Rare makes their DS debut with an enhanced release of their N64 kart classic, Diddy Kong Racing. The original took the kart-racing genre in an area no one had yet to explore - adventure racing - asking players to explore an overworld map to pick their races and uncover secrets before asking them to do the same thing on the actual tracks. Not willing to stop there, DKR also sported three different vehicles, kart, plane and hovercraft, each handling differently, allowing access to previously unreachable areas and changing the nature of many of the games' tracks. Throw in slick graphics, bubbly music and one of the greatest multiplayer games of all time, Fire Mountain's egg-hatching battle stage, and you have one high quality game. Taking the same "more equals better" approach with the DS version, Rare has creating a long list of enhancements and additions. New graphics, new and reworked tracks, new characters, touch screen and microphone elements, a create-a-track mode, customizable vehicles, online support - and that's not even a complete list!

Taking all of those additions and changes into consideration alone, it would appear that on paper Diddy Kong Racing is destined to go from great to amazing. Unfortunately, that is not the case. It appears as if Rare, unaccustomed to the DS and the trials and tribulations developers have already gone through during its first year or so, made a freshman mistake and the game pays for it. Trying to take advantage of every single feature that the system has to offer while adding even more features on top of that, DKR DS is littered with partially realized content. Had the source material been of weak stock, this game would have been a disaster, but the genuine fun and innovation DKR initially brought to the N64 still shines through here, even if there is a thick line of clouds to push through.

Diddy Kong Racing starts as any other mascot-based, kart racer, pitting cute animals against each other in races spanning twenty different tracks and five weapon types, to see who can accumulate the most ranking points, finish in first place or collect all the items before time runs out. But it is what they did from this point that made the game stand out above even the series that started it all, Mario Kart. Starting by fusing elements from adventure games, such as an overworld map to explore and placing a premium on collectables, with two non-kart vehicles, the plane and the hovercraft, Rare then wielded this new hybrid to our notions of a kart racer, creating a unique product that blended both the familiar and unknown into a cohesive package.

Enter Diddy Kong Racing, circa 2007. The majority of content that appeared in the original has been carried over, with the only truly noticeable exceptions being the absence of Conker the squirrel and Banjo the bear, playable characters that were removed due to Microsoft's ownership of Rare. The first feature that grabbed my attention was the graphics. Tapping into the more powerful DS, Rare gave the game a facelift, reworking textures while adding new ones, changing course layouts and improving the frame rate and performance. For the most part these changes are implemented with success, especially now that the game runs with additional fluidity and no slowdown, although I must cry foul over the pixelated roads and skies - the smoothed out textures and solid colored skies of the original weren't the eyesores the current choices are. DKR might not push the DS to any new heights, nor even reach the bar set by 2005's Mario Kart DS, but that shouldn't take anything away from the solid 3D engine that game runs on.

To continue on the presentation tip, the sound department has received a similar upgrade. Most of the upbeat, sugary tunes from the original made the transition here, remixed to accompany a few new ones. The sound effects have also gone through the remix washer, many completely rerecorded, although none of this changes the super cute animal voices. One of features exclusive to DKR DS that I had far too much fun with is the unlockable sound recorder, where you can record your own sounds for when you fire a weapon, get hit with one, win a race and more - I found an Arnold Schwarzenegger soundboard and recorded some of his more vulgar lines into my copy! I am sure the majority of you can find more wholesome ways to take advantage of this feature.

Once you drive into gameplay, DKR's engine manages to cross the finish line every time, but not without some running problems. The parts of the game left intact from the original are just as enjoyable as they ever were; the creative track design, the twenty original tracks and four exclusive ones that ask you to explore in-depth for hidden items, multiple vehicles and the multi-tiered weapon system. Most of the areas have at least one boss race where players go one-on-one against a huge monster to unlock extra courses or to receive prizes. The racing controls have been "improved" according to Nintendo's fact sheet, but random bouts of troublesome collusion detection and the hovercraft's cumbersome default handling has me begging to differ, especially during boss races where one mistake can mean a loss. I also hope the new touch screen and microphone starting line boost motions don't fall under the improved controls banner, because having to slash the touch screen with a stylus while holding down the gas button - all with my right hand - before watching my opponents make it work effortlessly and laugh as I have to pause the game and put the stylus away, does not strike me as improved. Blowing in the mic to power-up the fan in the hovercraft is applicable enough, but the other two touch screen motions are horrendous.

More new features abound in the gameplay department. Levels that feature balloon-popping or protecting your kart with the stylus break up the racing action decently enough, while others where you must draw lines on a map to steer your racer, like in Kirby: Canvas Curse, or control a virtual steering wheel via the stylus, are virtually unplayable. Gone are the collectable bananas littering the courses - they have been replaced by coins. These can be spent on unlocking bonus levels, modes and more, as well as purchasing upgrades for each of the three vehicles.

This opens the floodgate for more problems than benefits though, as many of the best secrets can only be unlocked by purchasing them, yet coins aren't plentiful enough to get all the unlocks without extensive backtracking. If just about all the multiplayer options, modes and tracks weren't locked up awaiting purchase then balancing a budget wouldn't matter, but it really does - and don't think you can get away from not upgrading either. Failing to upgrade your vehicle may cause problems for veteran racers and could make progress almost impossible for novices, as your opponents' vehicles get better and better. The upgrade system only allows you to pick one upgrade per vehicle (not one per category like it should be) and the prices are far too high for a game that is trying to get you to spend your coins on other things. There are so many awesome things to unlock, but I begrudge having to work hard and replay levels over and over just to gather the coins necessary to unlock them.

But there is one mode change that trumps every other - in the best way possible - and that is the additions to multiplayer. Diddy Kong Racing has a robust set of options for this: up to eight players can race against each other in either Single Card Download Play or Multi-Card Play, and up to six can face off over the Nintendo WiFi Connection. Regardless of your choice you can choose between single races, the coin collecting Token Tussle, duke it out on any unlocked Battle Tracks (two to four players only), battle for pole position in a four track trophy race or engage in some TT Wish Race action. TT Wish Race, an unlockable mode where you can create your own tracks using the touch screen to use in multiplayer, will quickly become DKR's greatest asset in lasting appeal. Don't be surprised if every developer from here on out magically adds this feature to their racing games.

It's a shame that Rare wasn't a part of the DS movement from the get-go, because many of the problems in Diddy Kong Racing, such as the overabundance of gimmicky modes and half-realized features, could have been avoided with the experience that most developers received during the first year or so of the system's existence. Thankfully, the source material was so strong it is able to push past the problems, with a big helping hand from the deep and addicting multiplayer modes. Though it plays second fiddle to its old rival, Mario Kart, Diddy Kong Racing shows that there is still a place in the gaming world for kart-driving monkeys, plane-flying turtles and hovercraft-steering tigers.

Reviewed by Tony Peters for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).