Double Dash wasn't terrible, it just wasn't that great either. Too much of the difficulty in the game was based around what insane items the computer decided to give your opponents in order to fuck you out of a win. I know for a fact that I'm better at the driving aspect of the game than my friends, yet I lose on a consistent basis solely because the computer will give my buddies Blue Shells and Lightning Bolts left and right, but once I'm all the way back in last, it won't give me jack shit to work with.

I have pretty high expectations for this game. Hal Laboratories has developed all three games, so they know their way around the franchise. If it's not up to par, there's no excuse.