Tycho Beat Me To It
Penny Arcade has finally done a comic about MK:DD!!, and they managed to include the Reason for the Season. The comic is pretty funny, ok maybe only the last panel, since that was the Double Dash joke. But don't take my word for it. see for yourself how (maybe un-)funny this comic is.
As usual in a PA comic, you have to read Tycho Brahe's newspost to make any sense of it. As you can see here, he goes over everything I've talked about before, and was planning to talk about, only it sounds cooler. He does make a few good points in Typical Tycho Terminology, where he distills all the contradictory information into a few key points:
-People who say the game is just a regurgitation of other Karts racers are right when it comes to single player modes, but are way off base concerning Co-op. It's like laughing at someone with a splinter in their eye, and you have a tree lodged in your eye.
-So what if you can't jump? The new Drift/Mini-Turbo mechanism is a more than worthy replacement.
The next section is geek-talk, which might be too much for Larissa, so you've been warned:
Some of the things I wanted to bring up was the strategy in the game. Whether you're playing alone or in Co-Op, there's a lot to keep in mind, instead of "drive in a straight line and you're fine". Item Management is one thing that comes to mind. One of the things I do is called "Packing the Kart". Only the rear Thrower can use Items, but both characters can hold an Item with in their hand. So by "Packing the Kart", I drive over Item Boxes with the intention of getting a second Item. Sometimes I'm looking for a Special Item, sometimes I want to store some Mushrooms in the front in case of an accident, and sometimes I want more "Red Shell Insurance", so I either drive over Double Item Boxes (which try to give an Item to both characters), or I switch characters before getting to a regular Box, which is why whenever you see me switch the characters 9 times in 9 seconds, it's not because my Z button is stuck. The nice thing is that the game makes it really easy to get the Item held by the Driver: in Single Play, the game automatically switches characters for you, and in Co-Op, the Driver can push X or Y to pass it back (there is no better sight than seeing Mario possesing Triple Shells).
The other thing is what I call "Red Shell Insurance". When driving in 150cc, the chance that the Karts behind you will get Red Shells is close to 90%, so you need to protect yourself. That's why whenever I get to First Place, my goal is to get Items that can be shot backwards and destroy incoming Red Shells. Good Red Shell Insurance is the difference between a First Place and a Fourth Place win. Currently, the best policy is a Banana Peel in the rear character's hand, since by default they go backwards. I can't tell you how many times I missed with a Green Shell when in a turn, but Shells are a good policy too. Packing the Kart is important, since the computer tends to get 2 Red Shells a lot, and it's always good to be prepared.
Finally there is Item Usefulness. At any one time I'm looking for Items that are useful in the current position. Example: when in First Place, Fake Item Boxes are dumped immediately, since they are worthless in terms of Red Shell Insurance. When in 4th, however, I dump all Bananas instantly, because I want a Red Shell. Using the characters' specials is important. The character in the back gets about 75% more Items than the one in the front, so it behooves you to swap them a lot to get more useful specials. Now you see why I always try to put Paratroopa in the back.
Looking back on my earlier entries, they do sound like something Tycho would write, right? Well, it wasn't intentional, but seeing as how I was a gamer talking about games, you'll see a lot of similarities. Maybe if I add some more fanboyish comments, I can be mocked for copying Gabe (Gabe's awesome, so no insult was intended, except towards me).
And no, I am NOT a twink for always using Paratroopa. So what if my Dream Team is him and Mario in the Red Fire? If I was using one of the Toads with Paratroopa exclusively, and using only the Toad Karts, then being called a Twink would be correct. As it stands, I'm only a quarter-Twink, since I'm using Paratroopa in a Medium Kart.
As usual in a PA comic, you have to read Tycho Brahe's newspost to make any sense of it. As you can see here, he goes over everything I've talked about before, and was planning to talk about, only it sounds cooler. He does make a few good points in Typical Tycho Terminology, where he distills all the contradictory information into a few key points:
-People who say the game is just a regurgitation of other Karts racers are right when it comes to single player modes, but are way off base concerning Co-op. It's like laughing at someone with a splinter in their eye, and you have a tree lodged in your eye.
-So what if you can't jump? The new Drift/Mini-Turbo mechanism is a more than worthy replacement.
The next section is geek-talk, which might be too much for Larissa, so you've been warned:
Some of the things I wanted to bring up was the strategy in the game. Whether you're playing alone or in Co-Op, there's a lot to keep in mind, instead of "drive in a straight line and you're fine". Item Management is one thing that comes to mind. One of the things I do is called "Packing the Kart". Only the rear Thrower can use Items, but both characters can hold an Item with in their hand. So by "Packing the Kart", I drive over Item Boxes with the intention of getting a second Item. Sometimes I'm looking for a Special Item, sometimes I want to store some Mushrooms in the front in case of an accident, and sometimes I want more "Red Shell Insurance", so I either drive over Double Item Boxes (which try to give an Item to both characters), or I switch characters before getting to a regular Box, which is why whenever you see me switch the characters 9 times in 9 seconds, it's not because my Z button is stuck. The nice thing is that the game makes it really easy to get the Item held by the Driver: in Single Play, the game automatically switches characters for you, and in Co-Op, the Driver can push X or Y to pass it back (there is no better sight than seeing Mario possesing Triple Shells).
The other thing is what I call "Red Shell Insurance". When driving in 150cc, the chance that the Karts behind you will get Red Shells is close to 90%, so you need to protect yourself. That's why whenever I get to First Place, my goal is to get Items that can be shot backwards and destroy incoming Red Shells. Good Red Shell Insurance is the difference between a First Place and a Fourth Place win. Currently, the best policy is a Banana Peel in the rear character's hand, since by default they go backwards. I can't tell you how many times I missed with a Green Shell when in a turn, but Shells are a good policy too. Packing the Kart is important, since the computer tends to get 2 Red Shells a lot, and it's always good to be prepared.
Finally there is Item Usefulness. At any one time I'm looking for Items that are useful in the current position. Example: when in First Place, Fake Item Boxes are dumped immediately, since they are worthless in terms of Red Shell Insurance. When in 4th, however, I dump all Bananas instantly, because I want a Red Shell. Using the characters' specials is important. The character in the back gets about 75% more Items than the one in the front, so it behooves you to swap them a lot to get more useful specials. Now you see why I always try to put Paratroopa in the back.
Looking back on my earlier entries, they do sound like something Tycho would write, right? Well, it wasn't intentional, but seeing as how I was a gamer talking about games, you'll see a lot of similarities. Maybe if I add some more fanboyish comments, I can be mocked for copying Gabe (Gabe's awesome, so no insult was intended, except towards me).
And no, I am NOT a twink for always using Paratroopa. So what if my Dream Team is him and Mario in the Red Fire? If I was using one of the Toads with Paratroopa exclusively, and using only the Toad Karts, then being called a Twink would be correct. As it stands, I'm only a quarter-Twink, since I'm using Paratroopa in a Medium Kart.