No Name Gaming Review – Mario Kart Wii
Mario Kart has finally hit the Wii with the aptly titled Mario Kart Wii. This installment boasts all new features, but how does it stand to its predecessors?
Undoubtedly, Mario and his pals have been “around the block” in terms of game exposure. Every sport you can think of – even the freakin’ Olympics – have had the plump, big-nosed Italian plumber plastered all over it. Arguably the most successful of these franchises outside of the main Mario games is the Mario Kart series. The franchise Spans six systems, arcade units, remote controlled cars and is widely known as the highpoint of multiplayer racing, the series makes a grand debut in the wake of Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Nintendo Wii.
When Super Mario Kart appeared on the Super NES system, it struck gold with players and has been resurfacing from time to time ever since. Each new installment added something new to the fold – Mario Kart 64 added four player multiplayer and more interactive courses, Super Circuit made Mario Kart portable, Double Dash!! added two racers per kart as well as enhancing and adding many new gameplay elements, and Mario Kart DS allowed Mario Kart to be played online. What else can be accomplished for a racing series? Oh yeah, how could I forget? You can actually race with a wheel! Or should I say Wii-l?
Mario Kart Wii’s addition to the Mario Kart fold allows you to actually steer with a plastic wheel that holds your Wii-mote in the center while you steer the wheel, controlling the movement of your vehicle. While it may seem weird at first, it’s easy to catch on as the gas button and object usage buttons are easy to access while steering and the controls are very solid. My thing is the Wii Wheel does not work for more advanced methods like snake drifting, but that’s diving into the particulars. All in all the Wii Wheel is much more fun to use than it should be and if you stick to automatic steering, you should be fine even in the higher CC classes. Mario Kart apparently was peeking when people applauded Smash Bros. Brawl’s multi control scheme as MK Wii allows you to do much the same way. While there are more benefits to driving with your wheel, the game gives players the option of using the Nunchuk, Classic Controller and GameCube controller as alternatives.
Graphically speaking it is a slight improvement over Double Dash!! but nothing extraordinary. The tracks from GCN are not touched up at all and the others are only minor improvements to their original versions. The sounds are pretty good with the exception of a couple of screeches (Donkey Kong is sitting in the corner for this one) and noises. Music is hit or miss as some tracks have great melodies and some make you want to mute the game. Overall, there is nothing too good but nothing overly bad in this department.
The entire roster of the Mario realm (I really do mean entire – 24 characters worth) is here for this installment of a racing good time. That’s fine as there is an incredible amount of depth in character selection. This doesn’t even include the fact that your personal Miis are available to race as well, so the potential for character choices is as high as your imagination will take it. There are 12 racers per race (up from eight in previous installments), four CC classes (50, 100, 150 and 150 mirror mode), three separate weight classes (8 standard characters per class – excluding Miis, of course), 32 total tracks (16 new and 16 retro courses encompassing all previous installments), and several modes of play.
The other main additions to the world of Mario Kart with Wii are the addition of bikes and tricks/wheelies. Bikes are fun to play with at first, but they handle much like the karts do, and aside from being able to pop a wheelie for a small boost they swap attribute advantages with the karts so it all comes down to personal preference once the novelty wears off. That said, there are six bikes and six karts giving the player depth in choosing the vehicle of his or her preference. Tricks are performed by flicking the Wiimote or wheel as your vehicle leaves the ground allowing you to show your inner Evel Knievel as well as getting a slight boost when you land. The only real element retained from Double Dash!! Is the drifting system, and it has been modified to make it much hard for “snakers” to snake. All other innovative elements in Double Dash!! have pretty much been stripped from this version, and that is sad for me to have to relay to you. Even the battle system in this game seems sloppy and tacked on.
Sticking to its guns, Mario Kart Wii’s racing is fun and innovative in its own way. I have never seen a racing game where the racer gets punished as badly as they do in Mario Kart Wii. With the infamous blue shell and several new items (giant mushroom and POW blocks ahoy!), it can be hard to stay ahead of the AI crowd and the rubber banding AI is worse than ever in this installment. You can literally be ten seconds ahead of the crowd about to win a race and get hit with three blue shells, two red shells, and smacked by a bullet and end up in ninth place. Many a time I have wanted to throw my Wii wheel through my window and scream “never again!” but alas, where it is brutalizing it is also addictive and fun – especially the online play.
Online play is the bread and butter of this game, outside from the “ooh bikes” and “oh my gosh, I’m actually steering” experience. Rubber banding is non-existent and the item selections are not unruly difficult to deal with. You (and a friend) can play with anyone around the world, in your region, or with your MK Wii friends up to 12 people per race and you all vote on a course before the game randomly selects a vote. The online system is an improvement from the system implemented in Brawl; however, Nintendo remains adamant about forcing you to use friend codes to play with friends online. A small detriment, but it does not detract from online gameplay – the shining star of the game.
The Breakdown:
+ Online play is the best endeavor yet made by Nintendo
+ Many choices of characters and vehicles
+ Mii customization is good at allowing people to feel like they truly are racing
+ The Wii Wheel is much more fun than it should be and controls are tight and responsive
+ Very addictive gameplay and with the online feature there is lots of replayability
- Tracks could have been touched up and made to implement new systems better
- Sounds and graphics leave you wanting for something better
- Rubber band AI will make you curse like a furious Slovak
- Stripped of most of the enhancements that made Double Dash!! so great
All in all, if you’re a fan of the Mario Kart franchise, or you want a party game alternative for Brawl, you should give Mario Kart Wii a try. It’s not perfect by any means, but it is fun and has addictive gameplay and the online play is truly Nintendo’s greatest feat at penetrating the online experience to date.
Final Score: 8 out of 10
