Quote Originally Posted by Roto13 View Post
Good weapons are rarer when you're in higher places as a way of balancing it out. People who need good weapons to stand a chance, get them. People who are in first place don't get things that put them miles in the lead. It was like that in the older ones, too. When do you ever get a red shell in Mario Kart 64 when you're in the top two?
I got red shells all the time in the two previous Mario Kart games, even when in first. The items you get being based on rank wasn't in Mario Kart 64 for sure. It might have been in the original, but it's been too long since I've played it to remember. As for the weapons being based on your position in Double Dash; Nintendo said it was supposed to work that way, but it never did for me. I could be in last place in that game and almost never get anything better than a banana peel. The system just never worked for anyone but the computer any time I played (and before anyone tries to chalk up my complaints as being a result of not playing enough, I gave this game more than a fair chance back when I got it, beating most of it on every difficulty. Maybe if the game weren't so unbalanced I would have finished it completely).

Double Dash is pretty much the definition of shovelware. They took the basic elements that made the originals great, but totally forgot to put the effort in to make it more than a half-assed money grab. They diluted every aspect of it down until all the depth was gone.