Well, you know what they say, "Another Nintendo console, another Mario Kart"... right? Over all these years the reigning king of the kart genre has actually seen little change; that’s why it’s reigning king after all. Nintendo hasn’t fixed what isn’t broken and it’s paid off in the long run. Aside from a gimmicky attempt to put two characters in a car or dumbing down the drift system, there’s very little to complain about the series at all. It’s consistently fun, can be enjoyed by most anyone and is still one of the best things to bring out when your buddies are bored, or whiny.
Mario Kart Wii reinstates all that again, but to be honest, its single player formula is finally starting to grow stale. Nintendo realized this and saw fit to just add more to the experience. And, short of a slightly gimmicky Wii-mote steering wheel shell, the additions are welcome. While not exactly reborn, there are enough new ideas to keep a fan happy and turn a few pessimistic heads in the process. Alongside the ability to race bikes, the biggest addition is not the overpriced piece of plastic bloating the insides of the box, it’s what you can now do with Mario Kart as a whole and now with the entire world.
"Aside of being able to race bikes, the biggest addition is not the Wii Wheel, it’s what you can now do with Mario Kart and the entire world."
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Online.
Mario Kart is now online. You might even say the Wii is finally online. For the first time in the system’s library, we have a title that not only features it but is designed around it. The online offerings are truly the main attraction, so much that it leaves the offline modes feeling awkward and aged. While it isn’t perfect, playing Kart on the world stage actually turns out to be more intense and rewarding than GP mode ever has been.
But we’ll start with GP, since it’s the zany single player experience the series is known for. Choose your character, kart and speed class in a four-round race for the gold. Depending on what cup you’re competing in, track types vary. Sporting 32, total, in two tiers of four cups (eight in all), this Mario Kart certainly doesn’t disappoint in the stage roster. These are some of the most impressive and interactive designs we’ve seen in a kart game. Whether it’s barreling down a snowy mountain, veering across white water rapids or revving your engine up escalators, you’ll never be bored with the challenges and spontaneity any given track throws at you.
While the newest stages make up the top tier, the bottom is filled with select classics from the entire Mario Kart library. The picks here are a little suspect. While we couldn’t be happier to see the return of the DS’ "Peach Gardens" or the N64’s "Mario Raceway," we can’t help thinking the likes of "DK Jungle" could have been replaced by something better.
All of the older tracks have received graphical upgrades and tweaks to better suit this version. They’ve also been widened, because Kart Wii features 12 racers as opposed to the standard eight. This changes a lot of things. The game’s tracks in general feel too spacious and are harder to fall off of, especially in 50cc, and more racers means that many more attacks aimed at the head of the pack.
In the merciless 150cc speed class, it wasn’t uncommon to fall 10 places back as we neared the finish just because we were suddenly met with an onslaught of any combination of blue and red shells, and lightning bolts. By the time we stopped spinning out, we ranked in low enough to take us out of the fight for even the bronze – in one race! The AI is so cheap and situational that you might as well flip a coin to see if you survive – forget whether you raced well or not. It’s actually been a problem with the 150cc formula all along. The lower your rank in a race, the better items you have to screw the front pack over; too bad if you’re the one in it. It’s so hard this time, what with 11 opponents, that it’ll likely just turn players away in frustration.
50cc, however, does a great job of introducing the game, and easing up the difficulty as you challenge the next cup. By the time you place in the intense Special Cup, you’ll be ready to take on 100cc, which, at first, is an all-bike prix.
And what a prix! The new feature of being able to race motor-bikes may seem gimmicky on the surface, but in our opinion it makes the kart racing feel bland by comparison. The standard karts may have two mini-boost levels vs the bike’s one, but thrashing down the pavement while popping wheelies past the flock is just too much fun. While wheelies give you a slight speed boost, you do have less control over your racer and can be knocked off course easier.
Nintendo did a great job of balancing the two vehicle types, to the point where secondary characters just feel like rehashes from the main roster. Oh, you’ve got the old gang back, from Mario himself to his hilarious brother in green (our favorite), to the wide loads that are Bowser and Donkey Kong. But there are also a slew of newcomers; none of which leave any lasting impression since they actually share kart and bike types with others. And what’s with all these stupid baby clones? Now, Baby Peach? Why? You can basically pick up and play anyone. Some characters have to be unlocked in a specific way. If you have a Mario Galaxy save on your drive, you’re in for a little surprise visit.
New items include: a mushroom that turns you into a giant to squish foes, a POW block to spin out everyone else, and a lightning cloud that acts as a hot potato. While you have it, the cloud ticks down an unseen timer threatening to go off and zap you. If you’re crafty enough, you can touch another driver and pass it off to him before that happens. It’s very rewarding when you do.
The drift system has been altered, throwing away the back and forth movements of the past for a simpler concept of maintaining a slide in a corner. The move is for the better. Now the mini-turbo builds up regardless, but you can still control your position on the road. "Auto-drift" can be turned on for less experienced players, but you lose too much control over speed opportunities this way.
But maybe changing the drift system was to compensate for the lack of accuracy with the new "Wii Wheel." Bundled with the game, the wheel aims to open up Kart to inexperienced players. And it does a good job of that. I’ve seen friends, who aren’t keen on games, struggle with understanding the subtle pressure needed to operate an analog stick. And for those who try to move the controller while playing a Mega Man game your day has also arrived. Casual newcomers will finally be able to play alongside the kart veterans, because you basically get what you expect with the wheel. Pop in your Wii-mote to the shell, and just turn the damn thing like you’re driving.
"The new Wii Wheel will read your movements... just not very well. Not recommended if you hope to win."
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Yeah it will read your movements, just not very well. Let’s face it: the Wii remote has problems reading motion when it isn’t using its IR. That’s because it then has to use its less accurate gyroscopes. Couple that with the user’s inability to "feel" where the neutral position is at since you have no feedback as you’re turning the thing in the air. Like trying to use the Nintendo DS’ touch screen as a stand-in analog, you’ll find yourself over steering far too often because you just have no idea where "center" is at. While it can be fun to throw a tournament where, say, everyone has to use it, we don’t recommend playing the GP or online modes with said wheel if you hope to win.
Tricking with the thing is hell, too, since you’re holding it with two hands, you don’t have the same kind of leverage needed to slam and wake the shake detection as you would with one arm’s motion. I know Nintendo is trying to push it as otherwise, given their campaigns for the peripheral, but the fact is it just isn’t a better way to play.
Thankfully, they kept the veterans in mind. Three alternate control methods are available: Plug in your Classic or Gamecube controller and you’ve got your standard setup again. But our personal preference is the default ’mote/nunchuck combo; especially with bikes. Shake the mote upwards to perform a wheelie, and simply shake it down again to end it. It feels fantastic – natural even, because you’re seeing what you do right on the screen. Tricking is handled by the D-Pad with the standard controllers; but it’s just not as involving.
The offline multi-player is easily the weakest spot of the presentation. You still have your Balloon Battle and Coin Runners modes, but too much has changed otherwise. You’re now forced into teams due to the larger arenas designed around the 12-racers motif. You can’t even pick your teams – they’re randomly assigned. Victory is determined by the total number of balloons popped or coins acquired, so if you lose all three balloons you’ll just respawn soon after. This is probably a step in the right direction as it keeps everyone playing the duration with no one sitting out, but we’d imagine a few purists are still going to be upset. While multiplayer has always received careful attention in past iterations, it seems as but an afterthought in Mario Kart Wii.
But that’s okay, because we have the fantastic online mode anyway -- it couldn’t be easier to connect. Choose between one or two players and you’re just a couple clicks from the checkered flag. I find it cute that your opponents are introduced and placed on a world map. It’s fun to watch Spades07 wave from Texas, or PrincezzP say Hello from Ohio. It just adds a nice human touch, despite the fact that they are simply Miis waving back. While certainly not an excuse for lack of voice-chat, it still makes you feel more connected.
There are two main online modes: VS and World. VS is where you go to register new friends or connect to existing ones. Friends’ online statuses are easily determined by icons. Here, you can create a room or join one, and you can chat in the lobby before a match (you know, via the Wii’s internal keypad program... yay). You’re also allowed to select the match type and play around with the rules. Almost everything in World mode is controlled by the server. So while you might feel cheated for not being able to select the battle type, the fact is this streamlined approach to the pre-game setup means you’re in and out of matches – like that. You’re still allowed to pick your character and kart, and even allowed to cast your vote for the desired stage, (everyone votes for "SNES Battle Stage 4" – everyone). Other than that, Nintendo’s online system does a great job of matching capable players and balancing skill when the number of competitors is uneven. And you can clearly tell who is hot s--t from who’s plain s--t.
Every player online starts at a rank of 5,000. Based on performance in a given race or battle, that number rises or sinks. Whether you win or lose takes a backseat to whether you actually contributed to your team. So there’s some competition within a team to best each other for a larger piece of the end score, or a lesser deficit. It serves for more than bragging rights, too, because it’s a clear indicator of skill. You might not want to bother if you’re at 5,000 and your opponent’s a 7,000: it’ll likely be a mismatch. Again, mismatches are rare. Unfortunately in World there’s no way to control who you play or even how many, you can merely opt out of the set of players for a different one. You are forewarned before a match starts about how many players will participate though. In some ways this makes the battle feel even more unpredictable.
Since you have actual players instead of cheap AI, online just feels more natural and rewards skill over the item hunt that GP becomes. No more cheap shot after cheap shot as you reach the finish, if you really raced well you’ve earned the win. We can’t stress how much more balanced an online match feels compared to GP. All you have to worry about is if your rank can stand up to the rest, then bring it.
"Whether it’s the Wii Wheel or the bikes – both take a backseat to the foundation that Nintendo has laid ahead for the series online. "
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It isn’t the flashiest set of polygons, but Kart Wii maintains a crisp 60 FPS, even online. The stages are colorful and full of that hard to place Nintendo charm, but character models especially look outdated and four-player multiplayer takes a hit in the frames. Otherwise, it gets the job done. You’re certainly not going to have time to nitpick anyways when a red shell is on your tail. The music is standard Mario Kart, but short of a few classic remixed tunes, nothing too memorable here.
With Mario Kart Wii, Nintendo has opened up a whole new way to play their game, and a whole new way to experience the system it’s on. Whether it’s the Wii Wheel or that we can race bikes – both take a backseat to the foundation that Nintendo has laid out ahead for the series online. Yeah you might say Smash Bros Brawl did it first, even Mario kart DS, but Wii Kart does it so much better. We realize this is just a baby step of many for truly realizing Nintendo’s online potential, but it’s one in the right direction. And because of this, Mario Kart is fresher than it’s been in the past 10 years. We can’t wait to see what comes next.
