Mario Kart: Double Dash!! is a huge leap forward for the series.  Among the improvements is the addition of a backseat driver.  There are always two characters per vehicle, whether it's a fancy, Cadillac-style ride or a cutesy baby buggy.  One character drives, one handles the items, but you can switch between the two at any time by pressing the Z button.  It may not seem to have a purpose at first, but every character has its own pros and cons when behind the wheel.  Bowser is all-powerful, but he isn't great at turning.  Baby Mario is great at turning, but does not do very well with power-up attacks.

This new addition is accompanied by a unique feature not available in any other kart racer: eight-player multiplayer on one screen.  The screen is split into four parts; four players drive, the other four control the power-ups.

That's cool, but it cannot even begin to compare to the game's true multiplayer mode: LAN.  LAN stands for "Local Area Network."  PC gamers have been doing it for years.  They take their PCs to their friends' houses, hook them up to each other and play games without going online.  Xbox, GameCube and PlayStation 2 feature LAN capabilities, but up until now there was never a reason to even think about using it with GameCube.

With eight TVs and eight GameCube systems, gamers will have the best racing experience of their lives.  It's like an arcade but better, especially if you're willing to spend the money for Logitech's GameCube steering wheel (the best one available).  With the appropriate setup (a table or some solid object that holds the wheel in place), it'll be like having an arcade in your home!

Double Dash!!'s visuals are a cluster of gorgeous cartoon images.  The courses are designed like worlds for an action/adventure game.  Many of the courses take on a form that closely matches the new worlds introduced in Super Mario Sunshine.  From beaches and a carnival to a challenging course that takes place on the deck of a boat, Double Dash!! will impress all Nintendo fans.  Clearly that's who these courses were developed for.  The camera pans out on a large island course to reveal its design: it's in the shape of Yoshi!  Strategically placed trees create Yoshi's green color.  Another course is based on the mountainous worlds of Donkey Kong Country, featuring a cannon that shoots you from one mountaintop to the next and a wobbly bridge that was the culprit for many of my losses.  Yet another course will take you to an ice world like the one in Super Mario 64.  Another course is shaped like a dirt bike arena but with spinning fire traps and large piranha plants like the ones from the original Mario.  And another course is a greatly expanded version of the freeway level from Mario Kart 64.  To give you an idea of how massive Double Dash!! is, the aforementioned courses only cover about 20% of what the game has to offer.

If the awesome courses weren't cool enough for you, just wait till you get hit with one of the game's over-sized attack items.  The shells (red and green) are back, as is the star power-up (increasing speed and providing temporary invulnerability).  Your inventory has been expanded, allowing you to carry as many as three power-ups at a time!  New to the game are special power-ups that are unique to specific characters.  Bowser's special power-up (a spiky shell) is so enormous that it nearly covers the screen as it approaches.  It bounces off the sides of the course and will continue down the path until something stops it.  Opponents are no match for it, if you get hit, you'll go flying, especially if you're playing as a lighter character (such as Baby Mario).

Baby Mario's power-up is the chomper guy (the large ball and chain with teeth) that guarded a star on the first level of Mario 64.

His chain is attached to Baby Mario, and once the power-up is used he'll control your character for a few minutes, making those hard-to-complete turns a breeze.  He'll also chomp on any racer that stands in his way, and once he's done with you, he'll break free and continue down the course, chomping everything in sight.

Double Dash!! is the first Mario Kart game to take the genre to a whole new level.  It's both exciting and interesting to see Nintendo look to the past for so many of their best titles.  They reinvented Zelda, and now they've reinvented one of the most popular racing games of the 16-bit era.  Its replay value is impervious to boredom – you will never, ever want to part with this game.  It is a classic that will go down in gaming history as one of Nintendo's best offerings.  It is another reason to buy a GameCube, and has given us all a reason to lug our 'Cubes to a friend's house for a LAN party. 

Nintendo Has a “Mario Kart” Party

Gameplay: 9.6
Before you have a LAN or four-player split-screen session with your friends, you'll be deeply engrossed in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!'s Story Mode.  I don't think anyone is attracted to it because of the story (it's not too far beyond the "I'm sorry, but the Princess is in another castle" routine), but it's a current trend to have a Story Mode in every game.  This mode is where you'll find the various speed types (50cc to 150cc), all of the cups, and all of the courses.  You'll unlock them.  You'll re-play them.  And then when you think you've played the game to death, you'll play it some more.  It's kart racing at its best.  Game developers could learn a lot from this title.  Nintendo really did their homework for it.  Most importantly, they looked to the past.  More and more we're all beginning to realize that that's where true greatness lies.

Graphics: 9
Bright, colorful, smooth and fast, Mario Kart: Double Dash!! is an impressive sight to see.  There's a ton of eye candy to devour, so open your eyes and eat.

Sound: 8.5
Classic Mario (and Mario Kart) themes along with some new tracks.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard
It wouldn't be fair for me, a highly experienced player, to say that Mario Kart: Double Dash!! is easy.  But the Story Mode didn't feel very difficult until the end.  Then it got to the point where I had to up my skills or fail to be victorious.

Concept: 8.8

Multiplayer: 9.9
Nearly on par with Soul Calibur 2 in the short-term, and potentially higher in replay value in the long run, Mario Kart: Double Dash!! is one of the few games that’ll still be worth playing by this time next year.

Overall: 9.7
It's near the end of the year and I've played all of the racing games coming to the 'Cube and none of them, not even F-Zero GX, are as spectacular as Mario Kart: Double Dash!!  We're not allowed to make the "Racing Game of the Year" call just yet, nor are we allowed to hint at it, so I won't say anything.  But I will say that if you already have Zelda and you can only have one GameCube title this Christmas, it must be Double Dash!!  The double exclamation marks are not a misprint – Nintendo wanted to make it clear that this game is doubly good.  You could by something else instead, but why would you want to?