Go Karting Games

'Mario Kart' Series

• "Mario Kart" has featured on just about every Nintendo Console, starting with the original "Super Mario Kart" on the Super Nintendo all the way up to "Mario Kart Wii" on the Nintendo Wii. Although each reiteration brings changes to the game, the core game play remains the same. You choose one of several characters from the Mario universe, hop into a go kart and race three laps around a course. Course hazards such as lava, moving platforms and monsters face you at every turn, plus you'll have to contend with your cutthroat opponents constantly hurling shells, lightning bolts and banana peels in your direction.

  In addition to single and multiplayer race modes, the games also feature a battle mode. Three balloons are strapped to each racer's go kart and you zip around an arena trying to pop your opponents' balloons before they pop yours.

'Diddy Kong Racing'

• "Diddy Kong Racing" originally was released for the Nintendo 64 and later came out as a Nintendo DS remake. While the DS remake features some enhancements over the original, you'll find the main game play remains the same. You choose a character from the Donkey Kong Country universe and one of three vehicles: karts, hovercrafts and planes. In single-player mode, you'll lead your character through an overworld, entering in new races and battling bosses.

  The actual racing in "Diddy Kong Racing" has less of an emphasis on weapons and power-ups (although they're still there) and puts more focus on using the abilities of the different vehicles to find new hidden shortcuts within each level.

'Crash Team Racing'

• "Crash Team Racing" stars the cast of the "Crash Bandicoot" series. Although it originally launched in 1999 for the PlayStation, it can still be downloaded over the PlayStation Network onto your PlayStation 3. Like "Diddy Kong Racing," "Crash Team Racing's" single-player mode has you exploring an overworld in search of new races to complete.

  "Crash Team Racing" features a turbo boost system. While on the ground, you can tap a button to engage turbo boost and blast ahead of the competition, but the boost is short-lived. To recharge your turbo boost, you'll have to go airborne off jumps and recharge with hangtime.