I know that Nintendo invented the cart racing genre with Mario Kart, and usually when Nintendo comes up with an idea they outdo everyone else. But here we have an exception. Crash Team Racing outdoes Mario Kart in so many ways that it puts Mario Kart to shame. CTR basically uses the same weapons as in Mario Kart. They may look different and be called different things, but they basically have the same effect. The two best weapons to have are the guided missile and the warp orb, which when juiced up, can cause all the racers ahead of you to crash and put you in first place. When you collect and hold ten pieces of fruit, you go faster and your weapons are "juiced up."
What really sets CTR apart from the other racers out there is its adventure mode, where you race through different circuits to unlock more racers and courses in arcade mode. The game is actually very similar to a Crash adventure game, in that each course has three objectives. First, you have to come in first place on the course. Then, you have two more things to earn on the course--a relic for beating a certain time and a gem that you earn when you collect the letters C, T and R from the course while also finishing in first place.
There are also boss levels, where you have to race against a boss on their course, which can be very difficult. There are also a few gem collecting levels, where you are in an arena and have to collect all the gems in a give amount of time. These additions may not be incredibly fun, but they at least add a little variety.
Finally, I enjoy the multiplayer mode in CTR much better than that in Mario Kart. You can play with up to four players split-screen, either racing or playing in a battle arena trying to take out the other players.
Overall, CTR is a very solid game. For all I care, there could never be another cart racing game made again because this is the best one I have ever played, or probably ever will play, unless there is a sequel to CTR.
