pre order in the US is 10 dollar deposit? are u sure i only had to pay 5 dollars for it

New demo disc info,

CHECK FIRST POOOST

The game is apparently $80.00 CAN. That's a LOT of money.

Yup even after converting that price to US dollars Canadians still have to pay an extra $10.

quote IGN - Nintendo Gamers summit article

Today in downtown San Francisco, CA, Nintendo held a Gamers' Summit for the press. It is day one of two and the publisher focused on touting its first-party lineup; tomorrow third-parties will get more space to show their products. The two big-name titles to show up in updated form were the NST-developed 1080: Avalanche and Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, which is developed internally at Nintendo's Japanese headquarters.

Last July, Nintendo held a similar event where it showcased its summer titles, including F-Zero GX and Mario Golf. Mario Kart showed up, but it was still the E3 2003 version. As reported, that version was definitely too slow and incomplete for anyone to really tell how the much-anticipated mascot racer would turn out. So here we are just two months later and Nintendo has carted -- pardon the pun -- in a whole new, updated version for the press to play.

And play we did.

Features
One of the most popular games franchises ever -- new and improved for GameCube

Huge cast of mascot characters including Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Wario, and many more

Two-player per kart dynamic: switch to hold more items than before

Character-specific power-ups; Yoshi rolls his egg, Wario can toss bombs, and the whole cast has new tricks

Several modes of gameplay: Grand Prix, Time Trials, and Battle

Multiplayer mayhem -- one to four-player Battles and regular races; plus, two-player cooperative support for Grand Prix!

LAN play lets you use an Ethernet cable to link two to eight GameCubes on separate TVs

Supports Logitech steering wheel controller

Progressive scan supported

Pro Logic II enabled

Planned November 17, 2003 release

Rated E for "Everyone"
Double Dash!! is easily one of the most anticipated titles in the history of GameCube. It's brand new and packed with more features than its predecessors. Everything from the three new Grand Prix cups to the three Battle mode types is completely fresh. We've previously discussed the general game mechanics, so we'll spare repeating that, but with a more complete version on display at this recent Gamers' Summit there is definitely a lot more to the picture.






Let's get the obvious point out of the way: the speed. Few people deny, including Nintendo executives, that the E3 2003 build -- the first playable version shown -- of MK: DD was too slow. Whether played at 50cc or 150cc, the pace of the game was alarmingly sluggish. The wider tracks only heightened this sensation. The beloved power slide was also missing. Nintendo promised these problems were on its radar and that they would be resolved before the game's release this November.

Good news is they weren't kidding. This seemingly near-final build of Mario Kart for GameCube is indisputably faster than the previous build. No longer are you distracted by the pace. Instead, your focus can be directed where it should be: strategizing item pick-ups, managing sharp turns with the power slide, and gunning for first place every time. To us, it felt comfortably quick. In other words, sure we wouldn't mind seeing its pace bumped up just a little faster, but it's also at a point where it feels right. Like a Chomp-Chain has been lift from atop our crushed expectations, there is now plenty of room to breath; Double Dash!! can be fully enjoyed for the same addictive gameplay its forefathers standardized.

With that settled, let's move on and discuss the different modes that were on display. We'll start with Grand Prix. Nintendo pretty much gave us access to the entire gameplay experience here. The catch: nothing could be unlocked. They didn't want any secrets getting out, but a company representative noted, "There are many, many secrets in this game." They left it at that, but, hey, that whets our appetite. We're hoping they've left enough behind closed doors to keep the single-player experience worthwhile. As for Grand Prix itself, we had access to the 12 tracks. They include the following:

Mushroom Cup Flower Cup Star Cup
Mushroom Cup Mushroom Bridge Sherbert Lane

Luigi Circuit Mario Circuit Mushroom City
Baby Park Daisy Cruise Yoshi Circuit
Dry Dry Desert Waluigi Stadium DK Mountain

We checked pretty much all of them out. The track designs pleased in almost every regard. Every track had something unique about it that demonstrated a different part of the gameplay. Waluigi Stadium, one of our favorites, was an MX-style course with slowly-rotating flame propellers and Piranha Plants jutting out horizontally to block your way. Another, Yoshi Circuit, was filled with twists and turns -- a perfect level for pros to show off their skills. Then there was Daisy Cruise, which had players rounding the edges of a giant cruise liner. Unique, indeed.

Shortcuts, too, made themselves apparent. Both in the form of rocketing over grassy, sandy, or muddy areas to cut a corner as well as true sidetracks that took you through a different area altogether. So, if you're wondering if we're satisfied with the track designs and Grand Prix features, the answer is definitely yes.

Then there is the all-new co-op mode. Nintendo, thankfully, has granted the wishes of Mario Kart fans abroad. You can play Grand Prix in multiplayer form. Even better, you can do it co-operatively, riding the same cart. This works for up to 16 players according to Nintendo. Basically you can hook up eight different TVs via the LAN with two players per TV. That's some seriously awesome one-screen action right there, we must say. To all dorms, corporate offices, and Brady Bunches -- you're going to want to stock up on your equipment to accommodate this. The way it works is fairly simple. Two players to a kart: one steers and the other tosses items. For the power slide, you both have to work together. While the player in the driver's seat activates the slide with L or R, it's up to the player in the back seat to rock the stick back and forth, thus earning the boost. If you want to switch seats you have to verbally agree to hit the Z-button at the same time. In multiplayer mode, you can imagine that the more people you get to play co-op, the louder the experience becomes. It's a mode we're really looking forward to exploiting -- especially over a LAN.

Of course, the staple multiplayer mode in Mario Kart has always been Battle. The developers recognized this, adding in three main sub-modes: Balloon Battle, Shine Thief, and Bob-omb Blast. As for the first of those three, fans will easily recognize Balloon Battle as the mode where you take the arenas and attempt to strip the other players of their balloons. The basic mechanics of this mode has remained the same. Shine Thief, inspired by the company's flagship Super Mario Sunshine title, has players fighting for the rights to a Shine Sprite (the golden suns players collected in the platformer). Meanwhile, a counter ticks down to zero and the player last in possession of it wins. You can crash into the current "Shine Thief" to grab it for yourself, or you can knock it from them with items.






Lastly, Bob-omb Blast is about as insane as it gets. Players pick up Bob-ombs -- lots of them and that's all. Each character can carry five, which amounts to 10 per kart. You can hold on to them as long as you like or chuck them at opponents, whereupon they explode outward and upward in a huge 3D half-sphere. The goal is to fill up the star tanks in the corner of your screen (in our four-player matches it was up to four). If you successfully bombed another racer you would get a star filled with their color. If you got bombed, you would lose one of your stars. It's totally frantic, an understatement we assure you, but there is some leeway in that your own bombs will not hurt you. Bob-omb tossing mechanics allow you to toss it far, close, and set it behind you to tick momentarily before it explodes. This range of bombing abilities adds more strategy to the gameplay than tossing explosives around might imply. It's a really sweet new mode that we're sure fans are going to get hooked into immediately. The only downside is there are no clear statistics tracking for this mode, so there's never a clear second, third, or fourth place.

Outlook
This is Mario Kart as it should be. Now that Nintendo has properly addressed the speed issues and given us a glimpse into the extra modes, we can say confidently that this will probably be one of the best GameCube titles of this holiday season. Visually, the title is already incredibly stable -- 60 frames per second in single-player and, yes, 60 in multiplayer, too. So we have no real concerns. In fact, it seems to borrow some tricks from Super Mario Sunshine, demonstrating strong draw distances and a depth of field blur effect.






As we look forward to its November 17, 2003 release, our only expectations now are that the final title will show polish in the same way that Super Smash Bros. Melee did with many unlockables and secrets.

For now, it seems Nintendo's kart franchise has more than a fighting chance to remain the best available while setting a few new standards to boot. Look for more coverage on the hotly anticipated racer in the coming months and be sure to check out the latest screenshots in our media section.

Already been posted

DBZ, can you put check first post for updates in the subheader?

DBZ: Done!

This message was edited by DragoniteBallZ(moderator) on Oct 11 2003.

Both the Prima and the Nintendo Strategy Guide for the game are going to be released November 11, 2003.

ghosts have been confirmed
i have seen screen shots from MKDD.co.uk and i saw Mario and Luigi racing a ghost of themselves

i have also seen the pink hearts in action in those screen, two circle around you and trail little hearts behind the big ones

I've noticed that there is a difference between the Bowser Jr.s in each picture:

http://www.mariokartdoubledash.co.uk/officialpics/a090903c.jpg

Bowser Jr. is wearing a different shirt in each picture
One looks like a bib with a mushroom on it and the other one has some sort of mouth
Could this possibly lead to costumes which could lead to other costumes (hint hint to all Dr.Mario fans)



oh yeah, I was supposed to post back on this
I found out in the MK:DD uk forum that it just looked like they were different
It's really the same bandana from SMS


This message was merged with other messages by DragoniteBallZ (moderator)

This message was edited by DragoniteBallZ(moderator) on Oct 19 2003.

Bowser Jr's outfits seem to appear the same to me...

Alternate costumes would be a GREAT addition. Hello Dr. Mario and Nurse Toadstool!

mkdd.co.uk has got the tracks for special cup. They are...

Wario Colosseum
Dino Dino Jungle
Bowser Castle
Rainbow Road

Wario Colosseum sounds good.

Luigimania, could'nt you have done what they did
or provided a link, I didn't want to know the special cup
Oh well
I didn't want people that already have tracks to get another one
They should make a track for Birdo instead of Yoshi, Junior instead of Bowser, and GET RID of Luigi Circuit
I hate Mario and Luigi tracks, there just like Nascar tracks
Oh well, I maybe Dino Dino jungle is for Birdo, who knows
I just hope they have Toad in the game, that will shut me up ^.^

Here is a pic of the special cup tracks just recently revealed.


Note: There's a spoiler in the below pic.
http://www.mariokartdoubledash.co.uk/images_oct/DSC00180.JPG

This message was edited by DragoniteBallZ(moderator) on Oct 21 2003.

ugh, more spoilers for unnoticing people to enter in upon
I hope peach and DBZ don't see this, they didn't want to see spoilers
But I like spoilers


NOTE: It's ok! No harm done. I changed it into a link. But Yeah, everyone if you are gonna post secrets in the game, please mark it with a spoiler warning.

This message was edited by DragoniteBallZ(moderator) on Oct 19 2003.

Semi-spoiler, it just tells you just how good the game is. Famitsu has rated Mario Kart: Double Dash!! For those who don't know... Famitsu is a HUGE video game magazine in Japan, they are the top, and more hardest, reviewers. Only a few games have gotten 40/40.


Mario Kart: Double Dash!! 9,9,9,9 = 36/40

Edit: no harm done either... I just skim over the posts.

I just think that famitsu review is all anyone needs to know right now.



This message was edited by Princess Peach on Oct 21 2003.

****SPOILER****

quote highlight inside to view

TOAD IS IN THE GAME GUYS
MKDD.CO.UK HAS GOT THE SCREENSHOT TO PROVE IT. HIS PARTNER IS TOADETTE, A FEMALE TOAD AND HE HAS A TRADITIONAL KART.

rejoice!! toad is in it

Here's the screenshot!