Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 397
 not so good May 7, 2008
carnage (New York)
29 out of 59 found this review helpful
Controls:
I wouldn't recommend going out and buying a wii wheel for every controller. It's cumbersome. I felt I had better control of what I was doing without it. I tried to use my GC controller and was frustrated when I found out the button layout was rearranged (from CG DD layout) with no way to modify them to a players liking.
Looks:
I wasn't expecting Mario to be jumping out of the screen at me, but this game really doesn't look any better than Double Dash. I'm using a hd tv with component cables. The game could have been a bit more polished.
Game Play:
cheapness factor-
The computer LOVES to time its Lighting, Spike Shell or POW to make sure you fall off a ledge or make it possible for you to lose your first place slot.
Whats up with the rare weapons like Lighting and Spike Shell coming up multiple times in a race? In former games those were few and far between. Three lightnings in one race? WTH nintendo?
I don't want to lose a race when I have done nothing wrong. That just seems to happen a lot in this game though. Multiple spike shells FTL!
No coop on Grand Prix-
My brother and I enjoyed this feature in past games. This is huge step back for the series.
No free for all in Battle mode -
You have to play on teams.
Thumbs down:
This game sure did have a lot of hype. But after I played it it turned out to be a recycled dud. Sadly most of the market for this game are people who have never played the old classic Mario Karts (snes, n64) so they will think it is awesome.
 Just plain awesome April 28, 2008
N. Durham (Philadelphia, PA)
21 out of 27 found this review helpful
Mario Kart has just about always been a safe bet in terms of video game fun, and the eagerly anticipated Mario Kart Wii is certainly no exception. Mario Kart Wii features a large selection of tracks, of which are brand new and remastered tracks from previous games in the series to boot; all of which are well designed and fun to race, albeit the classic tracks aren't nearly as stylisticly designed as the new ones. The addition of motorcycles surprisingly works well, and despite a change in some of the game's old mechanics (drifting has never been easier to perform), the game works and races very well. Most notably is the use of the included Wii Wheel, which surprisingly responds quite well and feels very good as well. Though it may take some getting used to at first, Mario Kart Wii also supports just about every controler available for the Wii, which in itself is a big plus. The game as a whole is easy to get into, the online play is well done, the items (while more unbalanced than ever) are imaginitive, and of course, the multiplayer is spectacular fun. All in all, you really can't go wrong with Mario Kart Wii, which is yet another spectacular triple-A title to come from Nintendo, and another essential pick up for your Wii.
Great Family Game April 27, 2008
A. John (Brooklyn, NY)
19 out of 25 found this review helpful
I picked up this game on the 26th (yesterday) from my local game store and right away the entire family started playing. The game is very simple and not much different from the other Mario Karts of past except of course for the onlilne play which we haven't tried out as yet. There are a few characters to choose from, adult and baby alike and steering is pretty easy. You race against your chose characters and your Mii's are also included in the races. You just might see your Mii pass you by. We did it without the wheel (since we only had 1) and was surprised at how easy it was. The graphics are also pretty good. You go forward by using the 1 and 2 button to go forward or reverse and B to use your special. All in all a very good game and it was well worth the wait.
AMAZING April 27, 2008
D. Swanson
18 out of 21 found this review helpful
So at first I was a little skeptical about this game because I have played every other version of Mario Kart and the Wii Wheel worried me because it seemed like it would be hard to control and gimmicky. After having played it, I actually find it to be the most fun out of all the mario karts. This version is very similar to Mario Kart 64 only with additional features such as
*12 racers in the grand prix
*Online racing (This morning I raced 12 people from around the world and there was no lag and hardly any wait time)
*Tricks (that can be done with the flick of the wii wheel, although I noticed occasionally the tricks are unresponsive if you don't shake it hard enough)
*16 new courses and 16 retro courses.
*You can play as your mii
I love the courses, they are very colorful with great music and range from piece of cake to challenging
There's a ton of items you can use to "attack" opponents with such as that horrible blue shell that attacks the racer in first place. It's also great from any age range. In my opinion someone as young as 5 and as old as 50 could enjoy this game. All in all its a great game!!!
9.5/10
 a solid title, but there are balance issues April 28, 2008
goldentoaster (Los Angeles, California)
18 out of 24 found this review helpful
Before i begin the review, a brief preface is necessary:
I am not a fan of mario kart, nor am i a hater. I am writing this review as an objective review. If you are a die hard fan of the series, you probably will buy this game, and if you hate nintendo games you will most likely avoid it. This review is not for you people, it is for those who are interested but undecided. It is not particularly biased, but it is still an opinion. My only aim is to help, so treat my review as such.
For anyone who has not played a mario kart game, here is the skinny: pick a Mario mascot, pick a wacky kart, and race across various themed tracks, and achieve victory or failure by utilizing the various "items" (power ups and weapons). The mario kart franchise popularized the item-based kart racer, and each previous version was successful at doing so by balancing items and racing that utilizing both driving and weapons was key to winning. Mario kart has always been a "party game" which means it is best played with friends, and is accessable for all ages and skill levels, while also appealing to vets. Mario kart Wii is the latest and arguably the best mario kart to date, but that does not mean that it is without problems.
Mario Kart Wii sticks with the the old formula and should feel very familiar at first. This is a good thing because previous mario karts were very fun. The most drastic change is the inclusion of dirt bikes into the mix. They offer a alternative way to race, while also adding a new tricks system. The mechanics work quite well and go hand in hand with the other big change, the steering wheel included. The steering wheel includeded in the game's package encourages play with the wii-mote, allowing players to steer the controller to produce the desired effect in the game. It works well, but it is apparent that it is a novelty, luckily there are plenty of other control options for playing, including the gamecube controller.
But back to the bikes. Thanks to the new tricks system, nintendo decided to design the tracks with the tricks in mind. The result is a lot of half pipes and jumps; the tracks look like a mixture between a skate park and a rollercoaster. It is a very fun, and it works well until items come into play. The items were designed for kart racing and not biking and tricks. biking becomes unenjoyable with items constantly hindering you. this leads into the games biggest problems.
Items appear way too frequently and will hurt you more than they will help. There are too many items now that are impossible to defend against, many of which affect everyone playing. Items in previous mario kart games required more thought to execution and the target could defend himself, this coupled with the fact that items are more frequent and there are now 12 racers instead of 8, means a racer will be a victem much more often. While an element of luck has been a part of every mario kart game, players will go from first to last within a matter of seconds. A lot of skill has been drained from racing, making victory a matter of who happens to get the best items closest to the finish line.
Another issue is that single player grand prix mode, (the meat of the single player experience), suffers from horrible "rubber band" AI. This means that the game is designed so that there will always be computers on your tail. even if you should be leaving them in the dust, the computers when falling too far behind will go faster than technically possible to catch up to keep close to you. It keeps the game chaotic to an unnecessary level and leaves you feeling cheated.
Fortunately, most of the issues are alleviated in multiplayer mode. There are no computer issues in multiplayer, and items can be regulated in the settings menu to keep things a little more balanced. Multiplayer is the real draw of this game, it is fun and stimulating with friends, and is best enjoyed in a social manner. Online multiplayer is an even bigger feat. Online is seamless, offering great quality matches with almost no lag or hitches. Online comes complete with its own chanel, allowing you to track scores and tournaments for you and your friends. The ranking system, integration, and sheer depth of the online aspect is unheard of so far in a Wii game. It pushes the bar for Wii online content, doing it better than any game has in the past.
Otherwise, Graphics and sound are kind of crappy and kiddy, but they are clean, and get the job done. To be honest, graphics do not play a huge role in this game, but nothing is to offensive, nor should anything be an issue.
So what is the verdict? It is a tough choice. If you are hoping that you will be playing mostly single player and occasional multiplayer to get by, this is probably not the game for you. The single player is weak, and the system itself is plagued with imbalance issues, which can only be alleviated by the distraction of other people. If you plan on playing a lot of multiplayer or online, this game is much more valuable in terms of quality content.
Over all it is a solid 4 out of 5 thanks to spectacular multiplayer, but imbalanced single player and game mechanics
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