Let's go karting

Colin Polonowski...

So far this year we've had some high quality releases, Attack of the Mutant Penguins, Fight for Life and Rayman to name just a few. Happily Atari Karts looks set to continue this trend.
The gamers amongst us will notice Atari Karts bears an uncanny resemblance to a game featuring a certain Italian plumber. Not that this is a bad thing, Super Mario Kart, was a very playable game but how does the Jag version measure up?

Strategically placed jumps can help you avoid some of the obstacles

During loading a picture of one of the characters you'll be racing against is displayed. The first thing to hit me between the eyes was the graphics. We're off to a flying start - graphically the Jag version takes the chequered flag. The gameplay is much the same.
The game seems slower than Super Mario Kart but after playing for a few minutes I was absorbed racing around the track.

Two player mode adds longevity to the game's appeal

The game is split into four difficulty levels, and each is made up of four "cups". The first three cups are available at the start but in order to play the fourth Miracle Cup, you must have completed the other three. On completion of the Miracle Cup you are awarded with an uprated Kart and can moved up to the next difficulty level.
it takes a while to get used to the controls but completing the first few cups is easy enough. About now you'll notice the lack of variety in the tracks. In fact the first two cups of each level the tracks are identical but reversed so as you progress you have to race the same tracks over and over again - one real life limitation I could do without.
Finishing in fourth place or better "wins" a race. Failure loses a live, lose three and it's game over. Watch out for hearts on the track and drive over them to pick up extra lives.
In order to help (and hinder) you, there are a number of power-ups scattered around. These range from a steering wheel, which gives you greater control over your Kart, to a turtle which slows you down, making it almost impossible to stay in front.
The new Pro-Controller makes it a lot easier to control the Kart. JTS/Atari have made use of buttons four and six which conveniently lie under your index fingers.
The backgrounds and sprites are all well designed with silky smooth movement but the music and sound FX are not so good. The music is OK but doesn't push the Jag anywhere near its limits which wouldn't be so bad if the sound FX were better but they're poor. The engine sound quickly becomes irritating and I had to turn it off in the end.

Completing one of the Miracle Cups gives you access to a better kart

One feature which the Jag version lacks is the battle mode. In the Super Nintendo game there is a section where two players can battle each other over a specially designed track.
Unlike the Super Ninendo version there's no battle mode where two players can race head to head over a specially designed extra track which is a pity. At least the game has a two player mode which gives the game some lasting appeal. Atari Karts is expensive but this is one of the better Jaguar games released to date.