Diddy Kong Racing DS (Nintendo DS)

DIDDY KONG RACING DS is a modified version of a Nintendo 64 game of the same name. Players guide Diddy Kong or one of his friends in races through colorful worlds to defeat the evil Wizpig.

Players roam about an island setting, delving into connected worlds (a dinosaur world, water world, snow world, etc.) that hold races, collection missions, and boss battles. Players drive a kart or pilot a hovercraft or airplane. Players can collect coins through their races and spend them on upgraded parts for the vehicles to improve things like handling and top speed. Friends can race against other players using one game card or multiple game cards if everyone has a DS, or players can challenge friends and strangers via online contests.

Unfortunately, a lot of the upgrades and multiplayer events are hard to use because they can only be accessed after quite a lot of repetitive play in the one-player mode. The game asks players to run though the same courses and complete boss battles many times.

The difficulty levels ramp up rather quickly. In the one-player game, players must come in first to advance and the races can get difficult after the first couple of worlds. The controls, including some awkwardly handled touch-screen features, only make matters worse. The emphasis on story and adventure add some interesting twists to standard kart racing conventions, but the racing itself suffers as a result.