Mario Kart: Wii Review

What can I say? It's immense. The hotly anticipated game is here and is living high above the hype it started getting way before it's release. There is just no place where I can start off telling how good this is, but here goes nothing.

As the game is on the Wii, you would expect a great new way of playing the long time loved game that is Mario Kart; and you would be correct. There isn't just one way you can play this game, oh no, you can play this game 5 different ways! These being, using the specially built Wheel that comes free with the game, the ever popular GameCube Controller, the not so popular Classic Controller, the unconventional combination of Wii Remote and Nunchuk, and of course the Wii Mote by itself used horizontally.

The controls of the game are as simple as pushing over a small child when they are wearing a pair of ice skates. When using the wheel, you can opt to have either Manual or Automatic drifting; The difference being that when in Automatic the vehicle drifts round the corners with ease and in Manual the simple press of the large B Button on the back combined with a turn of the wheel sends you drifting round the corners. Automatic is usually suited for Newbies and Manual for those that want to experience a more advanced method of play.

I personally haven't used the Classic controller, GameCube Controller or the Wii Mote combined with the Nunchuk as I prefer to play the game "Driving" rather than "Sitting", but those that I have spoken to have only given me one point to raise that is frustrating. The controls from Double Dash (The previous Mario Kart Title) have been altered when using the GameCube Controller in Mario Kart Wii. It would have been nice to have kept it the same, but my friend got used to it easily enough.

The Single player mode with bundles of unlockables is something that is indeed a necessity, and MK Wii definitely delivers. With a Grand Total of 32 Tracks (Split into 16 Retro and 16 New), 25 Characters (including the new implemented Mii Character) where 13 are unlockable, and a massive 6 Karts and 6 Bikes (That's right, Bikes) for each weight level of which there is 3. As in every new version of Mario Kart there are 4 different cups (50cc, 100cc, 150cc, and Mirror) where you can get up to a 3 star rank for each, so the people that need to absolutely, totally complete the game 100% will be racing for hours on end.

The game also includes not just a Single Console Multiplayer mode where team races, battle mode and single race modes are available, but also an Online Multiplayer mode too. You can race worldwide, continentally or with your friends either in Single player, or online split screen. But as Online Multiplayer is new to the Mario Kart scene, there is bound to be issues, and there is. When playing you may experience randoms popping out of nowhere or watching them disappear clean off the track just to see them re-appear in front of you. Another thing I don't like is the idea of the Friend codes. Fair enough you need someone’s friend code to add them, but they need yours as well. Why not just add a friend code you see, and get the person you have added to accept or decline a simple request? Time saving and much easier this would be but has not been implemented. I personally made a video on a popular site asking people to write down their friend code and for others to do the same so they can be shared, but there would be no easier method I feel in exchanging codes with fellow players.

Something I feel makes Online better, is the idea of Competitions. You can receive Wii-mails from the game telling you to join in and post your score for others around the world to compete against, even if almost 100% of the time, some guy from Japan wins it. Something else I like is that you have to experience Online Play to unlock a lot of the items, which is a good incentive to jump online and play.

Overall for me, Mario kart on the Wii is a fantastic game for anyone, any age, and gender, just anyone! It may have a few teething problems when it comes to online play but it's truly a great game. And if you do get good at it, it's just as fun to pwn your friends online, as it is in your own living room. For just £35 you get the game and the official specialized wheel (Which can be got separately for about a tenner).

If you have a Wii, it would be a crime not to get Mario Kart, endless fun and endless happiness with yourself and with all of your chums.