Nintendo will be releasing a new game for the DS next week that is sure to excite kids (and kids at heart). Diddy Kong Racing is a whimsical and light racing game where you hover, drive and fly to the finish line while picking up various types of powerups on the track.
The adventure mode has a very basic and somewhat silly storyline that is probably sufficient information for a kid but not quite compelling enough for an adult. It almost seems like the story itself was an afterthought, as if they threw it together to help you get to the real meat of the game-- the racing.
On that note, I found the racing to be quite fun. Even my two year old (a car and racing fanatic) insisted on curling up on my lap to watch me burn rubber. You can race in an airplane, car or hovercraft depending on the map. At first, I hated the hovercraft with a passion. It's still not my favorite, but I've been getting better at it with practice and have been warming up to it. Now I look at it as more of a challenge. And with the free roaming, non-linear structure of the single player game, you have a choice of tracks you can tackle.
As you race, you can pick up diifferent colored balloons along the track that give you powerups. Enhanced speed, rockets, oil slicks, magnets and shields are a few of the goodies that can help propel you ahead of your competition. There are also "zippers" on the track that will give you a momentary speed burst when you go over or through them.
In adventure mode, you will also come across some other types of races where you pop as many balloons as you can while flying on a magic carpet, or race against one foe who is naturally faster than you-- forcing you to use the arsenal of powerups on the track to gain the advantage.
All this may sound pretty fun, however the icing on the cake is the game's multiplayer capability. It's playable over a WiFi connection. You can set up your friends list and invite friends to join your game, or if you don't know anyone, go to the "matchmaking" screen and join a random group of players. There is no way to chat with others over multiplayer (which is good for parents who want their kids to play without being harassed, but bad for gamers who want to chat between races with their friends).
During a special WiFi press race that Nintendo coordinated, I did experience difficulty connecting to a couple of people at Nintendo who were behind a firewall. However I would imagine that most households do not have those kinds of firewalls and will likely not experience this problem unless they are trying to play the game from an office connection. The WiFi races seemed very smooth and seemless, showing no lag whatsoever from my cable modem connection. If there were more players involved in the press race, I could have easily blown the afternoon playing.
Overall, it's a fun, lighthearted, and competitive game that kids of all ages can enjoy. Parents take note, I think your kids will like this one.
Official web site: http://www.diddykongracing.com/
Developer: Rare
Publisher: Nintendo
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