My Gaming Freebies and Merchandise

I've been really lazy about keeping up to date with all my nice pre-order bonus or freebies, so this post is basically a show case of all my game-related merchandise that I haven't gotten around to showing up till now. It's nothing fancy, mostly freebies and a few minor things that I've actually bought.

Club Nintendo 2009 Gold Member Award: Calendar

This is the calendar I got in December 2009 for reaching Gold status on Club Nintendo. These pictures were taken a while back and I've been meaning to upload them onto this blog...but I just never got around to it. Basically it's a little stand with cards that feature a Nintendo franchise and a calendar at the bottom. You switch the cards every month. If you flip the card over, you can see a calendar layout (bottom right - February) for each month. I usually just leave the one with the picture out since it looks nicer. As an additional bonus, Nintendo also gave me a mini mario calendar (top right).

Mario Candy Cases

One of the few game-related things I've actually bought. These two are separate candy cases. The mushroom case has little cherry sours shaped as mushrooms inside, while the Question Block case has little coin candies inside. Both are pretty neat and I bought both on whim. Club Nintendo calendar in the background for added effect! xD

SoulSilver Preorder Bonus: Lugia Figurine

The pre-order bonus for SoulSilver. I love the angle of the shot. It actually took me a while to get a decent angle because Lugia's neck is a bit too curved and it's hard to see the whole figurine from a side view. The figurine isn't the best quality, but it was free so I can't complain.

Dragon Quest IX GameStop Event: DQIX Pamphlet

This doesn't seem worthwhile to even mention, but I was actually surprised by the quality of this pamphlet. The cover is dusty, with the title being glossy. Inside has nice art and is very colourful. Being so well made, I could not resist taking this with me and showing it off on the blog.

Dragon Quest IX GameStop Event Prize: Slime Shirt

The second prize at the GameStop DQIX event. There were four of them and I was lucky enough to win one. I wear it with pride! =D As a side note, this event made my brother want his own copy of DQIX! One more convert!! >:)

~Joanna

Pumpkin Carving: The Results

The first picture is a little blurry, but I thought it looked pretty. The second picture has better resolution =)

If I do say so myself, I think the King Boo carving turned out rather nice. I'm quite proud of it. Next year I might tackle something harder, like a Prinny.lol. And because this pumpkin was pretty tiny (relative to normal pumpkins), the carving was a bit more challenging; one cut too far or deep and the whole carving would be ruined. So yes I am rather proud ^^

~Joanna

Pumpkin Carving meets Nerdy Hobbies

What better way to show my nerdiness this Halloween then to carve a Nintendo Themed Pumpkin. And what better Nintendo character to carve then King Boo. He's from Mario AND he is a ghost! Two birds, one stone! I could go for something more obscure and more difficult. But as this is my first attempt at a video game character; I thought it should be from an easily recognizable franchise and something relatively simple.

Check in tomorrow morning for a post on the final product. I could post it up tonight, but chances are I won't have the time, since I am the one who accompanies my little brother on his trick-or-treating.

No anime/manga/game related costumes. I'm not too good at sewing and it's a rather larger commitment then pumpkin carving. Maybe one of these years......

~Joanna

Game Review: Mario Kart DS

Basic Information:

---

Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Racing
Difficulty: Fair
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: Nov. 2005
Rating: E for Everyone
Retail Price: $34.99 US ($44.99 CAN)


What It's About:

---

You race as one of the many characters from the mario and donkey kong franchises. There are four different difficultly setting, each with the same tracks, but different opponents. Successfully completing a difficulty level unlocks the next level and either an additional character or additional carts. There is also a puzzle mode and a battle mode.

Gameplay:

---

Mario Kart is in essence, a racer, but it adds a lot to the basic racing formula that attracts a lot of other gamers. The powerups and the drifting add a unpredictable and strategic edge to an otherwise standard racing game. The basic gist of gameplay is the usual: you choose a character from the mario universe (plus donkey kong, who was originally a part of the mario universe, but began his own franchise early in nintendo's history) and race against other mario characters in a variety of courses that are modeled after levels or worlds from a variety of mario games. In essence, it's a love letter from nintendo to mario fans in racing form.Each character and cart have different strengths and weaknesses, so it is ultimately the player's style and preference that determines who they will race as. But cart capacities are not the only things that will effect your chances for victory. Drifting and powerups play just as crucial a role, if not more, and make Mario Kart DS (and the franchise in general), more about luck and strategy then other racing games, which, in my opinion is a welcome refreshment.

Powerups come in the form of boxes found on the racing tracks that the player and his opponents must drive through. Once a player drives through a box, a random powerup will appear in the player's top left corner of the top screen, and these powerups range from slightly useful to broken (see screenshot). However, the game is well balanced, and your more likely to get the infinitely more useful "bullet" powerup the further behind your opponents you are, and likewise, the person in first place, is more likely to get a banana and the occasional green shell, rather then other more powerful powerups. So although it is random, the powerups have probability rates that correspond to your place in the race. This also brings in an aspect of strategy, as your forced to ponder when it will be the most beneficial to use your powerup. Likewise, the drifting although it slows you down a bit, gives you a noticeable boost in speed once completed. But unlike powerups, drifting is more about learning to press the buttons at the right time, and less about strategy and luck.

The races turn into real slug fights as you and your opponents throw different powerups at each other. And this makes Mario Kart DS (and the franchise) a lot more fun then your standard racer. Gameplay is easy to grasp, but a little more difficult to master.

Story & Characters:

---

Mario Kart DS does not have a story, because, it really doesn't need one. It's about racing and the game does that well. As for characters, the game relies solely on the player being familiar with the characters through their other franchises. Even if you are not familiar with the other mario games, not to worry, this in no way effects your ability to play Mario Kart DS. As I've said, this game is more like a love letter from Nintendo to Mario fans, but the game can be easily picked up and played by anyone.

Art & Graphics:

---

Being a first party game, Mario Kart DS looks fantastic, even 3 years after its initial release. It is one of the better 3-D games on the DS. The environments look crisp and distinct, as do the characters and their carts. No two carts look the same, and Mario Kart DS gives you quite a bit of variety with kart designs. As stated before, all levels are inspired from different mario games, and all characters have at one point or another been found within a mario game. There is nothing new to be found for the Mario bluffs, but the level designs are very clever and pretty. Rainbow Road, in particular, was aesthetically pleasing, but also kept racers on the edge of their seats with its increased difficulty level (compared to other tracks); because, if you fell off, it cost you a few positions.

The boxart is also nice, its simple and it expresses exactly what the game is about: Mario and karts. Mario's pose is also quite amusing, and it shows that the game doesn't take itself too seriously. Of course it isn't the most creative and eye-popping boxart out there, but sometimes simpler is better.

Music & Sound

---

Being a racing game, Mario Kart DS doesn't feature any elaborate musical compositions, most tracks are very simple, but fit very well with the theme of the level (most likely because they originate from the level the tracks are based on). Not being a Mario bluff, I can recognize only a few of the tunes, and most of them do correspond roughly to the same level/game the tracks are based on. For example the "N64 Banshee Boardwalk" racing track plays the Boo tune from Super Mario World (please correct me if I'm mistaken, I haven't played the old mario games since I was a little girl ^^;;). But regardless if the music tracks are remixes of old tunes or entirely new, the music captures the "mario" feel very well. Every time I hear a tune, I remember the old mario games, and that is what is important in a game that was made for fans of the mario franchise. Below is a favourite tune of mine from the game: Airship Fortress (which is also a favourite racing track of mine ^^)

Multiplayer:

---

Ah, multiplayer, this is the heart of Mario Kart DS; it is playing with your friends that makes the game so much fun. With up to 7 friends racing against you in local wireless, the amount of surprises and turnarounds will be plentiful. You may even be shocked to find a friend of yours winning a few races by pure luck, or some friends ganging up on you will their powerups. The possiblities are endless, and you only need one copy of the game for all to enjoy. However, all those who do not have a copy will be racing as Shy Guys, while the game owner will get to choose his character and kart like normal. This does give an advantage to the owner, but with Mario Kart DS being so unpredictable and fun, you'll quickly realize that this doesn't really matter in the end. Wi-Fi matches work much the same, except everyone racing has the game, which levels the play field, assuming all players have unlocked all carts and characters, and are not using a cheating device.

My Thoughts & Recommendations:

---

If there is one racing game that you should buy for your DS, it is Mario Kart DS. The game is so much more then a racer, it has fun tracks, unpredictable races, funky mario characters, but most of all, an exciting and robust multiplayer option. As someone who doesn't enjoy racing games, I can recommend this to anyone, as long as they are able to use the multiplayer feature. If you don't have someone to play with, Mario Kart DS may still be worth your money, but you will be missing out on half of the fun. Mario Kart DS is also a good game to play on the go, because you can finish a single cup in under 3o minutes.

As for us ladies, Mario Kart DS is also a worthwhile game, even through there are only two playable female characters (one is unlockable, the other is available form the beginning). Any ladies out there that are fans of the mario franchise will quickly fall in love with this game too, as will non-fans who are looking for a light and fun racer. But most of all, anyone who likes to play against their friends will find Mario Kart DS inseparable. It has one of the best and most robust multiplayer options out there. Ladies, call all your girlfriends and start the slug (or cat, if you prefer) fight!

Scoring

---

Gameplay -	10/10
Story -	N/A
Characters -	N/A
Graphics -	10/10
Art -	8/10
Box Art -	7/10
Music -	7/10
Sound -	8/10
Multiplayer -	10/10
Female Factor -	5/10
Fun Factor -	10/10
Replay Value -	10/10

---

OVERALL - 9/10

~Joanna