Consolation Prize

Mario and friends are back for another fun packed bout of racing in Mario Kart Wii. Although this is the sixth instalment in the series there aren’t really any drastic changes to the tried and tested formula. This isn’t a bad thing as by and large the series evolves with each generation of Nintendo hardware and introduces some new features.

So what’s new this time around? First and foremost is the introduction of motor bikes as vehicles rather than just karts. Instead of just being an afterthought however the bikes handle significantly differently from the karts to make them a worthwhile addition to the game, generally being faster and more responsive, but feeling a bit more unstable (twitchy). Bikes also tend to be lighter than there karting brethren and thus it’s easier to get bullied off the track while riding a pocket rocket, especially if coupled with a very light character.

Another new element this time around is the ability to perform tricks on jumps. A quick jerk of the wheel upwards at the right moment and you get to see Mario or Toad pull off a random smile inducing trick which upon landing gives you a speed boost for a few vital seconds.

There’s a wide variety of characters to choose from, in fact Mario Kart Wii boasts the largest character roster of the series to date spoiling the player with 25 in total, including the ability to use your Mii. Although half of these have to be unlocked during the course of the game most of the best known characters are available from the start.

It wouldn’t be Mario Kart without a good selection of weapon pickups with which to aggravate your competitors. Most of the old favourites are back including red and green shells, bananas, fake item drops, lightning, and mushrooms. Of course there are also some new goodies to play with like the “Mega Mushroom” and “Thunder Cloud”. The latter of which is my least favourite, creating a thunder cloud above the player which unless passed onto another racer (tagging them) will strike the player shrinking and spinning the kart or bike out of control.

As with Mario Kart Double Dash and Mario Kart DS you’re not limited to the standard kart (or bike) but can choose from a selection of vehicles which have there own handling attributes. Some may be heavier then others forgoing acceleration in favour of top speed whilst others could be easier to handle, better at off-road, but sacrificing top end speed. Whatever vehicle you choose the handling is as solid as ever. Karts drift gracefully around corners and can gain two stages of mini-speed-boost for use as you exit the corner whilst bikes forgo the second level of boost in favour of pulling wheelies on straights for extra speed but at the expense of manoeuvrability.

Mario Kart Wii features a great selection of tracks. As usual the “Grand Prix” is split into different classes (50cc, 100cc, and 150cc in increasing difficulty) and is then further segmented down into eight different cups with four tracks in each cup. Overall there are 32 tracks in all, half of which are “classics” taken from various different editions of Mario Kart and retain there retro feel. I really can’t think of any track which I’d say is badly designed. Everyone will undoubtedly have their favourites, but from a racing perspective each course offers something different that’s both visually appealing and provides a fresh challenge for the player.

Multiplayer action is well catered for, supporting offline four player split-screen or two player split-screen online. Jumping into an online race is easy enough and random opponents from around the world are matched against the player. To complement the online side the brilliant Mario Kart Channel keeps track of time-trial times, continental and global rankings, and official Nintendo competitions. Time trials proved to be immense fun as not only can you download ghost data from the top players and receive friend challenges, but the channel provides Nintendo staff ghost data (basic and expert) and a “rival” to beat whom is another player that is slightly ahead of your time.

My only reservations about the online implementation were the dreaded “friend codes”, requiring yet another unique code that must distributed to your friends and reciprocated. I can appreciate the safety aspect but personally the implementation feels too restrictive.

So what about the much vaunted wheel peripheral that’s seen used on all the adverts and comes bundled with the game? Well, the wheel itself is very well crafted and feels great to use. Initially it feels like a revelation that such a simple peripheral can enhance a game by so much, and for majority of the 50cc races it works a treat. The problems arise when moving up to the 100cc and 150cc classes where it becomes a necessity to pull wheelies and perform tricks to gain speed boosts. More often than not I’d find that either the trick wasn’t performed or I veered wildly off course. Luckily Mario Kart Wii offers a multitude of controller preferences and supports the Gamecube, Classic, and the Wiimote Nuchuck combination if the wheel isn’t to your liking; unfortunately however I couldn’t find a method to re-map the controls.

Mario Kart Wii looks and sounds fantastic and is the highly polished gem you’d expect from Nintendo. There are some great touches in the game, like the use of Mii’s in the crowd and plastered on advertising hoardings which adds a personalised feel to game; or the way the music on the selection screens escalates with each menu reinforces your impression that this is a quality game. Yes, there’s a feeling of over familiarity here and a sense that it has all been done before but that was also evident in all prior iterations of the series, after all Nintendo isn’t going to stray too far from the mould with one of its most solidly performing franchises. You can’t help but love Mario Kart Wii, it’s an exceptionally good racing game and just pure electronically distilled fun.