Mario Kart Wii (Wii)

Manufacturer: Nintendo Part number: 90100

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CNET Editor rating:
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Average user rating: 4.5 stars out of 12 reviews

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CNET editors' review

Reviewed by Lark Anderson
Review date: 04/25/08
Release date: 04/27/08

One may wonder why Nintendo would add motorcycles and dirt bikes to the game series that popularized, if not invented, the genre of weapons-based go-kart racing. If you're one of the fans who balked at the inclusion of two-wheeled vehicles, a midair stunt system, and motion controls, rest assured that despite these changes, Mario Kart Wii is still very much the game that you have come to love over the years. But even if you haven't been on the receiving end of a blue shell before, the extensive multiplayer options, deeply integrated online functionality, multitude of controller schemes available, and simple gameplay make this latest Mario Kart great fun and quite possibly the most accessible one ever.

The main event of Mario Kart is the Grand Prix mode, which in this version pits you against 11 other computer-controlled competitors in a race to the finish on a four-course cup event. Grand Prix lets you select from three different engine sizes/difficulty settings, and there are initially four cups available, with four more that are unlockable by conquering their predecessors. This makes for a total of 32 different courses, of which half are brand-new for the Wii and the rest remastered versions of classic stages from previous games. This combination of both new and old provides a solid mix of novelty and nostalgia, but overall, the stylistic differences highlight two of the game's greatest flaws.

Waluigi Stadium is just one of the returning tracks, and unlike some of the other classic tracks, it looks and plays better than ever before.

One of the major new features is the midair stunt system, which is activated by flicking the Wii Remote at the very moment you leave the ground from a ramp-assisted jump, making your racer perform an extreme-sports-style trick, such as a 360-degree spin, which upon landing rewards you with a considerable speed boost. To facilitate this new mechanic, most new tracks include huge half-pipes, rampant ramps, a multitude of moguls, and a plethora of pits, all of which are deliberately placed to encourage extensive stunt work. While this new system itself isn't flawed and in fact injects a great deal of fun and new strategy into the gameplay, its influence on course design has made certain items even deadlier, as you're that much more likely to be blasted uncontrollably into lava or other hazards due to how much time you spend in the air.

The second major track-related issue is that the classic courses, while they've never looked better, are much less engaging than their counterparts. While the newer tracks are wild, crazy, and may even change dynamically as Grumble Volcano or Dry Dry Ruins do, the older courses are their polar opposite and are with few exceptions flat, empty, wide-open, and pit-free. Though you may find the occasional ramp or half-pipe haphazardly bolted on to make it play a teeny bit better with the stunt system, it generally seems like Nintendo deliberately decided to make you choose which was more important: stunts or a slightly better item balance. This dichotomy of level design creates a tenuous balance of play styles and is inelegant at best.

Mario Kart Wii includes the standard batch of items that players have come to expect, including mushrooms, starmen, fake item boxes, shells, and more. New items include the thunder cloud, which will automatically shrink you after several seconds unless you ram someone to pass it off onto them; the POW block, which temporarily stuns everyone ahead of you and makes them drop their items; and the mega mushroom, which makes you grow super large for a time to flatten other racers beneath your tires. While it's pretty much a guarantee of the Mario Kart experience that no one can stay in first forever, some of the more powerful items such as the blue shell, lightning bolt, and POW block appear absurdly often. It's not uncommon to be hit by several of them in a row or even simultaneously if you're in first place.

Much like Super Smash Bros. Brawl before it, Mario Kart Wii includes support for every possible controller configuration under the sun. The game comes packaged with a steering wheel controller shell that allows you to take full advantage of the Wii's motion-sensing abilities for what is perhaps the best purely tilt-driven control scheme available on the market. Though it does take quite a bit of time to get used to, the steering wheel feels quite natural and is very responsive. However, if you're not exactly up to the task or prefer the touch of an analog stick, the Wii Remote with Nunchuk, Classic Controller, or GameCube Controller schemes work just as well, with the directional pads on the more traditional controllers nicely substituting for remote-waggling.

Bloopers are back and far more dangerous without the separate map screen of the DS version.

Though the fundamental Mario Kart experience has remained generally the same, there are several changes that can greatly impact gameplay. Drifting mechanics in particular have changed dramatically, both to make it easier to perform for beginners and as a countermeasure against the controversial technique known as snaking (continuously mini-turbo boosting on a straightaway). Mini-turbo boosts are no longer performed by wiggling the analog stick. They are instead determined by the amount of time spent in a drift, and in fact can't be done at all in automatic mode. The type of vehicle you select also affects how drifting works, as go-karts have the ability to super mini-turbo boost by drifting around a turn a bit longer than normal. Motorcycles can't do this, but they can pop wheelies for extra speed on straightaways at the cost of impaired turning and increased susceptibility to ramming attacks. It is worth mentioning that while snaking is still possible to perform--especially on wide and open avenues-- it is no longer as viable or even as helpful as it once was.

(Originally posted on CNET Reviews)

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User reviews

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Average user rating: 4.5 stars out of 12 reviews

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9 stars

Prepare to be squirted with ink, slip on bananas and fly through a tree

by King Dedede100 on April 28, 2008

Pros: Excellent Multiplayer, large amount of unlockables, fun, varied courses

Cons: Graphics could be better, Powerups are a little unfair

Summary: I was lucky enough to pick up Mario Kart Wii on release date. Upon opening the box it came in, I discovered that it had a brand new accessory called ...

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Summary: I was lucky enough to pick up Mario Kart Wii on release date. Upon opening the box it came in, I discovered that it had a brand new accessory called the Wii Wheel inside it, which I guessed was used to play the game. It looks exactly like a miniaturized steering wheel. I popped my controller into the wheel, my disk into my Wii, then began to play the best racing game ever.

Overview

Mario Kart Wii is the next in a series of games called Mario Kart. It?s where all the characters from the popular Mario universe duke it out on several race tracks. The game is also famous for powerup fighting, as the titles each have a plethora of useful items that can be used to trip up the competition, shrink other racers or give yourself a speed boost. The games are also known for their ?party? style, where up to four players can race at once. Mario Kart Wii takes that ?party style? to a whole new level. Now up to 12 players at once can play over Nintendo Wi-fi connection. There are now 5 different methods to control your racer. And, after a long time, people are flocking to stores at midnight to catch the first titles.

10/10

Design

The Mario Kart series is one of the few racing titles these days. Racers just have too many flaws. Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity had sloppy, unresponsive controls. Need for Speed: Most Wanted had repetitive missions that got very boring. But when a Mario Kart game comes out, everyone lights up in excitement. The game design is different than other racing games. One is that instead of speed, you?re more focused on making that turn, grabbing that item box, and smashing that Koopa riding on a motorcycle. The game is built in that cartoonish, but fun style, that will make younger kids feel at home, while veterans of Mario Kart games will be entertained as well.

The game also has that grab-n?-go feeling that lets anyone pick up a controller and jump into the action. This is usually only present in fighting games like Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The second I pressed that Start Button, I immediately jumped into my first race, smashing and crashing into people as Bowser. With most racing games, you will start out with the weakest, slowest cars, and can only unlock other racers after you?ve completed most of the weak, boring storyline. In Mario Kart Wii, you have half the racers already unlocked, and they all are equally fast and have different strategies. This means that even if you can?t unlock many racers, you still have the huge selection of preloaded champions.

Of course, unlocking the secret racers is only half the fun. Even though the game has no minigames to keep you occupied, the games enticing racetracks and cool-looking cars will keep most people satisfied. You will be motivated to collect every car, not because it?s mandatory for fun, but you want more racecars to toy around with. The games multiple courses takes you through a seaside port town called Delfino Island, a giant volcanoe with collapsing platforms and dangerous lava spews, a jagged mountain with rushing rivers and an underwater tunnel, and a hedge maze in front of the mushroom castle. Clearly unmatchable variety.

10/10

Gameplay

To start off, there are 5 different methods of playing the game. There?s the Gamecube controller, great for veterans. The Wii Remote alone, for people who like the easy feel of a singe stick. Then the Wii remote and Nunchuck, for people who don?t like the bulkiness of the Gamecube controller but also don?t like the simplicity of a single WiiMote. There?s the classic controller, for players of the SNES version of Mario Kart. And finally, the Wii Wheel, which looks exactly like a miniature steering wheel, and is very fun and surprisingly easy to use. You see, this game has different methods for everyone, and each of them are fun and easy to use.

Okay, now on to the basic gameplay. As I said before, it?s very simple and easy to start your first race within seconds. 11 other players will accompany you through your race, picking up power-ups and trying for the same common goal of being the top dog of the racetrack. By the middle of the race, you will be soaring through a waterlogged beach, riding up escalators at a mall, and zooming down a snowy summit, dodging Shy Guys on snowboards.

Multiplayer is just as fun as ever. Several other players can smash and crash into each other, race with each other, exchange ?Ha ha! I got ya now!?s, and overall have a blast. If you get tired of racing, not a problem. There?s the fun battle mode, which is all about the games powerful powerups being used to inflict as much damage as you can, racking up points.

Now I will explain the various power-up items of the game. There are offensive items like the shell that can be thrown to knock out opponents. Helpful items like the mushroom that will give you a temporary speed boost. And distraction items like Blooper that will spray ink all over your screen, obstructing your view. This is probably the only flaw of this game, other than the graphics, but graphics don?t really matter. A lot of the items are impossible to avoid, and it?s very annoying when a never-miss blue shell slams down, sending a shockwave that knocks you silly. The Red Shell cannot miss unless you have an item with you. The POW block cannot be avoided and will stun everybody. Thankfully, these items can be turned off.

I forgot to mention the biggest edition to the game. Wi-fi. This special kind of Internet allows players of Nintendo games to play with opponents on the other side of the world. Even though the previous Mario Kart, Mario Kart DS had Wi-fi, it doesn?t even come close to this ones. You can play with up to 12 players at once, with little to no lag and very quick and easy startup. You can even check records and download ghost data from other players. The only fault is that only a few races can take place at once, so if you?re not lucky you?ll have to sit through a whole race. Not a problem though, as you can watch the other players from the current race through a movielike camera.

9/10

Overall, this game nails every aspect. Variety, multiplayer modes, fun factor you name it.

Buy or Rent: BUY IT! This game is great for friends, it?s great alone? It?s even great when you?re being chased by a giant bullet while soaring through a tree, which happens in this game.

My Score: 9/10

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2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 stars

The Racing Game you've been waiting for!

by Stubby Gutski on April 28, 2008

Pros: Intuitive, easy to use system. Quick startup that even young children can learn quickly.

Cons: Setting down the wheel presses the "b" button

Summary: I brought Mario Kart Wii home hoping for that fun racing game, and I was not disappointed. Setting up the wheel was simple (buying a second wheel is recommended and ...

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Summary: I brought Mario Kart Wii home hoping for that fun racing game, and I was not disappointed. Setting up the wheel was simple (buying a second wheel is recommended and inexpensive) and we were off to the races. The menus were a bit much to wade through the first time, complicated by the need to aim the remote while it was in the wheel. (My 7 year old daughter had difficulty with that concept - she kept setting the wheel on the ground or on her lap and hitting the "b" button -backing us out of the selections).

Game play was awesome! The visuals are crisp and varied, with a wide variety of courses and vehicles to choose from Control with the wheel is intuitive. The game can be as simple as "press the accelerator and drive" for the young ones, and challenging enough with drifting and gadgets to keep adults entertained. Having never played in this series before, I quickly picked up on the different shells made use of them. Strongly recommended for family fun!

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2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 stars

Great Product...Love the HIgh-Flying Action Fun

by techgeek111 on July 22, 2008

Pros: Tons of Cars; Great New Powe-Ups; Easy Controls; Great Levels

Cons: Boring Characters;

Summary: I love this game! It is the best mario-kart available.
It has great cars each w/ there different strong traits.
Characters are pretty standard, nothing suprising.
Includes a multitude of

...

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Summary: I love this game! It is the best mario-kart available.
It has great cars each w/ there different strong traits.
Characters are pretty standard, nothing suprising.
Includes a multitude of new and older levels (from Gamecube, N64, etc)

Overall 9/10

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1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 stars

Great, Great, Great game... for about 3 weeks

by SoobaSAR on June 13, 2008

Pros: Lots of fun, Excellent control with the wheel

Cons: Addictive, Not enough original courses, damn bananas

Summary: Highly addictive Mario cart doesn't disappoint the avid Mario Kart fan despite the fact that it is mostly made up of past Mario Kart courses. The provided steering wheel ...

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Summary: Highly addictive Mario cart doesn't disappoint the avid Mario Kart fan despite the fact that it is mostly made up of past Mario Kart courses. The provided steering wheel makes this game's driving control incredibly realistic and very exciting. Just watch out for those damn bananas.

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9 stars

awesomly awesome

by sasstosa on June 12, 2008

Pros: its the best wii game ever!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cons: there isnt anything bad about this

Summary: i ❤ the game!!!! Its so much fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BUY IT RIGHT NOW!!!!! lol

Summary: i ❤ the game!!!! Its so much fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BUY IT RIGHT NOW!!!!! lol
10 stars

Really Fun to play!!!

by enVcreativezen on June 9, 2008

Pros: Easy to use wheel, Exellent Wi-Fi

Cons: There are no cons

Summary: Mario kart wii is a great edition to the mario kart family. The wi-fi is spectacular with no glitches and its great how you can see what country they are ...

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Summary: Mario kart wii is a great edition to the mario kart family. The wi-fi is spectacular with no glitches and its great how you can see what country they are from. I love trying to unlock charecters and i have about four more to go. I love how it is not that easy so can beat it in a day. the wii wheel is a great idea and it is so cool. I love how you took courses from N64 and the DS and many more. This game is so much fun and I will defenetly reccomend it to everyone!!!

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9 stars

fun for everyone

by scifiiman on June 2, 2008

Pros: more maps, better quality, online play

Cons: read opinion

Summary: this is a very fun game, i have been playing with and against my friends online and at game nights. I only found 2 large issues, 1 is that you ...

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Summary: this is a very fun game, i have been playing with and against my friends online and at game nights. I only found 2 large issues, 1 is that you cant hold shells and other object behind you like in past Mario Kart's and you cant play with your friend over the wifi and play agaist a large group.

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9 stars

Loads of Fun

by Randiesel on May 15, 2008

Pros: Easy to learn. Pick up and play.

Cons: Haven't found any yet

Summary: Great game for kids and adults. Highly recommend this one for the whole family.

Summary: Great game for kids and adults. Highly recommend this one for the whole family.
8 stars

AWESOME game. Fun to play

by ameer43 on May 1, 2008

Pros: same classic game. Everything to love with a few new twists

Cons: The wheel isn't as great as I'd hoped.

Summary: The game is awesome. I thoroughly enjoy playing it. The online play is seamless. I honestly forgot I was playing online. There is no lag time, no annoying freezes, it ...

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Summary: The game is awesome. I thoroughly enjoy playing it. The online play is seamless. I honestly forgot I was playing online. There is no lag time, no annoying freezes, it is like I'm playing someone next to me. Very well done.

The wheel is a bit too sensitive. I actually did better playing without the wheel and just with the wii remote. (obviously I'm fishing for something negative.)

Very fun game for ALL to enjoy.

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9 stars

Ultimate Mario Kart

by xcbeast on April 28, 2008

Pros: More characters; More Tracks; Interactive

Cons: Really responsive when driving; arms get tired of holding steering wheel

Summary: I love mario kart altogether and wii made this game worth having because of including the steering wheel and combining old tracks and adding new tracks. Just all around more ...

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Summary: I love mario kart altogether and wii made this game worth having because of including the steering wheel and combining old tracks and adding new tracks. Just all around more fun.

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Showing opinion 1 to 10 out of 12

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Specifications

Manufacturer: Nintendo
Part number: 90100

Product Basic Spec
Platform Wii
ESRB rating Everyone - Comic Mischief
Genre Driving
Number of players 1-4 Players
Connectivity Online
Offline modes Competitive,Team Oriented,Cooperative
Online modes Cooperative,Competitive,Team Oriented
Sound Dolby Pro Logic II
Resolution Widescreen

Game
Developer Nintendo
ESRB Everyone
ESRB descriptors Comic Mischief
Release date 2008-04-27

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