• Platform: Nintendo Wii
• Genre: Racing
• Lasting Appeal: 80%
• Visual: 80%
• Presentation: 85%

Mario Kart was probably one of the games I was most looking forward to playing on the motion controlled Nintendo console. It’s been over a decade since the launch of the first iteration on the super famicom/snes and there have been many interesting innovations, successful and unsuccessful over the years.

I’m sure each and every one of you has a favourite track, character and in latter iterations kart. Mario Kart Wii continues the franchise strongly with bold splashes of colour, a plethora of items and characters and a set of snaking tracks. From the first menu screen, you know you’re in for a genuine Nintendo experience!

At the start of the game the traditional 50cc, 100cc and 150cc Grand Prix modes are available. There are also a whole range of characters, karts and bikes to choose from. Many of you may not agree with the ever increasing roster of non-core characters appearing in game; I can empathise with that. However, it does provide an almost endless choice of character+vehicle combinations to try out.

I won’t be discussing each and every track, vehicle or character in this review – I’ll leave you to read through the hundreds of other reviews out there for that!

Control Scheme

The control scheme has been totally reworked to take advantage of the Wiimote. The bundled Wii Wheel is fantastically easy to get the hang of and provides an immersive experience. I had no problems with accelerating, turning or using the items. One criticism I do have is that the game has had to sacrifice the traditional snaking to accommodate the motion controls. Instead, the mini-turbo boost has become a simple drifting technique without the need to “snake” the controls left and right. I can see why they have replaced it but it did take some time to get used to. I have yet to try out the non-Wheel option.

More

With every iteration of the game, the number of playable characters, courses, and of course, items increase. The Wii version is no exception. The AI has been “tweaked” in this game to be a lot faster and the days when you could race away to an unassailable lead on a single course or cup have gone. The range of items include some interesting additions but it impinges on the racing experience with less racing and more recovery from multiple attacks during the course of a race. One hit usually results in dropping back 5 or 6 positions, which is frustrating to say the least.

The increase in racers from 8 to 12 is adds to the frustration as there is a lot more “traffic”. The point spread at the end of the race now ranges from 15 points for finishing first to 1 point for finishing 11th. I have mixed feelings about giving points for finishing in the lower half.

The addition of bikes is also new to the Wii version. I have mixed feelings about this too. The bikes are an interesting ride but the fact that it is meant to be a karting game does destroy the feel of the game somewhat.

Multiplayer, Online

This review is a bit premature in the sense that I have yet to play multiplayer locally but my brief experience of online play has left me excited and amazed. Mario Kart is definitely a lot more fun playing against other people, be it online or offline. The online mode has a points total for the race mode and battle mode. I’m not entirely sure how the points are calculated but even if you don’t win you can gain points; it may be weighted against the other players you race against – beating players with higher scores even for a place lower down the rankings could lead to points. Players can select to race/battle against friends, continental opponents, or worldwide. At the start of online play, your opponents are selected randomly from the region you’ve chosen and in most cases you race against the same set of players for the duration of the session. I like this as it means that you can start creating imaginary rivalries with some of your opponents!

There are occasional Challenges sent out by Nintendo, which have so far been of the time trial variety. The challenges do not follow the normal racing but time attacks of how quickly you can pass through a set of gates, or how quickly you can knock off a set of evil foes from a floating stage. It’ll be interesting to see what Nintendo creates next, and how long the challenges will keep being sent out!

Summary
The game is definitely a superb addition to the Mario Kart franchise. The gameplay, despite some of its small annoyances, is wonderfully entertaining and the range of courses are challenging even for a seasoned racer. The graphics, especially for the spruced up tracks from previous iterations, is as colourful and beautiful as you would expect from a Mario Kart game. In terms of lasting appeal, for single player offline play, there may be a limited lifespan but I believe the boundless opportunities of playing online and the multiplayer fun you can have locally will make this game playable for a very long time.

So, that wraps up my somewhat rushed Mario Kart Wii review. I believe my Mario Kart friend code is: 0173 2184 0236 …. or that could be a phone number to some random person… but yes, it is one of the best games out on the Wii at the moment!