Mario Kart Wii

The visuals themselves look up to par with Wii’s standards, but compared to the other stellar Mario title, Galaxy, it pales in comparison. The character models in particular are pretty bad, with blocky layouts in the menu and vehicle changes that hardly look different at all. Many of the explosions caused by items look out of place during races and only the new maps tend to look like true Mario Kart courses. The latter section of tracks usually fall under the category of rehashed visuals or water-enhanced tracks, which sad to say is about one half of all the courses in the game.

The multiplayer modes are probably the best aspects of Mario Kart, and it is here that you do not have to worry about the item bombarding or the rubber band AI. Up to four people can participate in split-screen races and a total of up to 12 online. The online matches had surprisingly little or no lag at all and races were fluid more or less throughout the entire race. Players can hook up with friends or join quick matches against random people, all the while engaging in either closed circuit races or battle modes. The races are designed to be fun for everyone, so you will be placed accordingly to race against players with your same skill setting and in the closet region to you. This move helps get rid of alienation from the more hardcore players. There is also a new Mario Kart Channel, which lets you use your Miis to compete in tournaments or just interact with other players. The tournaments usually consist of races against other players for prizes, although Nintendo hasn’t officially revealed what you win during these tournaments.

While online play is definitely the best new aspect of Mario Kart, there is still plenty of fun to have if you don’t have access to Wi-Fi. The battle and coin modes are still around, having players duke it out to achieve the highest possible scores. Battle mode has players grabbing items to pop balloons situated on the back of each person’s kart, with the team with the most balloon pops at the end being declared the winner. The coin battle mode plays out ultimately the same but player’s race around the track to collect coins, which can then be stripped from opposing players by hitting them or knocking them into obstacles. Although the battle modes are fun match-ups and usually involve lots of mayhem and fun, they have now been reduced to only team-based affairs, making the term “every man for himself” a thing of the past. Plus there is no option to turn off the timer (game’s only last three minutes) and with only five maps available, the options are pretty slim for these two modes. They are still tons of fun, but a little more diversity in both management and levels would have been welcome.

With Mario Kart being the epitome of racing franchises for many years, it is sad to see how little the game changes its dry formula and actually takes several leisurely steps at addressing failing issues. The use of super-powerful items is abnormally constant throughout the game, and the AI’s ability to regain the lead after being lapped is a huge downfall in terms of playability. The multiplayer modes are still the best bang for your buck, offering nonstop racing action and battles, but the lack of a sophisticated single player mode leaves this Mario Kart title stuck in the pits.

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