆, kent, killer, Leetsauce, Leif, LuNcHbOxXx, まりる, M3ssY MarV, m9(^^), Machine, MARIO DS, meleebros., mottap☼, Mr Grymm, Nick, Nico, NOODLE✳, sam, Saybrook, slick, Spectrum, Ted, TrvrGdcld, Tsatho, vampireboy, ウィンセソト。, Wacko, Weasley, whoa

Disconnecting won't change the fact that you chose Rainbow Road and fell off
BROOKLYNny, the cheat, Drikoth, Frosty #8, fyrefox911, hazerd, [IGN]DDC, INCUBUS, L. Mithos, Monkey, SMELLY, SNK HK, Solidsnake, Tenz Arabi, てつちやん, TheWhat, Tootall, vipr259, yoyo2

These people probably couldn't win a race if they didn't snake all over the course
c-munk, GeneralM1, Paul, RockLight, S.T.A.R.S., Zeven