Mario Kart 64 (Nintendo 64, 1997)

This is one of the best multi-player games of all time. Mario Kart 64, like its predecessor for the super nintendo, features a race and a battle mode. There are 16 race courses and 4 battles courses. My friends are divided as to whether race or battle mode is better. I know some people who prefer the cute graphics and handicapping that allows players of different levels to compete on race mode, and people who love the cut-throat hair-on-edge feeling of a good battle. In any case, the game works as before, where the screen divides into 4 quadrants and each player controls his player in his quadrant. The usual cast of characters is
here again, Mario, Luigi, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, Toadstool, etc.

I think the handicapping is a little too prounounced in race mode. That is to say, if you get really far ahead of the pack, the powerup's you start receiving are terrible, like green turtle shells or banana peels. I know I know, the banana peel can be a lethal weapon, but only because if some does fall for a banana peel, the sheer hilarity of watching that guy sputter out of control and start cursing the living daylights is worth it. But here's the thing. If you are way in last place, you'll find yourself getting infinite mushroom after infinite mushroom, and pretty soon you're neck and neck with the first place guy. What this means is the way you drive for the first 3 laps doesn't really matter. So I feel like it disincents people from taking the race seriously the whole way through, and what ends up determining the winner is who is in 3rd place on the final lap and in a position to get the next infinite mushroom. On the flip side, is you can play with anyone, expert of beginner, and keep it interesting. That
can be nice if you have friends with lives who don't spend every hour trying to nail the shortcut in koopa beach, but want to be able to enjoy the wonders of rainbow road.

Battle mode is arguably how this francise made its name, and in 64, Nintendo ups the ante with multidimensional battle courses that span the highly claustrophobic (sky tower) to the cavernous (doughnut) to the labyrinth (the green level) to the all out jungle warfare (blockfort). The great thing about these levels is they offer something for everyone. If you are looking for a quick game before heading off to dinner, you can choose doughnut or the sky tower. If you are looking for all out combat, and don't mind a 30 minute
dogfight, you have blockfort and the green level to choose from. Each of these levels is so physically different that it affords so many different strategies for beating your opponents. I mentioned how funny it is when one of your friends slips on a banana peel in race mode. Well in battle mode, it is a hundred times funnier, since that means they lose a balloon and are much closer to defeat.

There is so much memorable stuff from this game, from racing backwards on the highway against traffic to morphing into a bomb once you are defeated in battle mode. From the golden age of the 64, this is a must have for any one who loves a good multiplayer game.