Mario Kart Wii

It’s been 3 years since Mario Kart came out on the DS and 5 years since Mario Kart: Double Dash was released.

It’s been worth the wait for the next instalment.

I was pondering whether to get the game or not, because I thought “what more can they do?” - the answer…….it’s Mario Kart! Who cares what’s new! So I bought it and it was money well spent.

There are 32 tracks in total, 16 of these being brand new tracks and the other 16 are a mixture of SNES, N64, Gamecube, and DS tracks. The old school tracks have been given a graphical enhancement, but still try to keep the old feel about them. The same goes for the battle courses, mixing old and new courses together.

In the past, once I’d complete a Mario Kart game, I got a bit bored from the repetitiveness of the game, but that’s no longer an issue. With the online content that’s available, there’s plenty to do and I don’t think I’ll ever get bored of this game.

You can battle and race with up to 11 other players from around the world and download other racers Ghost Data for whichever track you fancy trying your hand at, which has had me stuck to my Wii Wheel for a good couple of hours. There’s also the Ghost Data of some of the makers of the game, so you can test your limits against the creators of one of the best racing games ever made.

The introduction of the Wii Wheel is a nice touch giving the game another direction, and makes the game that bit more enjoyable. But, if the Wii Wheel isn’t your thing, you can still use either the Wii remote with the nunchuck, the classic controller or the old school GameCube controller, so you have no excuses for not getting this game.

Another new feature in Mario Kart Wii, is the introduction of bikes. A risky move by the developers, however the bikes are as much fun as the Karts!
To start off, you can only use the bikes in 100cc mode, but after you’ve done well enough in 50,100 and 150cc mode, you can unlock both Karts and Bikes to use in any power category. (Small hint: I find it easier to win races with bikes….ssssshhhhhh…..you didn’t hear it from me).

A few new weapons have been added, but I think I’ll leave it to you to find out what they are. Don’t want to be giving away too many secrets.

For those ‘snakers’ out there, this feature has been removed so you can no longer ‘cheat’ your way to first place. You have the choice of automatic or manual power slides. The difference being (apart from the obvious reason), is with the automatic power slide it’s easier to keep your speed up, but you don’t get the boosts when you flying round the corners. The manual is the exact opposite. When you power slide round the corners, you get the different coloured sparks coming from you wheels to indicate how good your boost will be (plus it looks pretty).

If you have a Wii, this game is essential!!

4 out of 5

Ender