Mario Kart Wii Review

Nintendo has certain series within the Mario franchise that are subject to a reboot every time they introduce a new platform. "Super Smash Brothers," "Paper Mario," "Mario Party" and other series all have titles that have been spread across multiple platforms, so it's not surprising that Nintendo wasted no time creating a Mario Kart game for the Wii. As with its other Mario series, Nintendo has taken few risks here, making only slight upgrades in "Mario Kart Wii" to keep the game relatively fresh while keeping its core gameplay intact.

The most notable changes in "Mario Kart Wii" are the slew of new characters that have been added to the roster and the use of bikes, and, of course, motion controls. The new characters from the Mario universe are fun, including Baby Daisy, Rosalina and Funky Kong, but what's especially cool is that you can unlock the ability to select your Mii as a racer. All of the characters, both old an new, have multiple unique vehicles to choose from, and they all have their strengths and weaknesses. What it ultimately comes down to is a matter of personal preference, but it's still refreshing to have that kind of variety.

While the bikes are also a fun addition, it's mostly an aesthetic change to the game; they don't really change the racing experience in any way, save for slightly poorer turns than a regular kart. Nintendo has rarely made any huge deviations from the core gameplay elements of its most successful series, so "Mario Kart Wii" is basically the same game as the last ones in the series, just on a new platform. It seems that Nintendo has adopted the philosophy of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," as the core gameplay of Mario Kart is still tons of fun...it's just that you could go play "Mario Kart 64" and it'd be more or less the same experience.

The use of the Wii's motion controls are very well implemented, and for 50 bucks (the same price of a regular Wii game) I got "Mario Kart Wii" along with the plastic steering wheel that the Wii remote can be put into. As gimmicky as it sounds, it's a blast to use the steering wheel, and the controls are very responsive. It takes a little getting used to because it's surprisingly sensitive, but within an hour it'll feel as natural as driving a real car. The steering wheel isn't required for the motion controls, as you can just hold the Wii remote sideways and tilt it side to side in order to steer.

The courses in the game are nothing short of brilliant and could very well be the best part of "Mario Kart Wii." While all of the racetracks from the previous Mario Kart installments are playable in this version, the new maps are where the game truly shines. The designers clearly flexed their creative muscles when making maps, like a mall complex that you can drive through (complete with your Miis featured in the ads on the walls!); a snowy downhill map that calls for you to carve a half-pipe like a snowboarder to avoid patches of thick, powdery snow; and a woodland-like terrain that involves driving through high-speed river rapids.

The game's graphics are...fine. They're pretty good but, honestly, it's nothing surprising or new for a Mario title. Being that "Mario Kart Wii" is a victim of Nintendo simply rehashing the same game series for a new platform, the visuals, along with the gameplay, have hardly changed. They are most certainly still serviceable, but it's only a matter of time before Nintendo is going to need to step up its game and really try to break some new ground.

The online play is very well executed in "Mario Kart Wii" and subsequently, there's a pretty huge online community, too. I never had any problems finding other people to play with in matchmaking and there didn't appear to be any major latency issues, even when playing with people halfway across the world. Whenever I searched for a game, I typically had a result within a couple of seconds and I was playing soon thereafter in a mostly lag-free experience.

There are also multiple options for online play, which greatly extend the game's playability. You can do a regular race, a battle, or, if there isn't anyone online (or you don't feel like facing off against a live opponent), you can upload or race "ghosts" on any track you want. The integration of ghosts is an excellent way for people to face off against a human opponent, even if that person isn't online at the time. To create a ghost, you just do a run-through by yourself on a track of your choice and once you're done, a "ghost" version of you going through that race with the exact times (on laps, as well as overall) is uploaded to a Nintendo server. Then, whenever someone logs on, picks a map, and says they would like to race a ghost on said map, the server randomly selects from the assortment of ghosts that people have uploaded and they race to beat that ghost's time. It's a simple concept that really goes miles in terms of expanding the multiplayer options.

Of course, like any other Wii game that is online, multiplayer suffers the drawback of friend codes. For those not familiar with friend codes, they are Nintendo's attempt at appealing to parents by assuring them that their children are safe from creepy stalkers or child molesters who happen to be playing the same game online. In other words, you need to have someone's friend code in order to play an arranged match online. Getting a person's friend code cannot be done in game, however, since there is also no voice chat or even text messaging in "Mario Kart Wii." You have to approach people in real life (a scary concept for us gamers) to get their friend codes and play against your buddies online. It's a frustrating issue, because while Nintendo's concern for children's safety is understandable, part of online gaming is that it's a social experience. You meet new people randomly when you're placed in the same match together, and on any other platform you can just send a friend request to them afterwards so you can play again with them in the future. That isn't the case with "Mario Kart Wii"; if you meet someone when you are randomly placed in a race with them through matchmaking, you won't be able to request another match with that person unless you know him or her in real life.

I can understand why Nintendo would be hesitant to change much of the gameplay in "Mario Kart Wii." Fans of the series would undoubtedly be up in arms over it, and it's just too risky when people are perfectly content with the way Mario Kart games are now. But, on the other hand, I feel that if Nintendo wishes to keep making installments of the same games over and over again, they need to give gamers a real reason to keep shelling out the cash so they don't feel like they're just buying the same game. In the meantime, the Mario Kart games have yet to lose their appeal, as they're still ridiculously fun games, and "Mario Kart Wii" is no exception. The motion controls are great, the courses are fun and racing against people online is a welcome addition to the Mario Kart gameplay. With these few small changes and additions, this installment keeps the series alive.

Score: 8.2/10