Mario Kart Wii

By Tristan Clark

Along with Zelda, Super Smash Bros, and other staple titles, Mario Kart is one that will always pop up on the latest Nintendo hardware. The Wii is no exception to this – come April, you’ll be blasting around corners and sabotaging your opponents like you’ve been doing for years, with the addition of motion-controlled steering.

For those of you who haven’t experienced the multiplayer fun of a Mario Kart title before (you crazy people), it’s essentially a collection of Mario characters racing each other in karts along a collection of varied courses. Scattered on the tracks are powerups that each have a different use. Mushrooms, for example, give you a speed boost, while a lightning bolt will shrink all your opponents, slowing them down. These powerups, along with the unique tracks, are what make the Mario Kart series so much fun.

So what new features does this latest iteration bring to the table? Beyond 16 new tracks (accompanied by another 16 classic tracks from past games), the major things to get excited (or worried) about are motion controls and online play. As with the upcoming Super Smash Bros Brawl, you’ll be able to choose from one of several control schemes, ranging from using the Wii controller (encased in the included ‘Wii Wheel’) to steer, to simply plugging in a GameCube controller. Initial reports indicate that the motion steering isn’t too bad, and is easy to adjust to, but hardcore users might want to stick to analog controls.

The online modes are fairly comprehensive, and offer 12-player races and battles. Of course, while the experience should provide a lot of fun, it’ll no doubt be hampered somewhat by Nintendo’s friend codes, unless you aren’t fussed about playing against random opponents. We’ll have to wait and see what the quality of online play is like down here in New Zealand, but it at least promises to expand the longevity of the game.

Other new features, like the inclusion of bikes and new powerups, promise to prevent the series from getting stale any time soon. The core gameplay remains much the same, but it looks like it’s getting mixed up just enough to keep people excited. Look out for our full review next month!

 del.icio.us  StumbleUpon  Facebook  Reddit