mario kart on the wii

[Mr Wilson]

just got this been playing it for the last 3 hours solid what a quality game one of the best games i've played in the last few years,takes a bit of getting used to.  online racing is really good, i'd recommend this to anyone

[patrickl]

It's kinda cute and fun as a party game, but I found the racing sluggish and frustrating. My kid loved it though.

[fjl]

You guys have the European version?

Is the gameplay like the DS version? I found the DS version to be by far the best version of MarioKart. Gamecube version was dissapointing. Hopefully its more up to snuff like the DS version. What's your take?

[SonicSlammaster]

Played this for about 8 hours yesterday with some friends its a real fun game.
Its a lot like the nintendo 64 version but its nicer gfx, faster gameplay and new features
make it well worth while. Grab some beers, call some friends over n have a laugh with this one.

[shmokes]

I'm skeptical of the control.  A racing game needs precise controls.  I don't see how you can get around that.  It goes for Excite Truck too.  It's mildly entertaining, but it's lack of tight control makes the replayability wear thin quickly.  Way too quickly.  The lack of precision means that no matter how good you get, you're still sloppy.  Of course, you have the option of playing with the analog stick, from what I understand, so maybe that cures any deficiencies.

[AtomSmasher]

I'm skeptical of the control.  A racing game needs precise controls.  I don't see how you can get around that.  It goes for Excite Truck too.  It's mildly entertaining, but it's lack of tight control makes the replayability wear thin quickly.  Way too quickly.  The lack of precision means that no matter how good you get, you're still sloppy.  Of course, you have the option of playing with the analog stick, from what I understand, so maybe that cures any deficiencies.

From the reviews I've seen so far they said pretty much the same thing, using the motion controls isn't accurate enough, so you end up using the analog stick.  It seems to have a similar control scheme to Super Smash Bros. in that you can use just the wiimote, wiimote + nunchuck, or a gamecube controller, so you have plenty of options to suit your tastes.  I've never been a big fan of mario kart and since this doesn't seem to break from the mold of previous Mario Karts, I probably won't be picking up a copy. 

[patrickl]

I'm skeptical of the control.  A racing game needs precise controls.  I don't see how you can get around that.  It goes for Excite Truck too.  It's mildly entertaining, but it's lack of tight control makes the replayability wear thin quickly.  Way too quickly.  The lack of precision means that no matter how good you get, you're still sloppy.

Excite truck drives a whole lot better than Mario Kart. Mario Kart responds to the steering like an oil tanker. Although when you are blazing at full speed with Excite truck there is not much steering anymore either.

I actually find Excite truck pretty playable. It's just so fast that you don't actually need that much precision. On the other hand, after finishing all the races, I don't play it that much anymore. Mostly because I get motion sicknes from playing the game though.

With all the stuff flying around and hitting you, Mario Kart is a pretty random racing experience anyway. It's actually a lot of fun when you and your friends throw items at each other, but the constant lightning flashes, bombs and oil sprays (from the AI players) are just annoying. They hit you even when you are half a lap ahead of the field.

Of course, you have the option of playing with the analog stick, from what I understand, so maybe that cures any deficiencies.

I feel that with the analog stick the control is more precise and faster. Other people claim that they have better control with the wheel. Although I saw some youtube clips of these people playing and they had trouble even beating the AI players.

If you like racing then Mario Kart is not it. If you like Zany Cartoony Party Fun then Mario Kart is your ticket.

[SNAAKE]

It's kinda cute and fun as a party game, but I found the racing sluggish and frustrating. My kid loved it though.

"fraustrating" ? like...really ??
I guess I am naturally good at ALL games lol..MK is too easy if anything..


overall good game. 16 brand new stages are all good..wario's goldmine is my favorite

[patrickl]

It's kinda cute and fun as a party game, but I found the racing sluggish and frustrating. My kid loved it though.

"fraustrating" ? 


I guess I am naturally good at ALL games lol..

Actually it's frustrating for good players and not so much for the people who just pick up a controller for the first time.

MK is too easy if anything..

Yes, that too.

[SNAAKE]

...I guess

all MK games were too easy imo. there is room for more complex things to make it interesting. on the lighter note,wii version relies heavy on environment so its anyone's game. 16 players online play is fun. lag doesn't really effect the game that much.

[Jimbo]

I love it.  I find using the wheel is excellent and very accurate, I've not had a problem with it at all. On 150cc, racing against friends in "vs" mode, its great fun, and you can turn off the weapons if you don't like them (or tone them down to non-lethal ones). There's loads of Karts, bikes (all with different stats) and lots of new courses. The online play I didn't really care for, but local multiplayer is a hoot!

[Minwah]

My gf got this on Friday so I had a good play at the weekend (with the game I mean  ).  On my first go I wasn't terribly impressed I must admit. But later on I got used to it and now I think it's great.  I find using 'manual' mode is most rewarding (more like previous Mario Karts), although it is difficult to get the corners right, specifically when you are turbo-ing along.

I found generally the steering wheel to be pretty accurate...sure it takes some getting used to but I think with practice you could be as good as with any control method. Still, I would be interested to play it with a GameCube controller.

Like someone else said, up to now I think my favourite Mario Kart is the DS version. I wouldn't like to say at this point whether I prefer the Wii one or not...

[patrickl]

Indeed the (manual) drifting is pretty funny. Once you do it for a while it comes pretty natural actually.

[patrickl]

and you can turn off the weapons if you don't like them (or tone them down to non-lethal ones).

I guess. Like I said I like it when you do it to each other or when in close combat you shoot an opponent down.

It just doesn't make sense to me that even when I'm half a lap ahead of the whole field they still manage to blow me up. It's also annoying how you fall straight out of the sky when something like that happens (into a chasm even)

[Minwah]

Yeah the bomb thing that without fail gets the leader is a pain. The other day I was first and got had by one of them and by the time I got going again was back to 9th.

It's a nice weapon to have if you are in 2nd place tho!

[Jimbo]

Ooh the sliding is fun, especially as you can steer whilst sliding to slide for longer and get the turbo boosts   I'm gradually getting to slide most the way around the tracks now, lol.  Yeah its a major pain when you are in front and you get hit by the "bomb the leader" weapon... in fact I've driven some courses nearly perfectly and still managed to come in last... seems sometimes they all gang up on you all at once!  Still, its fun to play... although I think I'm gonna play around with the weapons options a bit to see if playing with only basic weapons is more fun.

Anyone know what the best karts are?  My favourite at the moment is Waluigi's Offroader

[RTSDaddy2]

My two cents on it - I'm pretty crazy about it, and so's my wife.  Coconut Mall is my complete favorite right now, but DK Summit and the partially submerged track (in the same circuit) are quickly becoming two of my favorites.

One highlight about the game so far is how they set up online play - I think it's rather neat that everyone's Mii pops up at their location on the map before gameplay starts. 

Drifiting - if this was present in the other Mario racing games, I must admit I never caught on to it...but this one made sense to me.  Why that is, I'm not real sure.  I love doing the tricks off the jump ramps as well.

Bikes are a neat addition (wife, again, loves them), though not as hard to get used to as I'd heard.  As far as the Wii Wheel goes, I've never been able to use the Wiimote on it's side (as is "Cars") as a steering device very well, so I found the wheel to be a delight - I finally feel like I've got control over my racer.  There are some cool unlockable vehicles as well, but I'll leave that there to avoid spoilers.

Is it the rush that Mario Galaxy or Smash Brothers was? Hmmmm...probably not, but it's certainly a 9 on my fun meter....and once again, replay value is unreal.  It's a nice addition to the series.

[patrickl]

I like it.  The setup with the nunchuck is ridiculous, though.  I've been playing it on 'automatic' to keep it simple and all you do on the remote is hold down A.  They could have easily mapped the gas and item buttons to the nunchuck and just let you play it one handed. 

I have no problems with the nunchuck control. I don't see the benefit in making it single handed. Even if you don't want to look back you need buttons for throttle, breaks, drifts and fire. You cannot map all these functions onto two buttons.

BTW maybe using the wheel is more fun, but i found that if I want to set fast times the only way is to use the nunchuck (or probably a classic controller, but I don't have one)

:edit: Lol, someone did a test on this: The Mario Kart Wii controller showdown

[patrickl]

I don't see the benefit in making it single handed. Even if you don't want to look back you need buttons for throttle, breaks, drifts and fire. You cannot map all these functions onto two buttons.

Are you incapable of pushing a joystick forward?

I can, but forward and backwards on the joystick is already used for throwing items forwards and backwards.

Note I mentioned I was playing on 'automatic' where drift isn't an option.

I noted that. I was thinking more about a general scheme and since other people do use drifting, a control scheme not allowing for drifting is not really an option.

In Mario Kart, you -never- take your finger off the gas button except in the rare instances when you get stuck and need to reverse.

true, but "never" is not the same as "not often".

All Nintendo had to do was allow us to customize the controls.  That's what I'm griping about.

True.

I still don't see the point in turning this into a single handed control. You would make it harder on yourself than is neccesary to progress through the game. Maybe not at first, but for more experienced play the nunchuck alone is not going to be enough.

[fjl]

How are you able to turn off weapons? Is that an unlockable cheat or do I keep overseeing it on the game menu? And is this for VS or only battle?

Overall its a great and fun game but here are some gripes I have with the game.

After having played the game I can comment on a few things. First off I hate the music they place between matches during the online part. It sounds like the type of synthesized music they use for the more realistic racing games. Basically it doesn't have a Mariokart feel to it.

I hate that you can't exit a game during a match. In a way this is good cause I think it kicks everyone off the game if someone does that. But you only have one chance and time to quit and if you accidently press "OK" instead of "Quit" you miss your chance. And to me this usually happens since I press buttons like a madman to hurry up the menu screens.

It seems they removed the whole LAN option that was in the gamecube version. It's where you can have all your friends come over, hook up their consoles together and battle it out in a LAN match, each on their own screen. And because of this, it lacks a tournament mode. You can somewhat get by this on friends mode though.

Another thing that I find annoying is that you cannot view what track anyone else picks until AFTER you have chosen your desired track. On the DS version you can easily see what tracks are being chosen before you pick which I thought was a nifty option so if someone picks a certain track you like, you can increase the likeliness of it being played by also chosing that same map. One thing I thought they should have added was to add the persons name next to the map they are chosing. They made it so you can only see a pic of the Mii they're using.

Another downgrade from the DS version was that you cannot see who is in what place. You can only see what place you are in. Which is another gripe since every match has more or less players, you will see something like "4th place" but wont mention how many players are currently racing. It should say "4th of 8" or however many players are currently playing during that race. Even the N64 version had little icons  that circled the screen to let you know who was where and how far ahead. The current mini map they use for this pretty much sucks and is hard to see.

Yet again another downgrade from the DS was how they showed little icons of the players all next to each other and what items they are currently holding. I know this was used on the second screen of the DS so it doesn't block the main screen but they could have made it transparent so it doesn't interfere. Or they should have done something like ont he N64 version where you can cycle between different icons and such that can be viewed on screen. I sorely miss the speedometer option from the N64.

The most annoying thing I HATE and I mean really hate about this game and the Wii in particular is when you go into the MarioKart channel and view the matches or ghosts someone sends you, you cannot use the Gamecube controller to play them. Since the Wii menu only works with the Wii mote, you are forced to use the Wii mote and cannot change to use the gamecube controller unless you back out of all the menu's into the games menu screen then chose the controller. I hate that you cannot control the Wii menus with the gamecube controller. This is my scenario, the Wii mote gets lost as easily as a regular remote control, so I'm pulling up couch cushions looking for it. Once I find it, I have to navigate through the menus to start the game which isn't a big deal but time consuming. I know I have the option to have a game start automatically instead of the Wii Menu but that would also be a hassle since people send me messages on the Wii all the time and I would also be annoying to have to eject the game so the wii menu boots up instead of the game.

Like I said before, this is a great installment of MarioKart but it could have been better.

Man, I'm ranting too much...

[SavannahLion]

The most annoying thing I HATE and I mean really hate about this game and the Wii in particular is when you go into the MarioKart channel and view the matches or ghosts someone sends you, you cannot use the Gamecube controller to play them. Since the Wii menu only works with the Wii mote, you are forced to use the Wii mote and cannot change to use the gamecube controller unless you back out of all the menu's into the games menu screen then chose the controller. I hate that you cannot control the Wii menus with the gamecube controller. This is my scenario, the Wii mote gets lost as easily as a regular remote control, so I'm pulling up couch cushions looking for it. Once I find it, I have to navigate through the menus to start the game which isn't a big deal but time consuming. I know I have the option to have a game start automatically instead of the Wii Menu but that would also be a hassle since people send me messages on the Wii all the time and I would also be annoying to have to eject the game so the wii menu boots up instead of the game.

You can't really fault the game itself for this specific design deficiency. I still play a lot of my GC games, probably about as much as I play the Wii stuff. Not being able to navigate any part of the Wii with the GC controller drives me ape ---Cleveland steamer---. About the only thing I can figure for the reasoning behind this is the Wiimotes power button and the controller assignment. I guess they either figure that if you can't find a Wiimote, you're not going to play any games anyways or they had trouble working out a way to determine which controller port (Wii or GC) should have control of the Wii in what slots. They probably figured it would be easier to just ignore the GC ports than it would be to go through the effort and testing. ---uvulas---.

It's a weird design choice to have this sort of isolation between the two components of the Wii. Can't save GC games to Wii memory (not even at an emulated level) and crippled network play on a console with a wireless adapter built right in and an optional hard line adapter? All of this on top of the controller issues.

[fjl]

Oh yeah, one last thing I hate.

That newly added item, the lightning cloud. For some reason when I play with friends and I'm last place and far away from anyone, the stupid cloud comes out. Sure it might give you a slight boost(nothing near a turbo mushroom) but then I loose what little extra distance I gained cause it strikes me with lightning. And I'm too far away from anyone to pass the cloud to them. It's a pointless and mostly useless item. It's only somewhat fun when you get it and you're currently surrounded by other players, but such instances are usually rare and even less so to get the Lighting cloud during a mass crowd. I certainly hope the next installment of MarioKart is a lot better.

[patrickl]

Oh yeah, one last thing I hate.

That newly added item, the lightning cloud. For some reason when I play with friends and I'm last place and far away from anyone, the stupid cloud comes out.

Really? Doesn't it come only when you are driving between places 4 and 8 (ie in midfield)?

[fjl]

No, I've gotten it being last place and far away from anyone



A number of times! 

[FrizzleFried]

I guess I am in the minority but I've really not liked ANY Mario Kart games... at all.

[patrickl]

I guess I am in the minority but I've really not liked ANY Mario Kart games... at all.

It's not my cup of tea either, but my kid likes it so now and then I join him in a race. We both like Excite Truck better though.

[tk_42_1]

Anyone up to exchanging MKW Friend codes???  I know its fun to race people online but it would be even better to beat people I sort of know once in a while.

Friend code:  4253-3898-7232

[fjl]

Sure, add me...

5284-1806-3802


EDIT:

Says your friend code is not correct. 

[DaveMMR]

I'll add you guys - here's mine: 4554-0659-7921.

Hopefully I'll be able to see you guys online.

[tk_42_1]

Anyone up to exchanging MKW Friend codes???  I know its fun to race people online but it would be even better to beat people I sort of know once in a while.

Friend code:  4253-3898-7232

Oops...I wrote down my Friend code incorrectly. 

Correct Code is 4253-3898-7237

[Moose13]

I have the PAL version in the US. Does anyone know if there are on-line compatibility issues with PAL&NTSC versions playing against each other?
I will post my code tonight/tomorrow.

[lcddream]

i don't think you will have a problem with online.

[Daniel270]

Been playing now for about 4 days... good game, especially online. 

Only frustrating part is being hit with the POW, the homing red turtle shells and the lightning bolt that shrinks you... all of which tend to hit you hardest when you're in first place.

[patrickl]

Been playing now for about 4 days... good game, especially online. 

Only frustrating part is being hit with the POW, the homing red turtle shells and the lightning bolt that shrinks you... all of which tend to hit you hardest when you're in first place.

yeah, I think that's pretty unanimous. I wonder if anyone likes those. Although maybe in a multiplayer situation they can be fun.

Someone claimed that these could be switched off in the settings. I haven't found how to do this. Is it possible to switch off the killer attacks?

[Daniel270]

Good question...

I've been looking and haven't found that option yet.

[tk_42_1]

Been playing now for about 4 days... good game, especially online. 

Only frustrating part is being hit with the POW, the homing red turtle shells and the lightning bolt that shrinks you... all of which tend to hit you hardest when you're in first place.

When you see a POW is going to happen shake the Wii-remote (or do whatever you do when you do a trick/wheelie.)  You will spin out and lose whatever power-up you have but will continue on/recover faster.  Works every time for me so far.  I use the remote/nunchuk option and just start shaking my Wii-remote up and down until the POW is over.  I spin out, lose my power-up but keep going at almost the same speed I was going at before the POW.  I just hope it doesn't stop me spinning towards a drop off.   

The Homing red shells can be taken out with a banana or another shell.  Just before the red shell is about to hit you need to knock it out with your counter-measure.  Same strategy holds true for the green shells.

Good question...

I've been looking and haven't found that option yet.

When you start a vs or multiplayer game, look for the options on the top right when you are choosing the course, I believe.  I will verify this tonight when I get home.  There is no way to turn off certain power-ups.  That would have been a nice feature like in SSBB but you can lower the power of the power-ups (ie, no first place seeking Feathered shells of DOOM or POWs.)  These options cannot be changed for online, AFAIK.

[fjl]

Been playing now for about 4 days... good game, especially online. 

Only frustrating part is being hit with the POW, the homing red turtle shells and the lightning bolt that shrinks you... all of which tend to hit you hardest when you're in first place.

I also hate the pow. It really doesn't slow you down much but I what I really hate is that it forces you to lose your item. You can avoid though by being in mid-air when it hits.

The homing red turtles are a staple of the Mariokart game. They're supposed to follow the person in front of you and knock them out. That item has been in the game since the beginning. That includes the lightning. The first MarioKart game tried to make everything have a Mario Bros. theme. From the characters, the tracks and even the power up items. I think the lighting was the only thing that wasn't from a mario game. The following Mariokart games didn't care so much to stick to the Mario theme.

The red shells have improved a lot since the previous Mariokart games. They where originally meant to attack only if the driver ahead of you was in sight. If they weren't then it would still launch in their direction but would hit a wall. So if a driver is way ahead then red shells where as worthless as the green shells. But with these new red shells, as long as you aim them straight, they will follow the road until they reach their target. I think that's a cool feature.

Although someone said you have to time it to avoid a red shell. Not really so depending on the item you have. Cause you can hold certain items behind you acting as barriers. Just hold down the use button. This works for the bananna, Green Shell, Red Shell and the Fake Item.

Most items do hit harder depending what place you are in. If you get hit by lighting and you are in first place, then you will be the last driver to unshrink. But the opposite holds true for last place items. Like the bullet bill. If you are in last place, the bullet bill will last longer than using it when you are in mid place. The same goes for the golden mushroom and the star. Its good thing too. It balances things out. In previous MarioKart games you could get the GoldenMushroom right before knocking someone out, get ahead then use the mushroom to get even way more ahead. Which was all unfair since the Red shells where useless as previously mentioned. The blue shell was also kind of useless in certain tracks. If the tracks had any kind of holes the blue shell would fall down and be lost. This new blue shell flies over any obstacles and hits the lead driver. The only thing cool about the old blue shell was that it could knock out anyone ahead of you and continue after the lead driver. There is a way to avoid the new blue shell. It requires great timing. If you have a mushroom, you have to use it right before it flies down to hit you, it'll dodge the shell and the explosion. Hard to do though.

[ahofle]

The first MarioKart game tried to make everything have a Mario Bros. theme. From the characters, the tracks and even the power up items. I think the lighting was the only thing that wasn't from a mario game. The following Mariokart games didn't care so much to stick to the Mario theme.

It's too bad they didn't use "Slipice" from Mario Bros somehow.  It would be cool to freeze a section of the track, especially on a tight turn next to a ravine hehe.

[hypernova]

Most items do hit harder depending what place you are in. If you get hit by lighting and you are in first place, then you will be the last driver to unshrink. But the opposite holds true for last place items. Like the bullet bill. If you are in last place, the bullet bill will last longer than using it when you are in mid place. The same goes for the golden mushroom and the star. Its good thing too. It balances things out. In previous MarioKart games you could get the GoldenMushroom right before knocking someone out, get ahead then use the mushroom to get even way more ahead. Which was all unfair since the Red shells where useless as previously mentioned. The blue shell was also kind of useless in certain tracks. If the tracks had any kind of holes the blue shell would fall down and be lost. This new blue shell flies over any obstacles and hits the lead driver. The only thing cool about the old blue shell was that it could knock out anyone ahead of you and continue after the lead driver. There is a way to avoid the new blue shell. It requires great timing. If you have a mushroom, you have to use it right before it flies down to hit you, it'll dodge the shell and the explosion. Hard to do though.

Nuts...I always held on to good items if I got them.  I still will, but the fact they won't last as long may hinder me.  Blue shells falling?  The only time I know of that blues didn't work was in 64, when you shot them at a wall before they could "lock on."  Otherwise, they always hit the target, regardless of obstacles.  DD also allowed blue shell dodges, but they're damn near impossible to do so.  Precision timing.  I can't compare the ease with this one, since I don't have it yet.  I would assume red shells can be dodged by skillful drifting still, correct?

[DaveMMR]

Been playing now for about 4 days... good game, especially online. 

Only frustrating part is being hit with the POW, the homing red turtle shells and the lightning bolt that shrinks you... all of which tend to hit you hardest when you're in first place.

I also hate the pow. It really doesn't slow you down much but I what I really hate is that it forces you to lose your item. You can avoid though by being in mid-air when it hits.

The POW doesn't bother me so much since I can shake the Wii controller to keep moving.  I think the Blue Shell angers me the most.  It's a cheap weapon that seems to pop-up more in single-player games (to artificially inflate the challenge) than it does in multi-player games.  Besides the almost impossible to pull off "Mushroom Trick" (how often do you actually get a mushroom when you're in first place?), there's no way to avoid its devastating effects and you just have to sit there and take it.  I hate the lightening for a similar reason, but at least it affects others so it's not "beat up on the front-runner".

That's why online multiplayer is where this game is the most fun.  It seems like those blue shell attacks are a lot less common than on the computer.   

...then again, I'm not in first place very often online.   

I still love Mario Kart Wii.   I just wish they would have balanced out those devastating weapons by now after six games.

This works for the bananna, Green Shell, Red Shell and the Fake Item.

P.S. The Fake Item doesn't work as a barrier for shells.   If you're in first place and you get it, ditch it for something else when you have a chance.