Mario Kart Wii Review(s) by Master Yoda
Note from cheat-master30/webmaster: There are actually two reviews here because the writer changed their mind after a bit of discussion about the game on the forums and more experience with playing the game. Both are included as they both have valid points and opinions.
Mario Kart Wii Review (1)
First review. Here's my scoring system.
-/5 Playability
-/5 Entertainment
-/5 Sound
-/5 Graphics
Total/2 = Rating (Demerits might be added)
For this game, here are the review stats:
2/5 Playability (The Wii steering wheel pulls out too much, and I don't have time to buy a controller)
3/5 Entertainment (Playability drops this...)
5/5 Sound (They are always good with this)
4/5 Graphics (For some reason, I feel that it is not very good...)
(2+3+5+4)/2 = 7.0 Demerits: SNAKING?!? -.5 Handling Problems -.5 Rating: 6.0
I tried out the game the other day. I was VERY disappointed when I found out you could not snake. Therefore, I was CREAMED. I am a workaholic personality type, and do not like change like this.
The Kart choices were not very interesting. Depending on your size (small, medium and large) of your character, you get a different set of cars, painted for your kind of character. However, the vehicle stats were interesting, like off-road and mini-turbo. Speaking of mini-turbos, I loved the stunt tricks. Usually they were fun to pull off, and they give you a boost when you land, accompanied by the usual "do a barrel roll".
I was ready to throw down the Wii Wheel when I kept falling off simple courses like "Toad's Factory" and "Mushroom Gorge". Two problems:
1. Handling. Handling is terrible! Most cars turn so steep that I fall off. DON'T USE BIKES. They are the worst. The best car in the game is the Super Blooper.
2. Wii Wheel. Yes Nintendo, it is creative, but I find it easier to make sensitive turns with a thumbstick, and not a floating wheel.
The best this of this game I can credit is Battle Mode. Retro Battle Mode? I remember the Skyscraper...
As you can see, a lot of negative things about this game. Rent it before you try it.
Mario Kart Wii Review (2)
So I bought Mario Kart Wii. (Awesome) Why do I say "awesome"? Look at my following review.
Graphics: 5/5 (The graphics are well done for a Wii game)
Sound: 3/5 (Ugh! The new music for the courses are terrible! What idiot composed those pieces?)
Playability: 4/5 (Buy the used version of the game without the wheel. It will only con you $10 out of your wallet)
Entertainment: 5/5 (Plenty of unlockables will keep you going for quite some time)
(5+3+4+5)/2= 8.5 (out of 10)
Getting my hands on the game for good gave me the oppurtunity to review once more. I sat down and started taking notes.
In this new Mario Kart series, there is a larger variety of characters. I found it delightful to see all the old crew, and playing later in the game I came across awesome characters like Funky Kong and King Boo. Although the variety of characters is large, not so the karts. There are only 24 karts this time around, and 8 karts for each weight class: light, medium and large. Compared to Mario Kart DS's 32 karts, I was very dissapointed. I should note that there are technically 12 karts and 12 bikes, which makes half of the vehicle selection terrible.
Bikes are not friendly. First, mini-turbos are dramatically weaker on the bikes. Second, some bikes have quite a high drift, so you might be plowed into a wall if you are used to drifting with karts. What was heartbreaking was that the 100cc Grand Prix was "only bikes", and it seemed years before I was able to play as my own Mii. One unique thing about the addition of bikes was that you can do wheelies, which gives you a slight speed boost. However, I still find bikes very dislikeable.
Battle mode has gone through changes. While there are 5 stages exclusive for the Wii, 5 "retro" battle stages are also on the console, so if you loved the Skyscraper battle arena from Mario Kart 64, then you are lucky. (I am so lucky) But dissapointingly you are assigned to teams to fight with, so there is no more fighting solo. Plus, you can sit back and watch as your team wins. HOW CHALLENGING!
The stage's music are far from catchy. Unlike previous installments of Mario Kart, the music is more of a distraction than of a background element. I really wish there was an options menu to turn off the ugly music.
Online comes back to Mario Kart, and this time you can play with 12 players. But instead of a certain number of wins and losses, you get assigned rating depending on your expertise online. You always start out with 5000 rating, and it goes up and down depending if you won a race or not.
I would continue on with this review, but this game is too large to describe. I reccomend buying this, but if you always hated Nintendo, just stay clear of this.
~Master Yoda
