Mario Kart Wii is (obviously) the latest installment in Nintendo’s long running Mario Kart franchise, as well as being one of the first Nintendo games to strongly support online play. But how does it rank with the other Mario Karts?

Mario Kart Wii uses five different control schemes, the Wii Wheel, the standard Wii remote (held sideways), the Wii remote/nunchuck combination, the Gamecube controller and the classic controller, all of which play similar, but add their own twist to the controls.

The Wii Wheel, being the controller that comes packaged with the game, should be considered the standard for Mario Kart Wii. I think the Wii Wheel works really well although at times you can lose control if you’re not careful enough, but after playing it a few times it should get easier.

The Wii remote works a lot like the Wii Wheel although I don’t think it works as fluidly.

The Gamecube controller lets you play the game like Mario Kart: Double Dash and feels a little more like classic Mario Kart for those who aren’t quite that good with the new motion controls.

The classic controller plays very similarly to the Gamecube controller.

The Wiimote/nunchuck combo may take some getting used to, it feels a little odd with a game like Mario Kart, but once you get the hang of it its not too hard.

With five different playing styles there should be at least one you’re good at (though I recommended the Wii Wheel as I find it suits the game the best).

You can now perform various midair stunts by shaking the controller at certain  points in a race to give you a mini speed boost, its a nice little addition and a much appreciated replacement to the dreaded “snaking” of Mario Karts past.

There are plenty of new race tracks in Mario Kart Wii, and all of them are pretty huge. You can spend a while on one lap alone. Plenty of retro courses also make a return, but seem awfully small by comparison to the new courses and don’t feature the aforementioned stunt boosts.

All of your favorite Mario characters (and Waluigi) return for Mario Karts’ latest installment. Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Bowser, Donkey Kong, and Wario  are all included in Mario Kart Wii and are joined by several newcomers such as Princess Rosalina (from Super Mario Galaxy) and even your own Miis! That’s right, your Miis can now join in on the races. I must say it’s pretty funny to see Martin Scorsese and Weird Al take on Mario and Luigi.

But Mario Kart Wii’s strongest point is in its online play. Up to twelve players from around the world can all go head to head in races and classic Mario Kart style “balloon battles”. Youi will easilly spend most of your time on Mario Kart Wii on the online modes. Offline multi player, while still fun, feels a bit lacking by comparison to the online mode and  some of the old Mario Karts’ multi player.

And Mario Kart Wii’s biggest weakness? Lucky items! Sure the previous Mario Karts featured items like the Blue Koopa Shell, the Lightning Bolt and the Magnum Bill, but chances are you’ll be bombarded by many of these items through various points of any given race in Mario Kart Wii. There have been times when I’ve been in a distant first place the BAM! Blue Shell. BAM! Lightning bolt and so on and so forth. I just wish they had an option to make some of these items appear a little less frequently.

So all in all I really enjoy Mario Kart Wii, it may not be anything revolutionary, but it is one of the most fun Mario Karts, and racing against eleven other players online is an awesome addition to the series. I would definitely recommend adding it to your Wii library.

Curse those Blue Shells!

[Photo Via Flickr]

(1 votes, average: 8.00 out of 10, rated)

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