Good: - online play is top-notch, a true first for a Nintendo game - gameplay feels new and familiar at the same time - motorcycles and tricks are very nice additions to the series - huge character roster including the option to use your Mii - the Whiil is a very fun peripheral to use and really opens up the game to everyone - 12 player races are really cool -
Bad: - items are terribly annoying and cheap, particularly in single player - no mission mode - some control modes have inconvenient button setups -
When Mario Kart DS came out in 2005, it not only introduced Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection but also revolutionized the series in many ways. Now that the renowned racing franchise has headed to Wii, does it live up to its predecessors or does it depend entirely on the new Whiil controller to be any good?
The gameplay in MK Wii is very similar to other Mario Kart games, but also feels quite different and new additions add a lot to it. First off, the Wii Wheel, better known on my profile as the Whiil. This new controller works very well and is very fun to use, but the advanced gamers will gravitate towards a GameCube controller right away. However, I later found that the remote/nunchuk control mode works very well, arguably better than the GC controller, so I recommend you give it a shot if you've been using a GC controller. You can choose between karts and bikes this time, the bikes actually being much better than the karts. With the bikes, you can only get a one-level boost on a mini turbo, but you can do a wheelie that significantly straightens your movement, but also highly boosts your speed on a straightaway. The karts now have nothing special to them, except that they can do tricks as well as the bikes and can get a bigger mini turbo. Tricks are a great addition to the game as well. When you go off a jump into the air, hit the trick button (or shake the remote/wheel) to do a trick. Some of these are pretty cool and they also give you a boost when you land, adding some sense of strategy to the game. Before each race, you can choose whether you want to be able to manually drift and be able to get mini turbos or automatically drift and not be able to get mini turbos, and this option makes the game a bit easier for beginners and makes using the Whiil better.
The single player in MK Wii is pretty much the same as it's been before, only they removed the mission mode that had added a bit more to MKDS' single player. The Grand Prixs were actually not as enjoyable for me this time as I repeatedly get hit by blue shell after blue shell when I should be dominating a race. Otherwise, you have your time trial mode and VS mode, but really that's it for single player. Thankfully there's a whole lot more to the game than the single player.
The multiplayer and online play in MK Wii are absolutely oustanding and easily make up the core of the game. The regular split screen multiplayer is just fine, but it can be hard to see where you're going sometimes because your screen is so small. The online play, however, is easily the highlight of the game. You can play with one or two players from one console, which is a great feature to have available. The only problem with this is that you can't actually be using two licenses (save files) at once, so only player 1 can get his VR up. Speaking of VR, the abbreviation stands for VS Rating. You gain or lose points depending on how you do in a race. It can get tough to raise at some point, though, and you have to constantly win races to continually get it up. The online play goes up to 12 players, a first for a Nintendo game. It is also easy to find people and never takes much time. They have also made it a whole lot easier to play with a friend, allowing you to join the game they are currently playing in, but you can also create a room for just you and your friends where you can chat with select phrases between four race series'. You are even repeatedly told that a friend is playing online. The use of the Mii is also very cool and gives each player an identity rather than just a name.
I guess Nintendo decided that the online play in MK Wii was so good that it deserved its own channel. The Mario Kart Channel allows you to enter tourneys, race the top time trial ghosts in the world, and more. The channel actually appears seperately on the Wii menu, allowing you to access it to check stats and stuff even without a disk.
Technically, Mario Kart Wii really isn't bad, but isn't anything too special either. The graphics are good and all, but I feel that they aren't all Nintendo is capable of, which is still ok with me because I think they're good enough. The visuals are very bright, which makes the gameplay feel pretty nice. The sound in the game is just fine, no problems there. The music is also good but again, nothing particularly special like Mario Galaxy or Brawl. The controls have some minor annoyances as far as the Classic and GameCube controllers go, but the Whiil and remote/nunchuk controls feel just fine. On a GameCube controller, you have to reach down to the D-Pad to do a trick, which is very annoying, especially since the Y button isn't even used for anything and was left wide open for convenience. The Classic controller is the same way, only you have to totally lift your finger off the control stick to hit the D-Pad, which is even worse.
Little difficulties aside, Mario Kart Wii has achieved true excellence. The game is really fun and definitely earns the "Fun for Everyone" label (as long as you have multiple Whiils if you're playing multiplayer). Really, I recommend this game for any gamer or non-gamer, but as a more-than-casual gamer, you will need online play to fully enjoy this game. The online play in MK Wii is the best yet, and makes you seriously wonder why Smash Bros. couldn't have had online play like this. So overall, Mario Kart Wii has surpassed my expectations and delivered a game that is as worthwhile as just about any other.
Gameplay: 9
Graphics: 7.5
Sound: 7.5
Value: 10
(this does not necessarily affect the overall score)
Bad: - items are terribly annoying and cheap, particularly in single player - no mission mode - some control modes have inconvenient button setups -
When Mario Kart DS came out in 2005, it not only introduced Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection but also revolutionized the series in many ways. Now that the renowned racing franchise has headed to Wii, does it live up to its predecessors or does it depend entirely on the new Whiil controller to be any good?
The gameplay in MK Wii is very similar to other Mario Kart games, but also feels quite different and new additions add a lot to it. First off, the Wii Wheel, better known on my profile as the Whiil. This new controller works very well and is very fun to use, but the advanced gamers will gravitate towards a GameCube controller right away. However, I later found that the remote/nunchuk control mode works very well, arguably better than the GC controller, so I recommend you give it a shot if you've been using a GC controller. You can choose between karts and bikes this time, the bikes actually being much better than the karts. With the bikes, you can only get a one-level boost on a mini turbo, but you can do a wheelie that significantly straightens your movement, but also highly boosts your speed on a straightaway. The karts now have nothing special to them, except that they can do tricks as well as the bikes and can get a bigger mini turbo. Tricks are a great addition to the game as well. When you go off a jump into the air, hit the trick button (or shake the remote/wheel) to do a trick. Some of these are pretty cool and they also give you a boost when you land, adding some sense of strategy to the game. Before each race, you can choose whether you want to be able to manually drift and be able to get mini turbos or automatically drift and not be able to get mini turbos, and this option makes the game a bit easier for beginners and makes using the Whiil better.
The single player in MK Wii is pretty much the same as it's been before, only they removed the mission mode that had added a bit more to MKDS' single player. The Grand Prixs were actually not as enjoyable for me this time as I repeatedly get hit by blue shell after blue shell when I should be dominating a race. Otherwise, you have your time trial mode and VS mode, but really that's it for single player. Thankfully there's a whole lot more to the game than the single player.
The multiplayer and online play in MK Wii are absolutely oustanding and easily make up the core of the game. The regular split screen multiplayer is just fine, but it can be hard to see where you're going sometimes because your screen is so small. The online play, however, is easily the highlight of the game. You can play with one or two players from one console, which is a great feature to have available. The only problem with this is that you can't actually be using two licenses (save files) at once, so only player 1 can get his VR up. Speaking of VR, the abbreviation stands for VS Rating. You gain or lose points depending on how you do in a race. It can get tough to raise at some point, though, and you have to constantly win races to continually get it up. The online play goes up to 12 players, a first for a Nintendo game. It is also easy to find people and never takes much time. They have also made it a whole lot easier to play with a friend, allowing you to join the game they are currently playing in, but you can also create a room for just you and your friends where you can chat with select phrases between four race series'. You are even repeatedly told that a friend is playing online. The use of the Mii is also very cool and gives each player an identity rather than just a name.
I guess Nintendo decided that the online play in MK Wii was so good that it deserved its own channel. The Mario Kart Channel allows you to enter tourneys, race the top time trial ghosts in the world, and more. The channel actually appears seperately on the Wii menu, allowing you to access it to check stats and stuff even without a disk.
Technically, Mario Kart Wii really isn't bad, but isn't anything too special either. The graphics are good and all, but I feel that they aren't all Nintendo is capable of, which is still ok with me because I think they're good enough. The visuals are very bright, which makes the gameplay feel pretty nice. The sound in the game is just fine, no problems there. The music is also good but again, nothing particularly special like Mario Galaxy or Brawl. The controls have some minor annoyances as far as the Classic and GameCube controllers go, but the Whiil and remote/nunchuk controls feel just fine. On a GameCube controller, you have to reach down to the D-Pad to do a trick, which is very annoying, especially since the Y button isn't even used for anything and was left wide open for convenience. The Classic controller is the same way, only you have to totally lift your finger off the control stick to hit the D-Pad, which is even worse.
Little difficulties aside, Mario Kart Wii has achieved true excellence. The game is really fun and definitely earns the "Fun for Everyone" label (as long as you have multiple Whiils if you're playing multiplayer). Really, I recommend this game for any gamer or non-gamer, but as a more-than-casual gamer, you will need online play to fully enjoy this game. The online play in MK Wii is the best yet, and makes you seriously wonder why Smash Bros. couldn't have had online play like this. So overall, Mario Kart Wii has surpassed my expectations and delivered a game that is as worthwhile as just about any other.
Gameplay: 9
Graphics: 7.5
Sound: 7.5
Value: 10
(this does not necessarily affect the overall score)