 The name "Mario Kart Wii" is perfect for Mario Kart Wii, because Nintendo just took everything you know about Mario Kart, put it on a Wii disc and packaged it as a Wii video game with a lame Wii Wheel. If you are reading this review you are probably perfectly fine with that, because Nintendo games have been all about "more of the same" for quite some time now. Nintendo fans are used to it and better at dealing with more of the same crap than anyone but rap fans. Luckily, "more of the same" does not mean "bad", or anything close to it. I am a Mario Kart veteran, and although I am disappointed by a few of the flaws found in the game, I am ecstatic that there is a new Mario Kart to play.
Even if it is just more of the same, Mario Kart Wii offers a lot of fun stuff to do. It is a game that has enough features to stay spinning in the Wii for a substantial amount of time, making it worth its $50 ticket. The only thing in the package that really disappoints is the Wii Wheel, which is completely and utterly worthless. It is a hard plastic shell that holds the Wii Remote horizontally, with a button on the back to assist in pressing the B button. Using the Wii Wheel is a great way to handicap yourself and a great way not to enjoy Mario Kart Wii, so I advise skipping it.
I don't, however, recommend skipping Mario Kart Wii. I have enjoyed the game a lot since its time of release, and I can already feel the same tender feelings toward it as I felt toward Mario Kart DS, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, and Mario Kart 64. It is a great game that Nintendo and Mario fans will consider one of the best Mario Karts yet.
Look both ways for turtle shells and hit the jump for more.
The normal slew of modes are found in Mario Kart Wii. There are the three traditional 50cc/100cc/150cc difficulties in Grand Prix, but there are now two different kinds of games in Battle Mode. The popular Balloon Battle returns and now features large teams of racers, making the small maps very chaotic and entertaining. Multiplayer Battles and Vs. races, online and off, are nothing less than a thrill. Because of the increased number of racers in both battles and races, the game maintains a feeling of insanity and chaos that is refreshing and fun.
Driving is fun in this game thanks to an improved powerslide system. Not only does the powerslide work brilliantly in a race, it is something that only skilled players and veterans can really do well at first. Practice makes perfect, and anyone that learns the system can get much better at the game. Otherwise, it feels the same as Mario Kart always has. The powerslides are not absolutely necessary in easy races, so inexperienced players can ease into it. However, it is almost vital to success in harder races.
Also, because of the fact that 12 racers are always on the same race track, the tracks have been designed with a different idea in mind. They are wider, and this is appropriate because the middle-of-the-pack A.I. racers often thickly clump together. The power-ups seem to fly around the course at an alarming fast pace, once again bringing out a wild, thrilling experience. There are four new Cups and four Retro Cups, each with four tracks. That means that once again there are 32 tracks. The 16 new ones are pretty great for the most part. Mushroom Gorge, Toad's Factory, Koopa Cape, and Dry Dry Desert are favorites of mine that immediately come to mind. Each one of these tracks have a vastly different style, as do all of the tracks. Although many of the themes have been repeated from past Mario Kart games, I could really care less. The maps are thicker but also more complex. They feel bigger, longer, and more challenging than ever. I was not as satisfied with the Retro tracks - some choices, like my personal favorite Mario Kart 64 track, Mario Raceway, are good ones. Others are not so good. There are only two SNES tracks, and the DS tracks could definitely have been better. Peach Gardens? How about anything else?
The power-ups are mostly unchanged. Red, green, and blue shells still dominate the game. Pesky banana peels and triple banana peels are still disappointing to pick up. The golden mushroom is better than ever. The ghost has been replaced by a POW block and thunder cloud. The POW block is very annoying, it stomps the entire race track and no matter where you are, you spin out and lose your item. The thunder cloud is interesting: it speeds up whoever it is floating above, but it is passed off if the current victim bumps into someone else. After a short amount of time, the thunder cloud strikes whoever it is floating above, causing them to shrink and spin out. The shrink time is devastating, and can easily turn the tide on a race.
The turning-tides thing works for and against you, depending on the situation and the current race. The power-ups are very powerful and fast, and can be too destructive at times. I can remember a time where I was hit more than five or six times in one very brief time span; this took me out of first place and put me in dead last. However, I have seen the same happen to A.I. opponents, and I feel like at times the game is more random than ever. The rubber band A.I. is intact, which is very annoying and forces the player to become quite skilled. With the chaotic power-ups, sometimes luck is involved as much as skill.
Mario Kart Wii holds up just fine visually, albeit only by Wii standards. The tracks are crisp, clean, and colorful. The animation is smooth, the frame rate is solid, and the racers look good. I could say, "It looks like a Nintendo game," and the point could get across. It is not the best-looking Wii game; none of the models are from better-looking games like Super Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. In fact, little is used from either of those games - there is not even a space race track, other than Rainbow Road. No non-Mario or non-Donkey Kong characters from Super Smash Bros. Brawl made the character roster, why not? Their character models are nowhere near as nice as they were in Brawl. They are simple and lacking much of the detail found in that game.
The great thing about Mario Kart Wii, as I said earlier, is that it is a Nintendo game that gets away with being repetitive. It gets away with "more of the same," and not every game can do that. Not only does it get away with that, but it is fun. It is addictive. It is truly a good game that Mario Kart fans, Wii owners, and racing fans can enjoy for quite a long time.
Final Score: B+
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