FullHealth - Review :: Second Take

Review :: Second Take - Mario Kart Wii

Written by Mighty Hammer

Friday, 02 May 2008

Hey folks,

It's me - the Mighty Hammer, dropping in to give my piece on Mario Kart Wii! Noddingdog asked me to write what I thought so it's my pleasure to get a bit of stardom!

OK, might be a bit late but on the second of the release date I was there. Grabbed the game, threw money at the checkout guy and ran flat out for my Wii console. Quick video of the unpacking (that's standard, isn't it?) and straight in and away we go...

Now, I'm a big fan of Double Dash, yeah, I know a lot of people had a lot to say about that, but I like it, I think it's got all the right ingredients. The double racers in each kart, very fast gameplay, great graphics and not easy to win (apart from for me of course, playing against someone else. :) )

Anyway, I'm going to be honest, my first impressions of Mario Kart Wii were disappointment. I was disappointed with the way the music sounded, very disappointed with the graphics that I felt looked like there was a piece of plastic over the front of the screen making them look hazy and not clear and bright like Double Dash, and at first disappointed with the gameplay which I felt was a lot easier and not as frantic as Double Dash. Couldn't the Nins have done something better with the graphics to make it look a LOT better than Double Dash? I mean, this is what we expected, isn't it? Think of the difference between Mario Kart 64 and Double Dash. Big difference in graphics, folks, you know it and so do I.

Well, I wasn't put off - after all I shelled out (pardon the pun) cash for this game, not to mention all the sleepless nights of dreaming over playing the game, butterflies in the stomach, off food, etc, so I grabbed myself a choccy biscuit and soldiered on like a true Mario Kart stalwart should do.

Now I can say this whole game has grown on me. Double Dash is in the back of the cupboard somewhere and now I'm just a big fan of Mario Kart Wii!!! The courses are great, a good selection and very, very well done, not to mention a very big selection of karts to give you a lot of choice.
Yes, the bikes are good, but I'd like to keep it Mario Kart if you know what I mean. Sure, I've seen a lot of these guys online with these bikes doing the wheelies etc and where's the game skill? They win but there's no honour in it, they've just won by basically using a cheating vehicle. Where's the pride and honour of sliding your kart around the corner and then out into a blue and then orange boost, etc?
Well, anyway, lots of different karts which is absolutely great, and yes I have used the bikes too. :)

And don't the weapons do some serious damage! Oh yes, a whole bunch of arm-waving before you can even think about moving on after being shelled or banana'd, etc. I quickly found that dragging blocks behind you, though, (yes, I'm an old timer Mario 64 Karter) for protection, was a mistake. They don't work!

So all in all, I think a brilliant game, and online is a whole new experience as well as those of you that have been online will realise. There is a lot of excitement in knowing that you are playing real people and it's just as well I am in a detached house because the shouting during those game times is at a fair degree of decibels!

So, to round up, could have done with some improvement on the graphics, but we all forget about that when we're playing the game anyway, so it's alright, isn't it? And if you haven't got it yet, for goodness sakes, smash that piggy bank and get to demanding at your local gaming outlet!

- Mighty

(P.S. Can someone book a doctor's appointment for whoever gave Donkey Kong his voice in Mario Kart Wii, sounds like he's having an enema)