Video Game Review: Mario Kart Wii

[For a new feature here at Wow's Media Blog, I present to you the first video game review. Enjoy!]

Mario Kart Wii, the newest of the beloved go-kart racing series featuring Mario characters was released, somewhat bizarrely, two days before that of superstar Grand Theft Auto IV. Ultimately for Mario and friends, this poorly chosen release date finds Mario Kart Wii’s place in gamers’ minds and this review of the game both with the same ironic conclusion: Mario Kart Wii is ultimately forgettable.

Mario Kart Wii didn’t have much to live up to on the console. The original Mario Kart from the SNES, Super Mario Kart (which is surprisingly still absent from the Wii’s Virtual Console) and Nintendo 64’s Mario Kart 64 both were brilliant and hugely successful party games. Most people who grew up in the 1990s probably recall playing a few rounds of Battle Mode with their friends. Mario Kart: Double Dash for the Nintendo Gamecube was a poor reiteration of the franchise, and was unsuccessful in trying to include somewhat forced co-op play and be a “system seller” for the struggling GameCube. Mario Kart also had huge success on the Nintendo DS handheld, which was a good translation of the franchise to the handheld market.

Mario Kart Wii attempted to capitalize on the success of its SNES and N64 predecessors by bringing the gameplay back to it’s roots, as well as making it a huge casual game success by including the Wii Wheel, a plastic wheel that allows gamers to pretend like they’re actually using a steering wheel rather than a controller. Ultimately this juxposition of trying to appease the classic Mario Kart fans and the casual game market (which is what the Nintendo Wii has been pushed almost completely into) is what causes this game to fail to live up to what little expectations I had.

The Wii Wheel is Mediocre at Best

The game’s failure on the casual front is that the Wii Wheel is decent on the easiest levels (50cc), but when you get to the harder levels (100cc +150cc), the Wheel simply isn’t precise enough. Constantly I find myself overturning, underturning, and unable to do “tricks” (which require you to flick the Wii Wheel up and down during a jump). Users are able to switch back to a Gamecube controller, the Wii Classic Controller, or a Wiimote + Nunchuck setup, but the game really loses a lot of the charm Nintendo was going for without the Wii Wheel.

Additionally, “elastic banding” is back, causing the computer-controlled enemies (CPU) to catch up to you magically no matter how far your lead is by the end of the race. Additionally, the CPU constantly uses the “Blue Shell” item, which automatically hits whoever is in first, and causes them to wipe out and come to a complete stop. Generally, this happens about 10 feet from the finish line, making your near-perfect race end with a 5th place finish. All of these complaints will annoy casual gamers who are looking for a game without ridiculous and annoying antics by the CPU.

The Blue Shell, You’ll Be Seeing A LOT of These

For the long-time Mario Kart fans, the list of complaints continues to grow: No longer is the beloved battle mode a head-to-head or 4-player free-for-all until one kart is left standing. Instead, a piss-poor 6v6 team system has been included. That means no longer can friends go head to head, instead computer players make up over half of your team, and unfortunately, they are downright awful. Additionally, losing all 3 of your balloons, which used to mean your were knocked out of play, now means absolutely nothing. Instead you come back with another 3 balloons and keep playing until time runs out, which defeats the entire purpose of Battle Mode. A final complaint from a long-time player is the disappearance of head to head races and 2-player Grand Prix. Both of which would have been easy and enjoyable additions.

It’s not all bad for Mario Kart Wii. The newest addition: motorcycles are a welcome one, giving a really different feel to the racer, with unique advantages and disadvantages. Speed and being able to do “wheelies” will keep fans entertained, but the lack of handling on most of the bikes makes them dangerous on curvy tracks.

There are also more characters than ever. 12 are available from the onset, including the return of SNES favorite Koopa Trooper. But several more are unlockable, including numerous fan favorites from the early Mario games. Each character also has numerous karts and motorcycles available to them, meaning that each character has a lot of replayability. The only complaint with the characters is that it’s really like only having 3 characters: Small, Medium and Large, with different skins. They all share similar bikes and karts, and there is little difference other than aesthetics (but Mario Kart has always been that way).

Mario Kart also includes 32 tracks. The new tracks are pretty solid overall, there are only a few annoying or forgettable tracks, but each game has had a few. 16 Tracks are brand new and 16 are classics from the previous games. Their choices on the classic tracks range from superb to downright awful, especially the SNES tracks which are two of the less inspired tracks from the original.

Instead of the classic 8 players, 12 karts now race around the track in the Grand Prix (and every other) mode. This means the tracks are wider, even the originals, which is welcome given the medicore Wii Wheel controls.

Finally, online play is available, which is a welcome addition to the franchise. The addition of tournaments and friends lists is great, but the Wii still handles the online component poorly, as you have to enter your friends’ “codes” in order to play with them, which is time consuming and annoying.

Overall, Mario Kart Wii provides a fairly enjoyable experience to both casual and longtime gamers, but misses it’s mark by trying to appease both by dumbing down the game. The online play, motorcycles and 12 player races are fun, but ultimately, this game won’t be remembered in the same vein as Super Mario Kart or Mario Kart 64

Rating:

2 out of 6 Triforces: Forgettable
Pros: 12 Player Races, Online Multiplayer, Lots of characters, karts, and motorcycles.
Cons: Wii Wheel is lacking, Battle Mode stinks, Elastic Banding and Blue Shells annoying.