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After long last, we finally have Mario Kart for the Wii. Nintendo lovers have been graced with Zelda, Mario, Super Smash Bros, and at long last one our racing favorites has been released. Oh glorious day… I have been patiently waiting for the plumber and his hawt brother to don their riding gear since the N64 release. Unfortunately, I judged the Gamecube to be a piece of crap and never picked up a copy of Double Dash. It’s been a long time since the N64 version came out, and not even the release for the DS was enough to satiate me.
A mixture of new and familiar is waiting in the Wii Mario Kart release, and now I have enough material to keep me stimulated until…well…at least until my friends join in…. If you’ve ever played a Mario Kart, you will be satisfied with this new addition. Building on old ideas, tracks, and multiplayer levels, Mario Kart brings back all of the fun in the older versions and makes them sexier, shinier, and more fun than even I imagined. For Mario Kart vets, the characters will be familiar to you. Baby versions of Peach and Mario are available, as well as Luigi’s arch-nemesis: Waluigi. Nintendo has hinted at loads of unlockables, but new characters, tracks, and battlefields are still awaiting discovery.
The worldwide race is on with a whole new set of tricks, tracks, and ways to play! Place first in Grand Prix circuits or clear skill-based missions. Drawing on circuits and battle arenas from every game in the series—not to mention tons of brand-new ones—the true king of the Mushroom Kingdom racing circuits will finally be crowned! Time to get turnin’ and burnin’!
The general racing idea is also the same. Choose a cup series (mushroom, flower, etc.), then race four tracks to win a first, second, or third place trophy. Weapon boxes strewn throughout the tracks offer a few new items, but many look and operate exactly the same as previous Mario Kart titles.
There are four series that unlockable, and a few of the series are made up of older tracks imported from previous Mario Kart titles. You can bring back most of your favorites with revamped graphics if you are truly feeling nostalgic. For younger players, the huge selection of tracks will be appreciated. For older Mario Kart vets from the SNES, the inclusion of some of our favorite tracks is much appreciated.
A new twist to the racing flavor is the Wii racing wheel. Turn the racing wheel (or naked horizontal Wiimote) a la Excite Bike to drive. Use the “2” button to accelerate, “B” to launch weapons, “1” to brake, and the up and down on the d-pad to decide the direction your weapon will take.
In addition to using the Wii racing wheel, Nintendo has come up with the ingenious idea to include other remote configurations to suit player’s needs. Players can use a Wiimote and nunchuk, a naked Wiimote, a Wii classic controller, or a Gamecube controller. YES! For all of us slobs that kept our crappy Gamecubes, there is a use for the controllers! And thank you Nintendo: Gamecube controllers are extremely cheap compared to a Wiimote and nunchuk configuration. Now knowing Nintendo doesn’t plan to rape my wallet, I can put away the lube I’ve been saving….
Mario Kart also offers a whole slew of new cars and bikes to race with. Each mode of transportation has its pros and cons, but all of them look sweet. The variety is also appreciated and helps keep things fresh. Because of the new rides, Nintendo has stipulated that 50cc races only include cars, 100cc races only include bikes, and 150cc races can include either.
If you’re enough of a loser to think that Mario Kart isn’t worth your hard earned fifty bucks just for the single player and racing wheel, then the multiplayer may just change your mind. The multiplayer not only includes the races, but fun battle modes. As a team, you and other computer-controlled characters try to pop the other team’s balloons for points or beat the crap out of each other and steal coins. There are new, inventive arenas as well as some imported ones for a total of around ten areas. If you don’t have any friends or if they’re all too lazy to come over, you can play Mario Kart online with gamers across the universe.
The options are endless and are enough to keep players coming back for more. The soundtrack is full of revamped oldies and new goodies. The music even changes to a warped, fast version when your player gets shrunk by lightning. It is entertaining but never obtrusive. Mario Kart’s graphics aren’t anything spectacular, but the environments are vivid and help create the mood of that particular track. They are crisp and are more than sufficient for a Wii game. If all developers learned to make games meant for the Wii like Nintendo does, there would be less crap on the shelves.
Mario Kart is worth your money. Period. Nintendo manages to keep a game that has been a staple of every system since the SNES fresh and entertaining. If nothing else, the multiplayer is worth the money. If you don’t mind, I’m going to go back to pwning noobs with my mad racing skills….
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