Mario Kart Wii review (Wii)
MARIO Kart Wii is definitely playing it safe, but MY, MY hasn't it paid off.
What you see is what you get with the latest instalment of the little Italian moustached-maestro's venture into the racing world.
Gone are the experimental nuances seen in the previous incarnations on the likes of the Gamecube (whatever happened to that!?) and this Wii version brings back everything that was good from the superb Mario Kart DS and slaps some makeup on it and sends it out looking and feeling gorgeous.
Mario Kart Wii brings the same familiar but fun racing experience as ever and at the same time becomes the Wii's top online game without fail.
The game can be bought with its own steering wheel - the Wii Wheel - and supports four different controller configurations.
Old-school karters like me will prefer using the Gamecube pad or Classic controller over the other options, but surprisingly, the Remote and Nunchuck combo works almost as well. Using the Remote in the Wii Wheel allows gamers to experience a more tilted control style.
The offline content is split up into Grand Prix, Time Trials, VS and Battle modes. Our favorite staple remains the GP, which sees you battle your way through 50cc, 100cc and 150cc cups (and more) in the traditional manner. 50cc is absurdly easy, and players won't hit any real challenge until the 150cc bracket. Time Trials can be tackled solo or against a ghost racer. What's awesome about the ghosts this time is that you'll be playing against some of the better Nintendo staff members' ghosts, which provides a real challenge and feeling of achievement if you do indeed become better than the people that actually made this wonderful game.
VS mode pits you against either 11 CPU racers or you can select to race as two teams, blue and red. The team with the most points at the end wins. Battle mode offers the classic Balloon Battle and Coin Runners modes which sees you try and pop the other karters' balloons or gain possession of more coins for the win. Both these sub-modes play out as team events.
But it's the online mode that makes Mario Kart Wii such a standout experience. Getting online and finding a match is painless, and when connected, the gameplay is flawless and lag-free, a real achievement considering the amount going on and the fact you have 12 people online in one game session (other games companies, naming no names 'Konami', take note).
All-in-all MKWii delivers yet another addictive and fun-filled experience which will appeal to nostalgic MK lovers, hardcore karter fans and newcomers alike. On the downside, I was expecting more tracks considering some are quite small but once mirror mode is unlocked there is plenty to get your wheels into and show me a game (early incarnations of Pro Evo Soccer aside) that is as much fun to play with your mates as MKWii and I will show you a liar.
Bucksherald.co.uk rating: 9/10
Exclusive to Nintendo Wii.
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