Full Review for Mario Kart Wii by Volke

Introduction

Mario Kart Wii is the sixth game in the Mario Kart series. It is packaged with a Wii Wheel, which you can use to simulate driving whilst playing the game. It certainly is a nice addition, and is worth using to get the most out of playing the game.

Mario Kart Wii features the largest amount of playable characters and courses than ever before. It is an enjoyable game, and, right now, one of the best titles to pick up if you own a Wii.

Graphics

The graphics are very good by Wii standards. All of the new courses are very detailed. The character details are very nice too. They're not the best on the Wii, but still very good. The karts and bikes are also very detailed.

The only exceptions are Miis - they don't transfer all sorts of faces into the game very well. It depends on what yours looks like. Some will look fine, but others don't look that great. It's still worth racing as someone who vaguely resembles yourself, though.

Overall, 9/10 for the graphics. Very pleasing.

Sound

The music is what you'd expect out of a Mario Kart game - most of the music is good, but there are a few courses on which the music is simply irritating - the sort that's awfully cheesy and won't get out of your head when you stop playing. But still, fairly good overall.

As for character 'noises'. Well, some are fine, but some will really get on your nerves. In particular, Mario's voice is as annoying as ever. Amongst others. It depends on your tastes, but the overall sound loses points here

Effects noises are great. Although they do tend to get stuck in your head. After playing Mario Kart for an hour, you'll be hearing Red Shells and Green Shells coming toards you in your sleep. They have that kind of effect.

Overall, 7/10 for sound. The majority is pleasing, but some of the characters' yelps will get in your nerves a little, and the minority of the music isn't so great.

Gameplay

Much to say here.

The gameplay is easy to pick up, and difficult to master. The Wii Wheel takes about five to ten minutes to get used to, but it'll be like second nature after that. Although it can be a bit jumpy at times, and occasionally, if you turn to sharp in one direction, you'll start going in the other. And on courses like Rainbow Road with boosters that get you over gaps, you'll sometimes miss the next section of the course without any good reason, despite facing the right way and not turning at all. A minor issue, but it can be really annoying in 150 CC Grand Prix, or online.

In-game playing is great. The difficulty has improved this time around, so you can't just jump right in and start winning gold medals on 150 CC. And speaking of 150 CC, a major complaint would be the 'rubber band' AI. Any AI character that's a rival when playing in any cup will be a victim of this. If, they suffer severe bad luck and fall far behind the pack, they will be given an unnatural boost of speed until they are right behind you. And if they get too far in front of you, then it will be literally impossible to catch up to them.

Online playing is great, but, tying in with the new 'multiple item hit' effect, it can sometimes be very frustrating. The 'multiple item hit' effect is when you are completely bombarded with Shells and other offensive weapons. This Mario Kart is the first to feature it. In previous Mario Karts, three Red Shells, for example, are following you. They are close behind each other. When the first one hits, the other two will also hit you, but because they hit you within a certain time span, they won't effect you. But in this Mario Kart, if someone has a triple Red Shell and all three are sent after you one after the other, you will feel the effect of all three, being knocked over three times. This can be very frustrating, as you can drop from first place to last in a matter of seconds, resulting in less experienced players claiming victory by mere luck. Great for new players, but skillful players can be put off by this. Unfortunately, new players will always choose easy courses such as Luigi's Circuit and the hated Coconut Mall, which they CAN win by luck. But online play is still fun. These are just the bad points. It's always exhilarating finishing in first place ahead of eleven other racers.

In terms of items, Red Sells are almost impossible to avoid these days, unless you turn a corner and it hits the wall etc. Unfortunately, Blue Shells still exist, although it usually helps if someone gets one online and you're behind the leader, so they're not so bad anymore. Unfortunately, Nintendo created something even worse. The Thunder Cloud. The rogue item, it follow you around for a while and eventually hits you - just you - with a bolt of lightning, shrinking you and leaving everyone else fly past laughing. Thankfully, it can be passed on to another racer, but only if you bump into them before it strikes. It can be useful, but is far more frustrating. You move faster until it strikes you, though.

In addition to Karts, you can now also use Bikes. A nice alternative. You can also perform tricks on both vehicles, and successfully performing a trick will give you a boost of speed when you land.

Overall, 8/10 for gameplay. Great, but a few issues

Lastability

There's plenty to do in Mario Kart Wii. Getting a gold medal in all of the cups on all difficulties is quite hard, surprisingly, and will take some time. Then there are several other modes to get into. Three more single player modes, multiplayer modes and, of course, online play. Playing online is extremely addictive, and you'll be playing the game for months on end because it's so damn fun, if occasionally frustrating. It also takes ags to unlock everything.

10/10 here, no questions asked. There's plenty to do, and there's multiplayer and online for when it's all done.

Overall

Take an 8. I would have given it a 9 if not for all the gripes and issues that lower it to an 8. It's still a great game though, and I strongly recommend it to anyone who owns a Wii. It's better if you can play with firneds though...or if you have an internet connection (which, by reading this, you probably do. Setting up an internet connection for your Wii is really easy provided you have the right equipment).

Mario Kart Wii - 8/10.

Final Score: 84%