Kourses
Though the game begins with four different cups of tracks to choose from, a lot of fancy driving lies between the player and the entire selection of courses. The makers of Mario Kart Wii have put together 16 new courses, all of which have elements of originality plus the "same-old same-old." The first course of the first cup is, as expected, a basic circle/figure-eight style track with few or no surprise elements, and the last course of the final cup is, once again as expected, Rainbow Road (and it's kind of a doozy). In between are some truly memorable tracks that take the player on adventures through treetops, into pipes, and down a ski slope, as well as the somewhat forgettable daisy circuit, the typical desert stage, and the obnoxious volcano course.
Ahh, my old nemesis, we meet again. Perhaps this time I will figure out some way to get to your island to defeat you once and for all! (N64 Sherbet Land)
A not-so-new but still welcome change to the Mario Kart set up is the offering of 16 retro tracks (reconfigured to work with the current standards). While this is a nice bone thrown to the serious Kart fans, I can't help but wonder how hard it might have been for the makers to provide more. Some old ones translate really well, such as DK Mountain from the GameCube version, but this opens the door of comparison and makes it more noticeable that the graphics from the last title to this one haven't really changed.
Not SSX
A new feature is the half-pipe style jumps added here and there to new and old courses. The driver can head up the side of a wall, take a quick jump, collect an item box and/or do a trick and be catapulted back into gameplay with little lost time. Some parts of some courses require the use of these jumps for fluid driving, but other ones are completely avoidable. While this element seems new and exciting at first, I've found myself avoiding them more and more as I get used to the courses. Sometimes even a fraction of a second counts.
Lovely foliage (Maple Treeway)
As players take to the tracks, they can see some of their personalized Mii characters watching the races. In the mall course, some Miis are even in posters on the walls. Attention to detail isn't at its peak in Mario Kart Wii, though. In the mirror cup, it seems the programmers simply flipped the vertical axis, leaving writing on walls backwards and everything else noticeably reflected. It seems like a lazy move, but perhaps I long too much for the past courses that had karts driving backwards through a course that seemed more creative.
It's like DK Mountain in the Winter (DK Summit)
Players familiar with past course glitches like the wall jump in Mario Kart 64's Wario Stadium might be able to find one or two in this one as well. Some patience and item manipulation may be required, but keep your eyes open and you might be rewarded.
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SonicIce - Saturday, May 31, 2008 - link
taking pics of the screen... anadtech has not evolved to the point of capturing the video output? come on, even a 10 dollar capture card can receive s-video :)crimson117 - Friday, May 30, 2008 - link
Wouldn't it be "kluster f***"?
Cygni - Friday, May 30, 2008 - link
Zing!I agree though, i rented this game to try and decide if it was worth picking up... and it just wasnt for me. And im a HUGE Mario Kart fanatic. It just seemed rushed or something, with little (but ridiculously important) menus crammed in weird places. Im going to rent it again in a few weeks, when ive beaten GTAIV, and give it another shot.
wchall01 - Friday, May 30, 2008 - link
"If you want to play battle mode with only two people, too bad. Want to play with four? Too bad! Your only option is to be on one of two teams and play with twelve players"I was very frustrated the first time I encountered this issue. But there is a "Rules" button in the upper right hand corner on the menu screen before you click "Battle" or "Coin Runner". Simple select "None" for CPU and you can battle with just 2-4 of your friends.
The same options apply on the local multiplayer racing menu.
Laura Wilson - Friday, May 30, 2008 - link
Thanks for pointing out the error, we have updated the article.DerekWilson - Friday, May 30, 2008 - link
WOW ....I had no idea about this -- way confirms the ergonomics / UI issues pointed out though.
I'll let Laura know about this and ask her to update the article.
thanks for pointing it out -- you've just made me a lot happier with the game :-)
Bremen7000 - Friday, May 30, 2008 - link
s/loose/lose/SniperDaws - Friday, May 30, 2008 - link
This is by far the best Mario kart yet, and is unique because of the wheel.But 2 player Wifi is pointless because the 2nd player is a guest so doesnt really feel as part of the game.
But thats all that ruins it for me so far.
DerekWilson - Friday, May 30, 2008 - link
i know i'm lame, but i love the n64 version ...to me n64 and GC are tied for best mario kart.
the DS version is good, but the Wii version is really a better DS version that doesn't quite live up to the n64 or GC. with a wheel.
seriously guys, if you want to compete for near the top in tournaments and time trials, you'll want to look into not using the wheel (where the tournament allows it).
Locutus465 - Friday, May 30, 2008 - link
You'd have to use kluster f*** :DIn all seriousness, I love this version of the game... Yeah, it has it's issues but it easly owns the GC version (which I also own). I love using the Wii wheel though I'm still not quite as good at manual power sliding as I need to be, and since I play mario with medium karts power sliding is essential to staying on course (I'm sure it is to varying degrees for all characters).
As an added testiment, and I'm sure many on these bords will be shocked... In my appartment I bought this and rented GTA4 at the same time... Mario Kart got serious play time, GTA4 sat around my apparment until it was time to return it (basically).