The main problem with writing games reviews (without being privy to the games prior to release) is for the most part you're writing about something you haven't seen all of yet. Its a bit like reviewing a book based on the first couple of chapters or reviewing half a film. With that in mind, I present my review of a morning of
Mario Kart Wii.
Every Wii owner with any sense has been salivating with anticipation awaiting the release of the mighty Mario Kart for Wii and, in many ways, rightly so. At the very least there would be some new tracks, a few new characters and online racing and, after all, that's enough to get excited about isn't it? Well, yes and no.
Playing through the 50cc cups you could be forgiven for thinking this is just "Double Dash: The Lost Levels" and the new tracks themselves haven't really grabbed me as much as previous Mario Karts. Maybe it will take time for them to become like old friends in the same way the retro tracks already are or maybe the design is a bit less then brilliant…
Trackwise few really stand out – Wario's Gold Mine is excellent andBowser's Castle is pretty much stunning (also, as seems traditional with the Mario Kart series, it's one of the most challenging courses). Dry Dry Ruins is a nice wee course and feels suitably well thought out and
Mario Kart-esque but the rest are a bit… well… they either don't feel entirely in keeping with the Mario aesthetic or they reject challenging racing with multiple routes to the finish line. Also, to borrow forum patter for a minute – Coconut Mall is just plain whacky. Poor show Nintendo.
Maybe I am being a little harsh. There are moments when the tracks do impress or tug at the heartstrings with nostalgia – and not just for Mario Kart Stunt Race FX – but really the courses don't really do enough to sell the title. In fact the DS and GC tracks on the retro cups, by and large, put the tracks on display here to shame. Except the addition of SNES and GBA courses which while they work well on the DS look, well, dated on the Wii. Now if all previous courses were avaliable to play on the disc or perhaps through some sort of Wii point download service…
Thankfully, it's a case of four wheels good, two wheels fantastic in single player mode. The bikes are an inspired addition and really allow
Mario Kart Wii to stand on its own – they are less gimmicky then I thought they would be and do (on first impressions anyway) appear to handle differently. Although when racing as a Kart online the sadist in me really did want to be able to knock down the bikers just by nudging them. Sadly this was not to be.
Online play is by far and away the major selling point of Mario Kart Wii I barely managed to tear myself away from it this AM. Races are far, far more satisfying then those against CPU opposition and being able to play twelve other actual humans gives it the edge over the DS and its rather paltry four. In fact, if anyone fancies a race my friend code is - 5026 4541 9514.
Overall
Mario Kart Wii doesn't offer that much thats new besides the bikes and online play and these are hardly earth-shattering innovations. Don't get me wrong: the gameplay is still immense its still the same old Mario Kart but it could have done more rather then playing it so safe… However needless to say if you own a Wii you should own this game.
Mario Kart for Wii is out 11th April, available at
www.play.com
Mario Kart Wii 
