Mario Kart DS debuted on the Nintendo DS in November 2005, earning a number of critical accolades and selling millions of copies. Now Rare attempts to copy its successful formula with its Nintendo 64 revival, Diddy Kong Racing DS.

To its credit, Diddy Kong follows more of an adventure theme than the usual racing game. Players guide Diddy (or another character of their choice) through an interactive world, where several racing goals must be completed. As players rack up first place victories, they earn items (keys and balloons) that they use to unlock tracks. A friendly elephant genie named Taj pops up from time to time, presenting occasional challenges and helpful advice.

It sounds like a novel addition to a racing game, just like it was years ago on the N64. However, the problem that existed then still surfaces with this revival – the whole thing grows tedious. Players find themselves in sheer frustration as they must repeat races to advance to the next level. Even facing off against the "happy clock" T.T. (short for Time Trial) has its share of issues, as every race – every single one – must be completed once more to beat his challenge. Furthermore, driving around just to find the next level grows boring. Say the player finds the door to access the next racing area, only to be one or two balloons short of getting it open. This requires driving around to acquire the necessary balloons (and having to complete those side challenges) and then driving all over to try and find that certain door again.

Rare managed to restore the classic kart racing in which players compete in ground or air-based vehicles. Unfortunately, the developers complicated the proceedings with some unnecessary control tweaks. Before the start of a race, a player uses his or her stylus to spin a propeller or roll a tire to get a speed boost. Once the race starts, they have to quickly regain control of their vehicle with the digital pad and buttons, an annoying requirement. Furthermore, some objectives irritate. One level forces players to extinguish torches by blowing into the system's microphone, a stupid and frustrating requirement, seeing as how said torches take forever to burn out.

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