Mario Kart 64

Mario Kart 64 is the second installment in the Mario Kart series, being the first in the series to use 3D graphics. It was released in 1997 on Nintendo 64, and 2007 on Virtual Console. Mario Kart 64 features some changes in characters and new courses, including Sherbet Land and Wario Stadium.

Gameplay
To drive, the player must steer with the joy stick, holding the A button to accelerate. The B button is used for breaking, and can also be used to drive in reverse. Item use is controlled by the Z button. The R button is used to jump, which can allow the kart to turn tight corners. If the player turns too much or too quickly, of if they turn side to side, it will result in the player sliding and spinning out of control, which makes the kart stop for a few seconds.

Instead of the five laps which we seen in Super Mario Kart the races are now three laps, due to longer courses. As well as shortened races, the terrain of the race track is now longer flat, but features different types of terrain. Carried over from Super Mario Kart are the Item Boxes. Spinning in a style similar to a game of roulette.

There are four cups to race in, the Mushroom Cup, Flower Cup, Star Cup. and the Special Cup. The cups are then divided into three engine classes which the player picks from when choosing the mode. The engine classes are 50cc, 100cc, and 150cc. There is an unlockable mode called Mirror Mode, which allows the player to race courses coming from the opposite direction, which increases the level's difficulty. In order to unlock Mirror Mode, the player must complete all of the cups in the engine class 150cc. The player will know when they have an extra mode when the titled screen changes. There is also a Time Trail more and a Battle Mode, which allows the player to race in different scenarios that don't require racing.

In the Time Trial mode, the player races against their own past times, which are represented by a ghost of themselves.

In battle mode, the players start with three balloons, which represent life. When a player gets hit by an item, or a heavy weight character runs into them, they lose a balloon. When one player has lost all of their balloons, they turn into a bomb, when all players but one turn into a bomb, the remaining player wins.

Power slide
You want to use this technique all of the time as it is the one you will need to use on some of the shortcuts, and to get the special computer ghosts, and most definitely to beat them. This will change your speed considerably. Using it is quite difficult. First of all jump to the left or right and move the control stick to the opposite way your turning and then back again three times.

You'll notice the letters coming out the back of your car. These letters will change from White, yellow and then orange. If you let go when they're orange you'll receive a slight boost. If you use the power slide on every turn, however, your time will be vastly improved. If, and when you get good enough at it, you should be able to perform the powerslide on flat stretches of road.

Turbo start
Immediately before the introductory lights turn blue, hold the A button, which should warrant a large boost, setting you up well for the rest of the race. Don't try doing it too early, however, as you'll just spin out. If, however, you can slam into a lighter opponent than yourself whilst stationary, this will knock them out, belittling your mistake to damage limitation.

Overtaking
If you find yourself behind an opponent who you can't seem to overtake, line your kart up with theirs. If you see smoke coming from the sides of your kart, you've received a boost, which will assist in overtaking the opponent.

Banana trick
When you find yourself about to fall foul of a banana, release the accelerator momentarily, slam on the brakes, and when the ! appears above your character's head immediately, push down on the accelerator again. You should have successfully survived the banana if you've executed the instructions correctly.

Controls
Control Stick - Moves your character around. D-Pad - None. Start - Pauses the Game. L - None. R - Jumps. Hold for power slide. A - Hold to accelerate. B - Brake. C-Left - None. C-Right - Changes between between the HUDS (Heads Up Display). C-Up - Switches between the two views. C-Down - Uses powerup. Z-trigger - Uses powerup.

Mario GP
Mario GP is a tournament in which eight racers compete. There are four cups (mushroom/flower/star/special) which can be divided up into three different difficulty modes (50cc/100cc/150cc). You can play this with up to two human racers.

Time Trials
This mode is purely to build up your score. In a sense, it's fairly pointless, since you're practising without the GP hazards and therefore any, and all scores built up there are delusional targets. If, and when Lakitu has to pick you up, or if you pause the game, you won't be able to save your ghosts. It's only available if you're playing on your own.

Versus
On the other hand, if you'd like to practise your scores in the real thing, do it here. The only opponents here are any, and all friends that you may have, and have brought along to play. (Assuming you have any, of course...) You'll be able to pick any difficulty, and any course that you'd like to play.

Battle
In this game, all the karts have three balloons, and your job is to pop them. If you're playing with three or more characters, any players who lose all of their balloons will just turn into Bob-ombs until there are two players left, and will aim to hit another kart. How he is supposed to do it without any power-ups, however, is a mystery. Once this happens, the Bob-ombs life is over for good. The victim will also lose one balloon.

Courses and Arenas
Mario Kart features 16 main tracks split equally between Mushroom Cup, Flower Cup, Star Cup and Special Cup. Many of the tracks would make a return on later games of a the series as an unlockable bonus.

Items Gallery
In most modes, there are items. To get an item, you must run into an Item Box. There are several items that you can shoot at other racers to help you gain a lead, or in battle mode, to score a point.