Mario Kart Wii (Wii)

...churning out of a new Mario Kart title on every new Nintendo console that gets me all warm and fuzzy inside. Probably not quite the counting the hours anticipation that comes with those huge 'killer app' titles though. With the original MK title being released on the SNES, we saw Mario getting pawned off for one of his first sporting outfits in a go-kart. The title garnered aload of popularity and to this date is still regarded by many as the best ...
...bet he second though, when Mario Kart went 3D with his friends, and drove around chocolate mountain tracks for the first time with the option of a four-player multi option. Perhaps my opinion is tainted by the fact that I have the best memories with this game, whilst it may not have had the best courses, I certainly remember some competitive late nights with my Nintendo 64 -- not to mention the countless amount of short-cuts.

'Super ... more

INTRO

Whilst it may not quite be immersing yourself into the world of the latest Legend Of Zelda, there is certainly something that about the churning out of a new Mario Kart title on every new Nintendo console that gets me all warm and fuzzy inside. Probably not quite the counting the hours anticipation that comes with those huge 'killer app' titles though. With the original MK title being released on the SNES, we saw Mario getting pawned off for one of his first sporting outfits in a go-kart. The title garnered aload of popularity and to this date is still regarded by many as the best of all the name-sake games to follow it. I find it hard to deny that my favourite would bet he second though, when Mario Kart went 3D with his friends, and drove around chocolate mountain tracks for the first time with the option of a four-player multi option. Perhaps my opinion is tainted by the fact that I have the best memories with this game, whilst it may not have had the best courses, I certainly remember some competitive late nights with my Nintendo 64 -- not to mention the countless amount of short-cuts.

'Super Circuit' followed on the Gameboy Advance, and would be the first time that the game went handheld. Having never had any hands-on experience with the game I cannot really comment, although I do know that the game was popular for its more refined 2D feel going back to the routes of the SNES original. What was most interesting about the fourth release of MK would be that it received the slogan, 'Double Dash!!' and meant that you had two Nintendo characters on one kart. Gimmicky, but with ideas of being able to access two characters special weapons as well as a co-operative mode, meant it is one of the most underappreciated of the go-kart releases, with many shunning the Gamecube as a console on the whole. The main disappointment with MK:DD came down to its lack of improved multiplayer support, and rather than a fully-fledged online title it was LAN-enabled, meaning you could connect your Gamecubes together and have larger races with friends. That only works if you happen to know other people that actually bought a 'Cube though.

Eventually Nintendo would welcome the idea of an online Mario Kart venture, allowing you to play opponents from all around the world. Whilst some found this service to be lacking in terms of competitive services offered from the likes of Microsoft with voice chat, this free service would take advantage of the new Wi-Fi technology. Nintendo's dual-screen console, the DS, would work perfectly as the first site of this leap forwards as it meant you could play MK on-the-go. This leads us on to the release of the sixth Mario Kart title, simply known as Mario Kart Wii. With the progressions made, online play was a must, but there is also the much needed discussion on how the title would fit in with the Wii's new unique control system. To make up for Nintendo's slow progress in getting a release date for its Mario-based fighting venture, 'Super Smash Bros Brawl', they treated us to an early European release -- whilst America shall have to wait until the end of April -- although is MK Wii really a worthy title to be fobbed off with until Brawl?

CONTROLS

Mario Kart Wii comes free with the Wii Wheel, a circular lump of white plastic to put your Wii remote controller in to allow you to make pretend you are driving an actual car. Considering the release of MK actually coinciding with me purchasing a new motor vehicle, I can tell you right now which one I prefer. The one that costs a damn sight more. Fashionably the Wii Wheel does fit right in along side all the rest of the first-party accessories Nintendo have released, and the sleak spotless style of the Wii console. The Wiimote slips perfectly into the centre of the wheel, with a hole in the back allowing you to dangle your wrist strap out of. The other noteable mention goes to the 'B' button on the back of the Wii Wheel, as when you press it in it pushes on to the actual 'B' button on the Wiimote. This is just one of the five 'staggering' amount of different ways to control Mario Kart Wii.

The second method is the Wiimote without the Wii Wheel, although this is essentially the same as if you were using the wheel. I feel this will probably become the most commonly used method of control if you are playing multi-player, as few will splash out for additional wheels, and I also know few people that have been able to afford extra nunchucks. That leads me nicely on to my preferred method of control that allows you to plug the nunchuck into the bottom of the Wiimote and use the analogue stick to control the direction of your kart, rather than having to rotate your Wiimote from side-to-side.

You can also control the game using the classic controller (designed essentially for the virtual console games you can download on to your Wii) or the Gamecube controller, for those who actually kept them after they grew tired of their last Nintendo console. I cannot comment on how these methods work as I don't have access to either controls, although considering the 'Cube controller is hailed as one of the best controllers ever I do know there are a lot of diehard Nintendo fans out there that control the game this way.

When I first played the game I used the Wii Wheel, probably because all the promotion of the game is based around controlling it this way, you even have Mario and Luigi on the boxart of the game case battling it out using the wheel. Considering I am becoming a bit of a Wii control veteran, I was surprised by just how strange it is having to move the control to move your kart and found myself going off course, although I soon discovered that smaller movements are better than greater ones -- a policy that reigns true with most Wii games. I have played the game against friends that do not own a Wii, and they find the wheel just as difficult to get used to. Strangely depending on what control method you are using the buttons purposes alter greatly, and you will find yourself having to experiment a bit to get an understanding of everything. To further confuse matters, the game gives you an option of having your karts as 'automatic' or 'manual', which mixes up the buttons even more.

COURSES

There is no great surprise that Nintendo have published the game with eight cups, with the usual range of mushroom to lightening. Each cup consists of four different tracks, and with four cups being made-up of retro tracks from previous versions of the game that means Mario Kart Wii only actually has sixteen unique tracks. Whilst I have grown to appreciate some of the tracks moreso, I do feel that the new MK tracks make up the worst batch to date. My main critcism would come down to the fact that there is just so much going on with each track, and they seem to be more chaotic than ever -- in a bad way. Think the differences between crazy golf and PGA golf, and Mario Kart Wii is most certainly crazy-racing. Take for example 'Mushroom Gorge', one of the first tracks shown to promote the game, this includes you springing from big giant mushrooms to another. People at Nintendo clearly thought this was a great idea, and whilst it is slightly more fun to play than watch, it's just something that makes the game all a bit too much. The same can be applied to other courses on the game, including 'Wario's Golf Mine', where if you're not being attacked by bats and mining vehicles you are likely to be spinning out of control from a shot of steam or a boost pad.

Unfortunately the layout of the game shows a distinct lack of imagination from a team that is supposed to be the opposite of that, afterall they created an Italian plumber that rides around on a baby dinosaur. You will not be surprised to see the game includes the usual themed tracks, such as the desert and Bowser's castle. And of course the game has to climax with the final course being Rainbow Road, a course known for being mostly just difficult to stay on the track. What the team behind the Wii iteration is the campest Rainbow Road to date, with the colour scheme being something to best suit a five-year old girls birthday party.

Every track seems to have been developed with the new trick system in mind, where if you go off a ramp then you can perform a trick to receive a boost when you hit back to the ground. Do not get too excited by this trick system, it simply just involves one movement that doesn't ever differ (for my control method it's flicking the Wiimote upwards). This means that on tracks such as 'DKs Snowboard Cross' you will have boost ramps up the sides of the course, so if you think you've got some extra time on your hands you can perform a nice little track and get a new weapon as well usually. Personally, I wouldn't bother doing this just for the fun of it, and whilst I do quite like the new 'trick for a boost' perspective, the edits done to the course just seem to be there to over complicate things and as I have said before -- make the whole experience even more chaotic.

Just as with Mario Kart DS, retro tracks are back, although the buggery of these old courses has came underfire due to the way that they have been widened to allow for the new Wii aspects. Suddenly the DS track 'Delfino Square' is no longer fun, although as someone who never played the GBA game it is nice to finally experience 'Shy Guy Beach'. From the N64, I am happy to see 'DK Jungle Parkway' make an appearance, although the best thing about most of the N64 tracks were their unintentional shortcuts. MK Wii's new course feature shortcuts, although they are all plain as day, and there are few that are that exciting once you have discovered them. I would have to say that my favourite of all the new courses would be 'Koopa Cape', as whilst it does include fast moving as you drive on water, it is one of the few courses that doesn't really offer the idea of different routes.

GAMEPLAY

Mario Kart has always been all about the racing really, and the grand prix mode offers you a greater variety of difficulty settings than ever before. This is because the mechanics of the game have differed to not just include karts, but also motorbikes. I have to admit that when I first heard motorbikes were going to be in the game I was devastated, and up until I received my copy of MK Wii I was swearing I would not use a bike, although I have found it to be the best mode of transport thus far. I always first play the game at the 50cc setting, because I know if I jump in at a higher speed it will feel so slow when I go back to do the lower speeds to complete the game in full, and now the game also includes the option of playing grand prixs with just karts, just bikes, or a mix of both. Each race includes twelve racers, making the races larger than ever, and you receive points according to where you place. You shall also receive a grade for how well you've done in the cup, and this shall keep you interested in the game for a while longer to get the best possible grades that you can.

If you are looking for a really speedy MK experience then you can always just play versus mdoe, which allows you to select courses singulary to race. Time trials is also always an entertaining mode, as with just three 'boost' mushrooms at your dispossal you try and get the best course time that you possibly can. Battle mode also returns allowing you to play at attempting to get as many coins as possible, or the traditional battle mode of trying to burst all your opponents balloons. This also includes some retro battle mode arenas from MK past.

What was strange about when I first put the Mario Kart Wii disc into my Wii, it asked me to perform an upgrade. For someone that has never upgraded their Wii through updates you can download off the internet, this would be a frightening experience, but it seems that the MK disc just includes something it wants you to install before you play. I do have a feeling this could have something to do with the way MK Wii connects to your Mii channel, and allows you to play as your Mii in races. Seeing your Mii actually racing against the likes of Mario and Waluigi is incredibly strange, and probably the first time you've ever seen something realistic in the Mushroom Kingdom. There are also some nice touches like how it puts other Miis that have been created on your Wii around the game, so do not be surprised to be driving around 'Coconut Mall' and see your mum on a poster.

Importantly there is a lot to unlock on MK, including characters and vehicles. I am actually quite selective of what character I play as, and what vehicle I use, checking all the stats of the vehicles and how they differ to one another. What I like about the motorbikes is how they allow you to perform wheelies, and this seems to speed you up as well, as I discovered as I was beaten by Princess Peach on the line. That's worth noting as well, do not be surprised to see the computers artifical intelligence allowing them to perform things you wouldn't expect them to. I would say that the Wii version of the game sees the races more heaped up than ever, and even if you are in twelth position you are still likely to have first in sight.

All the traditional weapons are there such as the green shells and hanging a banana skin out of your butt. Unfortunately there are still the likes of the blue shells though, where you are likely to be about five seconds from victory and have a blue shell hit you and there is literally nothing you can do to avoid that. I would even say that blue shells are more featured than ever, so do not be surprised to see at least three a race. There are some new weapons introduced, yet I would say the only slightly decent one of these items is the mega mushroom that makes you go larger in size. For the first time there is an anti-weapon, the thundercloud that works as lighning against yourself unless you are lucky enough to bump into an opponent and they'll take the thundercloud away from you. Possibly in the worst move in Mario Kart history as well the 'POW block' has been introduced. This weapon makes your opponents spin out of control unless they are off the ground, and these crop up more than once a race. Considering a lot of these weapons mean you lose all the weapons you have stored up if they happen against you, it takes away the tactical idea of saving things like red shells, and your best bet is to use weapons straight away unless you want to lose them.

ONLINE

Considering there isn't really that much too the one-player experience, taking the game online needed to be a saving grace to keep the interest in the game. By adding unique twelve digit 'friend codes' you can play against your friends, whilst if you do not care who you are playing against you can select your options accordingly. On the DS you could only have four in a race, meaning if people gave up you could find yourself winning by default, but with the Wii allowing twelve in a race it means I am yet to notice anyone disappearing mid-race. Scores also update after every race, and you do not have to wait for twelve people to fill a race but rather than service just puts you in with as many people are online and waiting (usually a minimum of seven). When you first go online as well it shows you where your opponents live, with a nice waving graphic of their Mii, which it is a nice little extra to know. You can vote for which track you would prefer to race on, although selection is done randomly and not by majority, so you may sometimes have to wait for your favourite course.

When playing it displays to your who is controlling their character using the Wii Wheel, it's almost as though Nintendo are punishing you for not using the Wheel. You are also able to play battle mode against online opponents, download ghosts for time trial mode to race against and check world rankings.

VERDICT

I would love to stop Nintendo and ask them why they decided to include so many different control methods for Mario Kart Wii, because the Wii Wheel and a Wiimote/nunchuck combination would probably be enough for the mix of the casual and the serious gamers. I guess a ridiculously long list of control diagrams must sell. It's a shame to see the reappearance of themed tracks such as Moo Moo Farm go so badly, because most of the new aspects about the game just aren't up to scratch, especially the new weapons. The only real success of the game has to be that motorbikes are actually more fun than karts, and it leads me to believe MK may go down the same route as Diddy Kong Racing and we are not far away from seeing the likes of boats and aircrafts. One of the biggest arguments created by the Mario Kart franchise is that of 'snaking', which allows you to do a certain thing and get a boost, I perfected this on MK DS to a stage where I was getting d-pad printed thumbs -- yet I just can't quite work out how they expect us to do this on Mario Kart Wii. Considering though that most people hated this I can see why they have made it so mysterious at this early stage, but I still feel that 'snaking' is the only slight bit of skill involved in a MK race.

You still have the annoying factors such as the flying blue shell, and you now have the irritating warning noise given off by the Wiimote when you have something bad coming up behind you (the picture will show you whether it's a red shell, star, etc.) Quite a few weapons can be left laying around the course by the time you're on your third and final lap, but if you have ever liked Mario Kart before you are likely to enjoy this. It is not the five-star experience I was hoping for, although with enhanced graphics it is pretty much what I was expecting from the Wii installment of the game. Mario Kart Wii 1 - 0 Nintendo Wii Wheel. 

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