If you’ve been following the development of Mario Kart Wii, you’ll know that Nintendo has been rather keen to chuck lavish new features at its famous mascot’s latest racing foray.
You now have bikes, which have never featured in a Mario Kart game before. Likewise, the stunts that have been weaved into the gameplay’s fabric are also new territory for the series.
Round that off with the Wii Remote – which may have gone a long way to making games more accessible, but has yet to prove itself capable of being able to handle the more complex nature of a racing game – and you’ve got a whole host of potential stumbling blocks that could have knocked a point or two off the final score.
But far from cocking things up, the way Nintendo has been able to integrate these seemingly out-of-place elements has, if anything, improved the experience as a whole.
The control system is a fine example of this logic defying brilliance. Thus far, the Wii Remote hasn’t exactly shone when used with racing games, and on first impressions, Mario Kart Wii’s solution – namely to enclose the device in a plastic steering wheel – doesn’t sound too promising.
But yet, it works. Thanks to the sturdy feel of the peripheral and Mario Kart Wii’s own well-weighted handling model, it’s responsive enough to allow you to hold a slide or string together a tricky sequence of corners with a well timed correction or a deft flick of the wrist. But at the same time, it’s also restrained enough to know not to send your kart spearing off to one side whenever you make the merest of turns of the wheel.
Admittedly, it’s not without its flaws. While the degree of control it offers is impressive, the Wii Remote/wheel combination still isn’t quite as precise or responsive as a more traditional control method, such as the Classic Controller. But while it may take the edge off your lap times, there’s no denying that playing Mario Kart with the Wii Wheel is simply more fun.
The assorted other changes made to the gameplay also work well. The boost system is particularly well done - perform a stunt or pull a slide and you’ll be rewarded with a boost, the amount of which received being dependent on the length of time you spend performing said manoeuvre.
For instance, if you can hold a slide for long enough, and you’ll find blue (or if you’re really good, red) sparks appearing behind the wheels of your Kart as the boost charges up. As a result of this, you find yourself encouraged to go back and learn the tracks to figure out how to extract the maximum boost possible, offering a whole new dimension of longevity in the process.
And then there’s the addition of the bikes. While Nintendo’s decision to include these raised a few eyebrows (based largely on other games’ attempts to unify two and four wheels), the truth is they work rather well.
Although they require a bit of getting used to, the bikes do provide a nice alternative to the karts. Generally speaking, they drift less and are slightly less responsive through corners than the karts, but for that, are able to perform wheelies on the straights to get a slight speed boost.
But while they’re undoubtedly different, they’re very evenly matched against the more familiar karts as well.
Either way, you’ll have plenty of scope to familiarise yourself with both forms of vehicle: the two opening classes are restricted to one type of vehicle apiece (50cc for karts, 100cc for bikes), before allowing the two types of machine to go head-to-head in the 150cc class.
Indeed, there’s considerable variation within the two types, with a whole host of different types of kart and bikes available to unlock for each character.
But for all these additions, the game remains faithful to the original formula where it counts.
Anyone familiar with the Mario Universe will instantly recognise the cast of characters. The 32 locations featured also have their own uncanny sense of familiarity, either because they’ve been lifted straight out of previous Mario Karts or from elsewhere around the Mario franchise. Even the silly catchphrases the characters shout with gay abandon and the tunes you drive around to are as Mario-esque as you’d like them to be.
But above all else, it’s the frantic nature of the gameplay that is the most familiar element of all. There have been some changes, but generally, these are for the better: The alterations made to the way your boost charges up means that the annoying ‘snaking’ of previous Mario Karts is now a thing of the past.
The equally annoying ‘rubber banding’ of old is also a lot less prominent this time around and thanks to the AI being more robust, the machinery better balanced (such as individual boosts being a tad less effective) and the range of weapons refined and broadened, the AI is better able to keep up with you.
The net result of this means that the racing action feels more legitimate, without losing any of its characteristic mayhem in the process.
In time honoured Mario Kart tradition, it’s still possible to drop a couple of places or have victory snatched away from you after getting walloped by a red shell. But because the AI is able to hang onto your coattails, when these events occur, you don’t feel cheated as you would have in previous games.
Of course, the smaller touches from previous Mario Karts remain. Nail a perfect start, hit a rival with a well placed green shell or notch up a new record in time attack, and you’ll still get that same familiar buzz that’s been a trademark of the series since its inception.
Indeed, with the ability to download ghosts and times from the Mario Kart Wi-fi channel, the time attack element alone should keep you going long after the vast array of cups have been completed.
In short then, Mario Kart Wii does exactly what you’d want a sequel to do. Additions such as downloadable ghosts, motion sensing controls and motorbikes and the like offer a tangible sense of progress, but in amongst all of this, there’s the reassuring feel of familiarity as well.
Of course, with the online mode offering support for up to 12 players, we’ve probably yet to see the best of what Mario Kart Wii has to offer. But even if that is the case, what we’ve seen so far more than justifies the price of admission.
