Mario Kart Wii - GT Review

This GT review of Mario Kart Wii is interesting. On one hand, they spend most of the review taking potshots and making backhanded compliments about the game, and then they give it an 8.4 anyway. Rather peculiar if you ask me. Especially because this is by far the best Mario Kart game ever made, and if you cant see that, you've either got blinders on or are simply not a fan of the series. A bold statement, I know, but Im going to try to back it up.

For starters, lets talk about the drifting. The GT guys dont like how they changed it so that you dont have to wiggle the stick to get extra boost, now you just hold it, but the result is the same. Well, its true its easier to do, but the idea that making the controls easier makes the game worse is patently ridiculous.

"Now the noobs can win!" Thats also a complete misrepresentation. Ive played a fair share online, and in 12 person rooms, usually one player dominates and the same 2-3 people are always in the top 5, while the rest of the field finishes almost randomly. Its pretty much the results you would expect from any racing game, and its the same in Burnout, Midnight Club, GRID, GT, or any other racing game you want to pick. The veteran players usually win or or place high. The casual players sometimes get lucky and come in 3rd. Picking out the best racing line and being aggressive are the keys to victory online. The Ghost Mode alone, where you can race in solo time trials against developers and online friends best times, is worth checking out even if VS multiplayer isnt your thing.

As for the battle mode, I personally never cared for it, and although Ive heard its not as great compared to past MK games, at least its there and you can play it online. The 12 player racing online is amazingly tight, lag free, and hassle free with brilliant matchmaking and global rankings. I was in a room with 12 people from Europe, the United States, and Japan, all at the same time, with no visible lag. The guy from Japan kicked all of our asses. His name was a symbol. He was using Luigi. It was awesome.

The graphics and sound are fantastic for the Wii. I cant believe how hard the GT guys swung and missed on their technical analysis. While I am playing on a 480P 27" CRT in 4x3, and Im sure the game doesnt look as good on a 50" flatscreen, for what it is, it looks and runs fabulously. The lighting effects are really impressive, it has the effect of HDR lighting but Im not sure that the Wii is capable of that actual feat. Whatever the glowing effect is, it looks great. I think its the best looking Wii game alongside Mario Galaxy. Super Smash Bros has some nice looking cutscenes, but the actual in game graphics arent quite as snazzy. The music and sound in MK Wii are also top notch - several of your favorite themes are reprised, and the new tracks are stellar. Some people just cant understand vastly different varieties of music in a single video game. Nintendo never hired any of those people.

The AI is tough in the game on 150cc. Has it ever not been? No. And, mind you the AI is just as brutally merciless as in another fantastic Nintendo racing franchise, the original game that got me addicted to lap times, F-Zero. Is there evidence of abusive pimpslapping by the AI in the 150cc class? Yes. Will you get hit 3 times in a row on the last turn and lose the perfect Grand Prix you were running? Yes. If you get easily frustrated, Mario Kart just isnt for you. But my guess is if youve read this far, youre likely already a fan of the series. If you're not, go out and get this game for you Wii as its the best possible introduction to the series, and an awesome online racing game. Just remember to turn on Manual drift, as the Automatic setting is set up for people who have never played a racing game before.

The new levels are phenomenal, and pretty much every good level from every other Mario Kart game is represented here. N64 Sherbert Land? Check. DS Delfino Square? Check. DK's Jungle Parkway? Check. All new Rainbow Road? Double check - its the best Star Cup ever. The character selection is perfect, the bikes, carts, buggys and muscle cars are well balanced, and the weapons are just as deadly as ever before. Does getting hit with the Blue Shell in 1st place suck? Of course. But come on, you're in 1st freaking place. You still have a lap to go. Quite whining, you're gonna win the GP anyway. And if you dont, you'll win it next time.

For every game - even games which feature high degrees of luck mixed with skill - there is a winning strategy. Just because the higher luck factors results in variance where sometimes the "noobs" beat you doesnt mean the game sucks, it simply means it needs to be approached with some humility, and in this case, an attitude towards having fun. Gran Turismo might delineate the winners from the losers a bit more consistently, but it cant touch the levels of insanity in an average 12 player Mario Kart online race. Winning is great, but even sweeter is snatching victory from the hands of your enemies at the last possible moment, and thats what this game is all about.