Mario Kart Wii
A new game in a long running franchise, the Mario Kart series has overall been good, though the last few games have been hit or miss with the fans. This
time around we get some new gimmicks as Mario Kart makes it's way onto everyone's favorite penis joke console. Let's start off with the gimmicks shall we?
First off we've finally got online play in a Mario Kart game for a console, though I hope you enjoy Nintendo's super retarded friend code system because it's back
to piss off people all over again! I've not had any personal experiance with the online play but I've heard nothing but good things about it, as apparently Nintendo
actually got the online play right this time, unlike certain other recent big name sequals on the Wii. Our next gimmick is the Wii Wheel, a plastic shell in the shape of
a wheel that you plug your wiimote into to simulate driving. Great way to shrug off that "kiddy system" stereotype Nintendo, give us a corny plastic wheel that's fucking tiny.
It looks like it's made for four year old hands, I keep thinking I'll accidentally break the damn thing whenever I hold it. The last gimmick of real note is half the courses in this game
are returning from previous games, and boy did they pick some awful courses to bring back. Granted the last Mario Kart game I'd played was Mario Kart 64, so alot of these
tracks actually are new for me, I really wish I'd never played some of them.
Now for a little good news, yes this game is good, and if you enjoy Mario Kart and have a few friends to play with it's worth picking up. It's pretty much what
you would expect from a Mario Kart game I suppose, but it definitely feels rushed. Be warned, the AI in this game is vicious and will make you absolutely hate items
and possibly cause you to go apeshit and break your Wii Wheel in half. I've had several instances where I was on the final lap of a race in 1st place, only to be hit by
three or more items back to back and knocked off the track, causing me to end up in 10th place or later. Speaking of 10th place, the races now allow for twelve racers at
once instead of the classic eight, which is both an improvement and a downgrade. Oh goody! Now I can come in even further behind in my races! Gone is the gimmicky
2 person per kart deal we saw in Mario Kart Double Dash, Nintendo has decided to give us something a little different this time. Now you pick your character, and then
you get to pick from a choice of different karts, or the new motorcycles added to this game. The motorcycles are generally harder to use of course, but can be faster due
to being able to pop a wheelie at any time for a speed boost. Still call me oldschool but I'd much rather stick to the karts thanks.
I did fiddle a bit with multiplayer offline, we see the return of multiplayer racing of course, as well as everyone's favorite balloon popping deathmatch, Battle
mode. Battle mode has a bit of a twist this time around from what I remember, in that it's set up in teams of six vs. six and the team with the highest score in the end is
the winner. This is actually a nice improvement I think, but makes me wish we could still optionally play one on one without the mandatory teammates, whom are filled
up by the AI offline. I have no clue if Battle mode works online but I wouldn't see why not.
Overall this game is good, one of the better Mario Kart games, but the graphics are of questionable quality and the AI will possibly cause you to run from
the room screaming after any given race. I still consider Mario Kart 64 to be the best in the series, but this one is definitely worth a look from fans and newcomers alike.