Review: Mario Kart Wii

Mario Kart Wii is basically more of the same, yet slightly lacking. First of all, there are far too many characters in the game. There's no need for 24 characters when they all play the same. The difference comes in the weight class, and, even then, that only means you get to drive different cars. Everyone in the same weight class drives the same cars. The game could have three characters and it wouldn't make any difference. And they're scraping the bottom of the barrel here, too. They've got baby Mario, baby Peach, baby Luigi, and baby Daisy. Come on, guys! Seriously?

The new levels range from bland to awesome. The later stages consist of some of the most challenging tracks in Mario Kart history, and they're awesome. I just wish there were more of them. The "retro" tracks (Just how retro are tracks from the DS anyway?) are a nice touch, but instead of being a best-of collection it seems to be just the opposite. The majority of these old levels are dull and unnecessary. And does anybody really want to drive courses from Super Mario Kart in 2D? No thanks. And the multiplayer courses were all made for 12 players only. That means they're huge. Thankfully, the retro battle levels are a lot better than the race courses. Speaking of multiplayer, you can play online but I won't address that in this review because I am unable to connect to WiFi.

Now, for the stuff they took out. Co-op play is gone as well as the Shine Thief multiplayer mode. It's a shame because both of these were great and really extended the life of the game. To my knowledge, balloon battle can only be played with teams. On another sour note, they should fire the guy who did the music for this game as every piece lacks any kind of goodness. Really, the music is atrocious and none of the pieces seem to match the courses. Also, the graphics are noticeably
crappy.

So, what exactly is new and good about this game? Well, they've added some new items such as the pow block and mega mushroom. In my opinion, these are quite cheap and annoying. Driver AI is also now extremely unforgiving. I often find myself being hit with about three things at once and dropping from first to ninth in a matter of seconds. While this is occasionally frustrating, it is quite the challenge which makes for more fun. You can also drive motorcycles and preform stunts. I thought these would be lame gimmicks but they're actually quite awesome. The motorcycles drive well and you can do wheelies with them. Tricks can be performed of jumps and give you a boost of speed when you land. There's also now vertical boost pads on stages for doing stunts. Cart hopping is back with powersliding and it works just like it did in DS.

Of course, the biggest addition to the game is the new controls. I have to say, they're simply fantastic. The wheel makes such a big difference in control and, once you get used to it (it takes all of 10 minutes) you'll never want to go back. I know I don't!

So in summary, the level design is good for the most part, the multiplayer is lacking, there are far too many unnecessary things to unlock, the music and graphics are crap, motorcycles are cool, and it controls like a dream. Pick it up if you're a die hard fan. Otherwise, Double Dash and DS (my personal series favorite) will suffice. This is, of course, unless you want to try out the awesome new controls.

Breakdown
Visuals: 6
Controls: 10
Gameplay: 8
Sound: 5
Replay Value: 6 (*note* playing online may increase replay value)
Overall: 7/10
A fun, yet flawed experience.