Mario Kart 64

Mario Kart 64 is a kart-racing game developed by Nintendo and released for the Nintendo 64. It was released in 1996 in Japan and in 1997 in North America and Europe. Mario Kart 64 is the sequel to Super Mario Kart for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
== Gameplay ==
Mario Kart 64 is a racing game eight playable characters from the Mario series: Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Princess Peach, Wario, Yoshi, Toad, and Donkey Kong. While racing, the characters can pick up different items such as green shells and red shells and throw them at opponents to slow them down, allowing others to pass them. They can race on 16 tracks based on locations from the Mario series. In the game, there are four modes of play: Grand Prix, Time Trial, Versus,and Battle.
* Grand Prix: In Grand Prix mode, one or two players choose a character and race against the other computer players for four races. Whoever has the most points by the end is the winner. Each set of four races is called a cup. Grand Prix has three main difficulty modes: 50cc, which is the easiest; 100cc, which is a little more difficult; and 150cc, the most difficult of the three. There is also an unlockable difficulty called Extra (called Mirror in later installments) in which each track is mirrored, adding difficulty.
*Time Trial: In Time Trial mode, a player can race on any track in the game and set a time record, and then later race against the previous time and attempt to beat it. When trying to beat a previous time, a "ghost" character of the last run will also race around the track. The player is given three mushrooms, which will give a speed boost when used.
*Versus: In Versus mode, up to four players can race against each other on the track of their choosing. All of the items and elements from single player are included, though there are no additional AI racers.
*Battle: In Battle mode, again up to four players may play, but instead of racing, the objective is to use items to attack other players, attempting to pop each of their three balloons. Once all three balloons have been popped, that player is out of the game. The player who is the last one standing is the winner. They are four available battle courses.
== Reception ==
Mario Kart 64 received generally positive reviews, with an average 87% on Gamerankings. It was given an 8.1 out of 10 from IGN and an 8 out of 10 from Edge magazine. However, GameSpot gave the game a 6.4 out of 10, saying the gameplay was "too easy and lacks depth".
Category:Mario Kart series
Category:Games released on the Nintendo 64
Category:Games released in 1996
Category:Games released on the iQue Player