Mario Kart Wii is not worth your money
Mario Kart is one of Nintendo's best series. From playing the N64 version in a MCDonald's, to Double Dash, to MK DS, Mario Kart has been sucking my time away with its fun gameplay that was simple enough for any gamer to feel good, but deep enough for the pros. Unfortunately, the Wii iteration of this great series leaves a lot to be desired, and is barely worthy of being a Mario Kart game, let alone being an improvement over the previous ones.
Graphics in Mario Kart Wii leave a lot to be desired, looking like the gamecube game with better lighting. In addition, all the characters look sufficently like plastic. Course design is only a little better. Speaking of course design, some of the new tracks in this game are great, like a new mall course, with hugely different paths to take. Others feel a little to plain. The returning courses are also a mixed bag, but I appreciate classics such as N64 Bowser's mansion. The drivers are the usual combo of third rate Mario characters (baby luigi anyone?) with favorites such as Mario. The drivers don't play much different at all, except for tricks. Tricks are utilized well but ultimately end up being a gimmick for you to waggle the god-awful Wii Wheel, which take hours of practice to even compare to the other control schemes.
But Mario Kart Wiis biggest problem is that it feels like the bare nessecities of a MK game minus the flavor (think two person carts and the ability to drift decently) plus a lot of casual gameplay mechanics like Mii use and tricks that end up just being BS gimmicks to real Mario Kart fans who wanted innovation, and no, items that make you go from first to last just because your doing good and some whiney 5 year old isn't, is NOT GOOD!
Sorry for all my nagging, I've just watched a lot Yahtzee, and I admit this isn't a horrible game by any lengths, and is probably 15 hours worth of timewasting, but there is simpily no excuse for Nintendo to flub this game so badly. MK: Wii is an obvious showing of the big N moving to casuals and not giving a doohickey about the hardcore fans. For long time Mario Kart fans, prepare to be dissapointed. For hardcore gamers who own a Wii, this isn't worth your buck. And for casual gamers who have Carnival games in their Wii right now... save your money for Carnival games 2.
Three word Review :Hardcore Dissapointing Casual-rific