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Pros and cons of Mario Kart DS online play
IGN has made a list of the pros and cons of Mario Kart DS online play. Some good points: simple matchups, easy Friends List in local Wi-Fi, 20 tracks online, and up to 4 players in any part of the world. Some bad points: lack of online options, sorry matchmaking, no online battle mode, and only 4 players online. Certain things were revealed in earlier gameplay demonstrations (such as the lack of the "Three Banana" power-up and the ability to trail a shell or peel behind you for protection), but it's nice to see a quick round-up to answer our Kart-ing questions before next week's release. [Thanks, Abhinav]
Custom soundtracks coming to a PSP game in Europe
Custom soundtracks were apparently something that set apart a few multiplatform games with their versions for the Xbox. Me? I didn't mind DJ Stryker that much in Burnout 3, but different strokes for different folks, I guess. What may come as a surprise, however, is that an upcoming PSP game will support those customized playlists. The one caveat is that the game's only coming out in Europe... for now. TOCA Race Driver 2 will utilize the Memory Stick to play your fly tunes, but you'll need to first download an audio utility from Codemasters' UK web site (if you can find it there, that is), then use that program to rip all the music that'll fit on your Stick to your PC. Only after all that can you transfer your music to the PSP through a USB cable. Man, that sounds complicated. And just wait: you'll be able to follow that unwieldy procedure, too, should Codemasters ever bring this title to North America. Suh-weet! (Okay, dear Europeans, maybe I am a little jealous.)
Mario Kart DS -- leaked ad script hypes WiFi network
Game Insider has gotten its hands on the script for an upcoming Mario Kart DS TV spot. The ad is supposed to be filmed this month and then released a month after that, reaffirming an early November release date. The ad itself is a quirky series of events that hypes the DS's future global WiFi network. If Nintendo can manage to get this network running smoothly and release a killer app like Mario Kart in time for the holiday season, expect to see a serious boost in DS sales. When is Sony gonna get with the program? Ad Script (PDF) [Thanks, bandersnatch]
Mario Kart DS screens and impressions
Striegs writes: Apparently in all the excitement of learning the DS's European launch date, everyone missed the fact that Nintendo demonstrated a playable version of Mario Kart DS at their Paris press conference. CVG has their preliminary impressions for us, as well as 5 screenshots of the the next installment in the venerable Mario Kart series. One of their initial impressions is that it greatly resembles Mario Kart for SNES (in a good way). They also mention that 8-player wireless multiplayer modes will be included (fingers crossed for 8-player battle mode), and that the lower screen will be used to navigate menus and for viewing your stats and the track map. The game is due out around May sometime, so I'm counting on everyone to pester Nintendo to instate online multiplayer within the next three months. We can do it!
