Mario Kart Wii. Best in series? Maybe. - 9/10
Worth buying? Yes. Best in series? Maybe.
Let me start by telling you what you want to hear. You will buy this game, you will play this game, it will be a worthy title to your collection.
Mario Kart Wii is a great game. But before I tell you how good it is I want to tell you about the down sides. The two simple flaws that prevents this from being the best title ever made.
1/ With every Mario Kart to come out on the console (I havent played the handheld versions) since Super Mario Kart, the game has been less about racing and more about action. It doesnt matter how good of a driver you are. Nobody can stop a blue shell. Your one banana can't stop two red shells. With each driver getting 10-15 items per race it can become extremely unfair. Nobody can put into words how frustrating it is racing your heart out and finishing third. All because you were hit by a blue shell one or two kart lengths from the finishing line. It will happen to you. This is the only racing game where luck can play a big part.
In Nintendo interviews leading up to this they emphasised that they wanted everybody to have a chance. They were even hesitant to have time trial leaderboards because they didnt think it would fun for people to see they were ranked 800th in the world.
It is this mentality that has entered the racing also that will see your grandmother beat you occasionally.
2/ You have to unlock everything in the single player mode. In the SNES version and the N64 version (I am pretty sure the same was true for Double Dash but I have repressed my memories of that game) you could unlock everything in the two player mode. Straight from the first starting light the game was an enjoyable multiplayer affair.
Now you are forced to play every track and every class by yourself. It is like being punished for having fun. One of you (what me and my brother call 'the designated sucker') has to play through the entire game repeatedly by themselves to unlock the extra tracks and characters.
With a game this fun, nobody wants to take it in turns or watch. Nor should they. A huge oversight by Nintendo.
Thats the bad news. The good news is Mario Kart gets beyond those short falls and churns out one of the most fun Mario Karts to date.
There are 32 tracks - both retro and new. You will quickly get a favourite and chop and change it as you race. My current favourite is Toads Factory and SNES Ghost House 2. My least favourite is that Maple one which I hate with a passion, and sorry to say, rainbow road.
The tracks can be a lot of fun and at the same time they can encourage a tight and intense race. A perfect balance and most of them well thoguht out.
They are wide enough to fit the 12 racers but also narrow enough in parts to encourage racing elbow to elbow - or my all time favourite Mario Kart thing - ramming somebody off a cliff.
Thats right, 12 drivers race at a time and to compliment this, Nintendo offer a larger lineup of characters. Sadly Daisy is not in the starting lineup but you will be pleased to know she is unlockable. You have 24 in total to choose from (not all available from the start) and also the mii.
Each driver has a variety of bikes and karts to choose from. Bikes are cooler but karts are more stable. You will quickly find your favourite combo. Mine is Baby Mario in a kart (from the get go), and of course Daisy!
I have tried most of the starting characters with both bikes and karts. The difference between characters is minimal.
You also have a variety of modes to race through. The tracks, battle mode and time trials.
Battle mode is also a let down. Having 12 people play against each other in the traditional balloon popping game would have been great! Having two teams of 6 and respawning losers play two or three token battles before you decide its not for you is not as fun.
The biggest and best addition to this version of Mario Kart is the online mode. You and a friend get to race against 10 other people from around the world, on your continent, or those you add as friends.
It is an amazing amount of fun and the most fun I have had in a video game in a long time.
Offline - the computer characters are dirty, unfair and they cheat. However online - 12 human racers, we all make mistakes, which causes a lot of laughs. Race past the first place driver as they embarrassingly hit a wall at the last turn. Watch people fall off cliffs or take wrong turns. It is an incredible amount of fun. It seems to be more balanced than the offline computer racers where they have an unlimited supply of red shells lined up for the first placed driver.
Honest fun action here. You will have the racers you like (I like you Taylor) and you will have the racers, who purely for the purpose of the game and not in real life, you will dislike (damn you William and Coolhand!)
As you wait to join a race you can even watch the current race you are waiting to join. Laugh at the person coming last...Then embarrassingly lose to them when you have a chance.
Nobody wants to finish 12th but somebody has to.
Not everybody has Internet access and not everybody has a sibling to play with. So how will that impact your experience?
Is it fun in single player? Yes, but probably not lasting.
Is it fun in multiplayer? See above, but you will always find reason to pull it out and have a race.
Is it fun online? Definately!
Either way, it is a must buy.
There are some parts I havent covered that you may want to know such as how good is the steering wheel? Well I dont really have an opinion on it and I use the gamecube controller. You will have to wait and see.
Also the item boxes. A few additional items but you should know the gist of it by now. Plenty on each lap to use.
As for boosting - there are plenty of opportunities to boost which might mean on time trials you dont get the best time. Even if you take every turn perfectly, your times may depend on your ability to boost at every opportunity.
But overall I have given you enough to think about.
Graphics: Nintendo style cutesy graphics. Clear and well presented.
Sound: Nintendo style cutesy sound. The voice overs get repetative but never enough to want to turn the sound off. Hilarious high speed sounds when you are hit by lightning.
Gameplay: An incredible amount of fun for people of all ages. Easy to pick up, medium to be a great racer, impossible to be the best (see down falls above)
Lasting appeal: I assume it will last but as I said, it is less of a racing game and more of an action game. You wont pick it up because you feel like a race. You will mostly pick this up to race online or against a sibling/mate.
Overall:
If you want a Mario Kart that is about being the best driver and you are rewarded for doing so. Still jampacked with Nintendo type fun and items - get hold of Super Mario Kart
If you want a Mario Kart that is more of an action game and is about fun, this game wont disappoint.
In conclusion:
This is a must buy for anybody with an Internet conenction and/or a friend.
Submitted by greenbob
25/04/2008
356
7
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