Mario Kart Wii is a great example of what happens when you beat an elderly horse to get it one more lap around the track before it dies of exhaustion.  I have a lot of criticism to get out of the way, so let's get something straight.  I love Mario Kart.  Double Dash, Mario Kart DS, and Mario Kart 64 are some of my favorite games of all time.  That's why it pains me so much to see this series become so mediocre with this game.

 First off, lets discuss controls.  Beings this is a Wii game, you should have guessed that there is a funky control scheme that you can use that utilizes the Wii mote motion controls.  The game comes packed with the Wii Wheel, a steering wheel peripheral that you plug the Wii mote into, giving you a better feeling of driving an actual car.  Unfortunately the motion sensing controls are the weakest option available.  They feel very loose.   Many times (mainly when I went to drift my kart around a corner) I found myself careening off of an edge because the motion senser for some reason depicted me steering the opposite direction I was.  Removing the Wii Wheel helps this a little, I noticed, because the wheel tends to cut off some of your remote's frequency to the sensor bar.  But it still feels pretty loose even without the wheel.  You're better off using a Gamecube controller, a classic controller, or a nunchuck (which is surprisingly fun, I thought).

Nintendo always seems to know how to release games for their consoles that seem to defy the laws of nature when it comes to graphics.  Twilight Princess and Mario Galaxy come to mind.  They missed the mark with Mario Kart Wii.  The area graphics arent that bad, but the best that could be said about the entire game is that it looks like a mid-Gamcube title.  The characters are nothing special to look at.  I saw Donkey Kong once in mid-air (on a jump), and his forearms looked as though they weren't even connected to his elbows.  Also, the game is very bright.  Even areas like Bowser's Castle are bright in their own way, and you'll find yourself squinting every now and then.  It almost seems as if they brightened it up so it would be harder to see the mediocre graphics.

Because this is a Mario Kart game, you obviously have a bevy of Mario characters to race as, as well as different Mushroom Kingdom themed tracks to race on.  A lot of the new tracks are a blast to race on (your miis even appear as spectators in a few of them) and others either feel like the same one your raced through 1 or 2 or 3 games ago.  And then theres the occasional one that just sucks to race through.  The classic areas (areas from past games) range from some of the best to the worst (A certain N64 Penguin filled abomination) but they all have a major graphical uphaul and (compared to their older selves) look very nice.  The characters, however, aren't holding up so well.  What I've never understood about Mario Kart is "Why is it just Mario?"  If we can make a game where Mario, Fox, and King Dedede fight, then why can't they engage in more friendly competition, like racing?  As it is however, in this iteration you'll get such losers as Baby Princess Peach, and of course Waluigi.  A new addition to the series, however, is motorbikes.  Each weight class now has a selection of 3 different karts and three different bikes (from the outset).  The only difference in these bikes and karts is the color.  Gone are the customized karts of Double Dash and Mario Kart DS.  Why does Donkey Kong drive a muscle car instead of a barrel rocket car?  Beats me, ask Nintendo.  Bikes offer you a new way to play, but just barely.  They offer you a speed boost any time (as a wheelie) at the expense of your drift boost.  They handle a little better than Karts, otherwise they're the exact same.

Finally, The game seems to be garnered to more casual audience, which will help the game get new people in who would normaly not play Mario Kart...at the expense of annoying and disappointing the fans and elitists.  Let me give you an example.  I am in a race.  Third lap, on the home stretch and currently first place.  Out of no where, a blue shell hits.  I get launched straight up in the air while the person in second, third, and fourth go by.  Finally, as I get back into the race, someone with a Bullet Bill flys by, knocks me out of the race AGAIN!  I'm now in last place, and Grandma gets to go back to the nursing home and brag to her friends about how she beat me at that new game thing.  This happens a lot more often than you would think (about 3-4 times a race).  A lot of people will say that it's fine to add that kind of unpredictability.  Smash Bros did it, why not Mario Kart?  In Smash Bros, everyone (the leader or loser) has an equal chance to get a Smash Ball and turn things up a notch.  In Mario Kart, the people in last place get super items while anyone above 6th place tends to get banana peels.  If you're good enough to get first place, it doesn't matter.  All it takes is one person to hold a Bullet Bill power up long enough to get to at least 5th or 6th place in the last stretch to kill your victory.  There's no reward for actually being good, only lucky and casual.  This, I fear, will turn off many fans of hard core Mario Kart.

But my gripes aside, this is still one heck of a fun game.  Mainly to play with your friends.  I haven't tried online (having yet to meet someone else with the game, and I have a crappy internet connection) but split screen is the blast that it always has been.  The new battle mode puts you into teams to get as many kills or coins as possible, and its also pretty fun (the stages to battle in are some of the best in the series).  The single player might make you cry out in pain, but the multiplayer will have you begging for more (when you're not yelling at your friends for holding that blue shell the whole race).

Ward's Score

Graphics-6/10:  As stated they are par-Gamecube)

Gameplay-7/10:  Brought down because of how loose the motion controls feel)

Sound-7.5/10:  The songs aren't that bad, but you'll want to punch some of the characters after hearing them during a race)

Replayability-8/10:  This is one of the most fun Wii games to play with friends, folks.  Even if the single player doesn't match up.

Life Span-7.5/10:  If the online is a hit, then this rating is an 8.  Maybe.  As it stands, Mario Kart needs fresher ideas than motorbikes if it wants more quality time in my Wii.

OVERALL:  72%  D

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