Diddy Kong Racing DS

It's been several years since then and things have certainly changed. Creator Rare now dabbles in projects with Microsoft but is still going strong on the portable front with Nintendo. After a successful string of GBA hits, the team have ventured into DS waters with a very ambitious remake of the 1997 racer. A quick port and tacked on touch controls could have made a buck or two, but unlike many developers past and present, Rare have gone beyond the call of duty to bring some great extras to the table.

A handful of titles have snuck into the genre over the years, from Crash Bandicoot to Mickey Mouse but Mario and friends breeze on by with a solid concept that has yet to have been dethroned. Rare took a different approach: varied vehicles and a fairly expansive adventure mode. Instead of just chugging away on land in a kart, players can take to the skies in a plane or navigate the seas in a bouncy hovercraft

 

With a game like Mario Kart, a combination of luck and skill comes into play

 

A much touted part of Diddy Kong Racing is the single player campaign

 

For those that blaze through the single player effort and suffer from billy-no-mates syndrome, whole wealth of tasty extras is available and specific for the DS version. Taj's magical hut houses brand new tracks, custom decals for your vehicle, a fancy track editor and even the ability to record your own voice taunts. Profanities from an adorable yellow mouse have never been so fun! Editing one's tracks is fairly limited, but allows players to draw simple configurations on the touch screen and creates world specific courses to race around. Instead of bananas, levels are now scattered with coins to collect for these delectable treats.

Sharing the Diddy Kong experience with fellow critters is a real gem