How to lose friends No1: "What Vanillia Girl Do You Like Then?"

REVIEW SPECIAL: Mario Kart⁶⁴ vs Diddy Kong Racing

It all started in 1993 with the release of Super Mario Kart for the SNES. This amazing game took an established set of characters (from the Mario series), stuck them on karts and (with the power of then-quite-good Mode 7 graphics) raced them around a track. And it was completly original. Then.

The first attempt to copy it was a rather crap game by Sega for the GameGear. The name escapes me now, but it's availible in ROM form from various Sonic obbesses sites. It was only released in the US. Sortly afterwards UbiSoft tried it on with Street Racer, featuring cartoony-type racers that looked like they were made up withing half and hour. It was converted for almost every system including the new 32-bits (it was 1995 at the time) and the Gameboy. It was also, shite.

And then Xmas 1997 happend, and the world went barmy by releasing 3 of these unrealistic cartoon racers at the same time. Sonic R was ignored by the public but was apparntly a good game (made by Travellers Tales, past experience with Nights into dreams and Sonic 3D). MarioKart⁶⁴, released earlier in the year, sold well at this period, as did it's evil brother, DiddyKongRacing. Or DKR from now on. And then the debate started.

The Main problem with choosing between these appearingly similar games is that everyones split on their favrite out of the two. At a basic level fans of the Mario series but who had never played SMK would like Mario Kart 64. Gamers that had played the SNES version and then played it in a shop or something, would of lilkly had been dissapointed and would of ran off, sulking. Probably buying DKR in the process. Because it was a better clone. Simply. Diddy Kong had everything that Mario didn't. It's Graphics were more polished, it's tracks were more intresting, and it was more of a challenge. Actully DKR is very, very difficult, much more than Mario.

Comparing the two with graphics and, er, stuff

BACKROUND:

MK64: No plot really, everyone just felt like driving. There are around 30 tracks, in 4 cups, each progressivly getting harder. You get to play again the main Mario characters, though if you never bought Mario64 you won't have a clue who Princess Peach is. Power-ups are random and the same as the SNES version.

DKR: Evil pig, wants to take over Island. Kids (consisting of characters from the Donkey Kong Series and other made up ones) get scared, so they do the obvious. They challenge it to a driving competition. What? Anyway, there are about 6 diffrent worlds, you get instant access to the first 4 via acculimating balloons, and the 5th is hidden. The 6th is the final and most difficult (ish) world. Each world contains 5 tracks, inwhich you have to win all to race the boss of that World. After which you then have to race the tracks again in a Silver Coin Challenge (get all the coins etc...) to meet the boss again. Difficulty varies between tracks. Some are pisseasy, others not so. You tally up balloons as you play, and as you get more, you get more access to the extra worlds.

And oh yeah, instead of a menu screen there's an Adventure Island where you enter each world from, and other strange folk help you along too (there's this strange pink Elephant with a Pakistani accent that changes your vehicle for you, and a Time Trial bloke that erm, Times you). And Power Up's are fixed BTW. And on the tracks, bananas help you go faster. And finally, almost everytrack outside of Adventure mode (Adventure mode being the single-player game) can be played with more than one vehicle, you can choose from a Kart (East to handle), a Plane (Hard to control but stable) and a Hovercraft (Give up NOW). Phew.

Now see which one is more complicated? RARE have definitly worked on the Detail.

GRAPHICS:

MarioKart64. The Drivers look very 2D and pixelated. The scenery is good though, but not brilliant. Conversion to PAL hasn't been brilliant, either. 5/10

DiddyKong: Drivers are fully polygonal, and look great close up. The track detail is excellent, more intresting than MK64. 9/10

SOUND:

MarioKart64: Not much diffrent from the SNES version, actully. But at least there's some sort of diffrent ditty for each track. 8/10

DiddyKong: Same tune, slightly diffrent for each world. And it's annoying. 4/10

VOICES:

MK64: Since when has Mario been THIS italian? Can anyone rememeber the cartoon series? F*cking awful 4/10

DiddyKong: Better than MK64, you can hear them go past. Diddy's an tedious little git, though. 8/10

TRACKS:

MK64: Super Mario Kart in 3D? Anyone? Hugely rubbish. Theres just not enough detail. 6/10

DiddyKong: This is where Diddy wins. There's almost always an alternative route, and sometimes changing vehicle can change the way the track is raced. Sometimes too tricky, however. 9/10

DIFFICULTY:

MK64: It's all down to CC's, you know. Tracks are relitivly easy, give your self a decent driver and you'll walk all over them. Even at Extra you can do pretty well. Too easy. 4/10

DiddyKong: AAAGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!! One minute hard, the next damn easy and visaversa. And the Silver Coin Challenges make things even the more worse. Horribly difficult, if on your own. 9/10

MULTIPLAYER:

MK64: Better than DK's. Power up's are random where as Diddy's are fixed. Beer Rating 10 pints

DiddyKong: Bit boring, no real level of uncertainty. Will have you gasping for MMV3. Beer Rating 7 pints.

LIVESPAN:

MK64: Enough tracks to keep you going for weeks, but then, so does DKR...... 4/10

DKR: Will last you ages first time around, and theres anouth variations on each track to keep you going for a while, even in race only mode. 8/10

OVERALL:

MK64: OK in Multiplayer, and, err, shite at everything else. 7/10

DKR: See above and inverse. RARE have done a good job here. Looking forward to a DKR2, if there should be one.... 9/10

By PAndroid. Dated 30/3/98. Email if you find offensive.

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