One of the most anticipated sequels ever has definitely got to be Mario Kart 64. The original was one of the (if not the) best racing games ever for the SNES, mixing characters from the Mario universe with some great old-fashioned racing. Well, now the Nintendo 64 version is finally here, and I must admit it has been a bit of a let down.

The graphics in this game are generally pretty good. The drivers are well animated, and the tracks are very well done. However, when you get up against the forest on Donkey Kong's course, it looks like just one flat texture (which it is). This happens a couple of other times in the game, and it can be really annoying. For the most part, they're great, though.

The music, standard Mario-esque type music (which I happen to enjoy), and sound effects, which work for the most point (although they aren't anything special) are pretty good. Overall, this section is ok.

The most important point about any game is the gameplay, and this is where this game let me down. The control is excellent, and the analog controller works really well. Weapons are easy to aim, and the game is just fun to play! Perhaps the best thing about this game is the four player battle mode. Things can get wild with four players all trying to destroy each other, and this makes it one of the best multiplayer games of all time. Unfortunately, the game's main downfall is the terrible AI. The computer constantly cheats, and no matter how good you get, you can only win by a few seconds at the most. This can get really frustrating at times, and really hurts the playability of the game.

Overall: 8.0