http://wii.ign.com/articles/865/865975p2.html
Notable quote from the end
Remember that line-up we did at the start of this review? Well, despite a few minor flaws - most notably the failure that is offline Battle mode - the sheer quality of this latest Mario Kart installment pretty much sits it right alongside the near-faultless SNES original. Despite initial fears, this is proper Mario Kart, and it's Mario Kart done right.
UK, April 11, 2008 - Okay, so we're all on the same page, let's get this out of the way: Mario Kart SNES > Mario Kart DS > Mario Kart GBA > Mario Kart Double Dash > Mario Kart 64. Although we might be inclined to swap the first two around depending on our current whims. As awe-inspiringly entertaining as the first Mario Kart game was, its DS off-spring single-handedly fixed an awful lot of what had progressively dragged the series down into the quagmire of convolution, reminding us what was so great about the franchise in the first place.
Here's the good news about Mario Kart Wii: it pretty much grabs the gauntlet from its handheld cousin and runs with it, offering one of the purest, most enjoyable Mario Kart experiences we've seen on home console in years. A lot of that's thanks to the development team's understanding of what make a Mario Kart game great. Stripped of the series' previous 'bigger is better' obsession – a motif which gave us thumb-defying, brain-frying multi-racer button mashing and increasingly bland, excessively stretched track design, this Wii version re-emphasises tight, focussed driving and mercilessly devious tactics, even if ultimate victory still depends on good luck as much as anything else.
What's more, this isn't Mario Kart for the Casuals, whatever the inclusion of the Wii Wheel might suggest. Sure, it's simplified in certain areas, but most of these tweaks are logical and help reinstate some of the racer's straightforward arcade roots. Actually, while we're on the subject of the wheel, it works just fine. It takes a bit of getting used to and lacks responsiveness compared to MKW's other control options, but it's a sturdy, satisfying bit of kit and does its job as far as presenting newcomers with a less intimidating control scheme goes. Chances are though, Mario Kart pros will ditch the peripheral once their curiosity has been sated, plumping for either a Wiimote/nunchuck combo, Classic or GameCube controller – all of which work perfectly.
In-game, you'll likely plump for single-player racing before checking out Mario Kart Wii's wealth of other options. It's a good place to start, with only fifty percent of the track roster available from the off – you'll want to work your way through all four Wii-specific and retro cups to make the most of your options in online or multiplayer modes. In fact, there's an awful lot to uncover, from tracks to racers to vehicles – it's a smart way to keep you playing, if perhaps frustrating for the eternally impatient. Once you've unlocked something, you can use it during online play meaning you'll doubtless want to hack away at the game as more and more exotic racer/vehicle combinations present themselves during online matches – particularly once you realise the advantages some of them give.
As per tradition, single-player is split into 50, 100 and 150cc – featuring karts, bikes then both respectively. More so than ever, single-player effectively acts as an elaborate tutorial mode for the game, slowly introducing various mechanics, be that manual steering, tricks or tracks. This approach perhaps makes for an easier single-player game in this respect, with wider tracks (to suit 12-player matches) and fairer enemy AI making for a less torturously frustrating solo mode. It might come as a shock to seasoned Mario Kart racers but it works beautifully as an introduction to the online world of Mario Kart – and, thanks to clever online opponent matching, there's no shortage of a challenge when you connect to Nintendo's servers.
As far as the actual racing experience goes, a combination of streamlining and additions has created one of the tightest, tensest Mario Kart's yet. There's certainly an increase in tactical possibilities: while the much-debated drift simplification reduces its place as a pro-tool, the addition of tricks – offering a slight speed boost when used off jumps – means you'll always be on the hunt for ramps and slopes, assessing any advantages out-of-the-way objects might offer. Likewise, bikes prove far more than the arbitrary addition they might first seem. Offering slightly nippier speeds, tighter cornering and wheelie-boosting, they really can shave precious seconds off in a race. The downside is that heavier vehicles can easily push bikes round the track, plus they only have one drift boost level, unlike the two on a kart.
Then of course, there are the power-ups – if you've played Mario Kart DS, most will be familiar, with Golden Dash Mushrooms, Bloopers and Bullet Bills carried over from the handheld version. New additions here though include the size-increasing Mega Mushroom, POW Block – sending everyone on track at the time into a spin once discharged, meaning it pays to get airborne while you have the chance – and the excellent Thundercloud, offering increased speed but the chance of lightning bolt shrinkage if you don't pass it on by bumping into a fellow racer before it counts down. As ever, better power-ups are rewarded to those heading up the rear, so it's still wise not to hog pole position too much – on the plus side, those damned Blue Shells appear far less frequently now in our experience. Obviously, all these items still make Mario Kart far from actually fair but they're balanced enough now to compliment, rather than compensate, your driving prowess.
Mario Kart Wii also scores points thanks to some exceptional track design. There's an all-round greater sense of interactivity in many of the new courses, be that from slalom stunt platforms, conveyor belts, collapsing tracks, white water rapids or billowing treetop bridges, but nothing ever gets in the way of the tightly-focussed course layouts. In other words, there's always something interesting to see and do but it never dilutes the overall driving experience. Slightly less successful though is the selection of retro tracks – many of which seem like fairly arbitrary inclusions and we're a little mystified how some of them made the cut. That said, there are some genuine classics in there, SNES Mario Circuit 3, DS Peach Gardens and N64 DK's Jungle Parkway being personal favourites.
Unfortunately, while actual racing is a winner – be that in single-player, multiplayer or even online – Mario Kart's traditional offline Battle mode suffers significantly thanks to some baffling design decisions. Quite simply, it's a bland, boring experience – whether in Balloon Battle or Coin Runners matches. It's clearly been designed solely with online battling in mind – with huge 12-player-sized arenas proving more confusing than compelling. Rather than shrinking courses down to better suit two to four players offline, Nintendo has seen fit to fill out the ranks with AI players so offline matches appear more populated. Throw in the fact you're forced to play in teams too and the whole thing falls flat – it's flaccid and, lacking any real sense of competition, simply not fun. Of course, Battle mode has pretty much been a failure in every Mario Kart game following the SNES original, but it's still a shame that sheer laziness appears to be the main cause here.
Online though, it's a completely different story, with both VS. races and Battles coming into their own. Partly that's due to the ease of finding opponents to play – with Nintendo's servers managing to select full 12-player line-ups worldwide in seconds – and partly it's due to the clever implementation of point rankings for both modes. Put simply, you're awarded points based on a number of criteria – including your placing at the end of a race and number of opponents. It all becomes worryingly compulsive as your rank is slashed by hundreds following a major defeat and its amazing how quickly you'll slip into 'just another go' mode, simply to scrape back a handful of points. It's this system that works beautifully in online Battles – despite the fact you're working in teams, points are awarded to players who contribute most to a side's victory. That means it's not long before you start to get devious against your own team-mates, swiping power-ups from underneath them, or careening past to pop an opponent's balloon first. It's utterly chaotic and genuinely entertaining.
In fact, as an online experience, Mario Kart Wii is undoubtedly Nintendo's most accomplished package yet and demonstrates the company is starting to take internet gaming a little more seriously. Technically, it's fast when it comes to joining matches and lag-free in-game. But that's not the best of it – it's little touches like the online points system or the ability to create lobby rooms with your friends and chat from a huge batch of pre-determined messages that show a better understanding and maturity from Nintendo. Sure, it's still as frustratingly kid-safe as ever – with Friend Codes and lack of voice chat likely to irk the most – but that seems to be the Nintendo way. And with so many strides forward - whether in the way rankings are presented, weekly competitions which radically alter familiar tracks, the ability to download and upload ghost data, plus a stand-alone channel which offers easy access to all of Mario Kart's online options to the point of being able to see which of your friend's are playing at any given time – the positives almost certainly outweigh the inevitable minor negatives, although the lack of online match leaderboards is a little bewildering.
Closing Comments
Remember that line-up we did at the start of this review? Well, despite a few minor flaws - most notably the failure that is offline Battle mode - the sheer quality of this latest Mario Kart installment pretty much sits it right alongside the near-faultless SNES original. Despite initial fears, this is proper Mario Kart, and it's Mario Kart done right. It's fast, it's fun and still one of the best party games ever created. Thanks to some seriously well-implemented online options though, it brings so much more to the table than its forebears, most notably in terms of longevity. Really, the most serious drawback is that it's still just Mario Kart - and if that's a formula you hate, you're still not going to change your mind. For everyone else though, it's an essential purchase on Wii and a return to form for Nintendo's console racer.
Edit: Forgot the score Final Score 8.9
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