Mario Kart DS Dominates

Nintendo's Goodie Should Be On Everyone's List This Year

(CBS)  But all is not lost. Just go to a McDonald's.

A few weeks back, Nintendo partnered with wireless hotpot provider Wayport (www.wayport.net) and fast food chain McDonald's to create wireless hotspots across the nation that WFC-enabled DS games can connect to free of charge. Yes, I said free. While not every McDonald's may be Wi-Fi enabled, most cities should have a few that can be found by going to Nintendo's Wi-Fi (www.nintendowifi.com) or Wayport's web page and looking for the hotspot in your area. I was waiting for a bus this past weekend and was across the street from a McDonald's. I turned on Mario Kart DS to see if they had the hotspot online. Sure enough I was not only able to connect but was able to get one quick race with a Nintendo of America employee in Washington before my bus arrived. Quick, easy, painless and free Internet connectivity is what Nintendo WFC gaming is supposed to be about, and I like it. This was a MASSIVE difference from my tests with connecting to a home network. Every single McDonalds that I have passed during my review period has allowed me to connect to the WFC easily and flawlessly, even from across the street.
All Internet enabled games on wireless handheld systems should be this easy to connect to; I think Nintendo has definitely paved the way with this partnership.

Oh, in case you were wondering, the game play while racing against my opponent on the other side of the country was as smooth as glass. As a matter of fact, a bystander was looking over my shoulder while I was racing, (nosy NYC commuters,) looked around and asked where my "friend" was that I was racing. I answered, "Seattle". He was stunned. I quickly explained the McDonald's hotspot access, and he was dumbfounded ... not only by the fast, smooth game play, but by the free Internet access. I have raced with 3 other opponents many times, as 4 is the maximum number of racers for WFC Internet races, and I have never once experienced any lag or stuttering in performance from the game play. It was just superb to play.

Not only can you choose from your friends to race against when you are playing on the WFC Internet, you can choose from rivals, who are chosen racers who are in the same skill threshold as you. This ensures that you wont get left in the dust by a veteran racer if you are a beginner. You can also choose from regional opponents within North America or see how you really fare by taking on opponents worldwide. Racing against opponents in Germany, Canada and Washington was exciting, fast-paced and just what the DS needs.

I'll say it again: Internet connected gaming is the way of the future for handheld console systems.