Mario Kart Wii

The Mario name bears many spin-off titles, but one of the few and possibly the only one to achieve critical acclaim is the Mario Kart franchise. Its simple yet intensely fun gameplay has made it a hit ever since the SNES days. Mario Kart Wii aims to keep the consistent success of the series alive on a console that fans claim needs more good games.

 

The obvious addition to this installment is the addition of motion controls. The game comes packed with a plastic steering wheel that holds the Wiimote. The good news is the price of the game didn't even increase even with the peripheral packaged in. You're given the option of playing with the Wiimote (with or without the wheel), Wiimote and nunchuk, Gamecube controller, or classic controller.

 

It's good to be able to say that Nintendo mastered the most popular control scheme. Steering with motion controls just has a natural feel to it. The accelerate button (2) and throw (B) feel perfectly placed and it just makes the game more fun to play with this control option. I did have a few instances where it messed up and my kart started goin in the wrong direction, but other than these few times my racing experience has been flawless.

 

There are four main game modes in Mario Kart Wii: Grand Prix, Time Trials, Versus, and Battle. Grand Prix and Time Trials are single player only. In Grand Prix you can compete in 3 different classes (50cc, 100cc, and 150cc) in which you compete against 11 computer opponents through a series of races trying to be #1. There are 8 different cups to participate in, each with 4 tracks. Time Trials is simply you racing alone on tracks trying to achieve the best possible time. This mode is pretty boring and the majority of players don't even touch it. Versus is your typical pick up and race on any track you want. Battles consists of Coin Runners and Balloon Battle. Players are split up into two teams randomly. In Coin Runners, coins are scattered around the course, and the two teams compete to see who can collect the most in a set time limit. In Balloon Battle each player has three ballons attached to their kart and the objective is to hit the opposing team's karts to make them lose balloons. Versus and Battle are eligible to be played on Wi-Fi.

 

The game features 32 tracks, 16 completely new and the other 16 are classic tracks from previous games. These are modified to fit newer gameplay styles and are enhanced graphically, but otherwise remain untouched. This is the same set-up featured in Mario Kart DS.  There are a few new tracks where that feel uninspired and just aren't that fun to race on, but for the most part the new tracks are nicely designed and fit right into the series.

 

Gameplay remains mostly unchanged since Mario Kart DS outside of control, which is both a good and bad thing. The Mario Kart games have always been just plain fun, and that sense remains with Mario Kart Wii. However, this also means the same unfortunate things that have haunted the series in the past are still here. Races last 3 laps, but the beginning of the races hardly even seem to matter. The oucome is determined about 50% based on the luck of what items you draw, and the other 50% based on how well you use your items and pure driving skill. This does help to even out the race and make newcomers be able to hang with the most skilled players, but it can be frustrating to be in first place the whole time only to lose it at the end.

 

Even more frustrating are the items that are basically impossible to avoid. Two newly added items add to this problem. There's the POW block which when activated causes everyone but the person who used it to spin out of control and drop any item they may have. The other is the lightning cloud which raises the user's top speed briefly, but shrinks the user if it is not passed on to an opponent by colliding with them. And the blue shell remains. If you haven't already experienced this nasty item for yourself, a player who holds this item can launch it and it automatically finds the player in first place and comes crashing down on them making them to be at a complete stop for about 3 seconds. It's things like these that just make the game feel cheap.

 

The game features 24 famous Nintendo characters (plus being able to race using your Mii), and 36 vehicles. This time around vehicles include not only karts, but bikes as well. The bikes are a nice addition to add some new style to the game, but overall they don't feel that much different and don't end up being a major addition.

 

Something Wii games have been lacking is online capabilities, so it was a big deal when Wi-Fi was announced for Mario Kart Wii. You are able to play both Versus mode and Battle (as mentioned earlier). When first starting out on Wi-Fi you are given a ranking of 5000 to begin with, and this number goes up or down depending on your positioning at the end of each race, which is good as it gives you something to work for. Being able to play online does wonders for Mario Kart Wii's replayability, but it's held back a little by the atrocious Friend Code system.

 

Mario Kart Wii stays true to the franchise's history. It offers a fun game for everyone, both casual and hardcore gamers. It lacks depth and still carries some annoying issues, but it's just so enjoyable that you'll want to keep coming back again and again.

 

Score: 8.2