Mario Kart Wii doesn't really send the franchise in any direction
I think it's safe to say that as long as Nintendo is making new systems and hand helds it will be making new Mario Kart games. Whether or not these newer games will change in any noticable way is a whole nother story. As is late its also probably safe to say they won't. Mario Kart Wii for Niontendo's new motion control system is another one of your standard run of the mill Mario Kart games. It has you compeiting against eleven other racer, four more than previous installments, in several diffrent types of gameplay. Grand Prix mode which will be familiar to any one whose played any other game in the series which is simple game play and has you bouncing around with all the usual items such as mushrooms, lighting bolts, and blue shells to round out the final lap in first place. There are also a variety of multi player modes such as the original ballon batte and new multiplayer game, coin runner. In ballon battle your paried up into two team and are pitted into a battle arena for a batttle royal type of who can pop the most ballons. Coin runners however, places you in the same type of arena yet the objective this time is to collect coins. You can however, shot your opponents with an item and they will lose all of their coins for you to sweep in and pick them up, the abilitly to knock coins free can be fun making for some very intense gameplay as the round nears the end. Both of these events are timed.
Like Super Smash Bros. Brawl there is a great variety of how the game can be played. You can use the classic controller, the Wii Remote and nunchuck, simply just the Wii remote, gamecube controller, or you can use the Wii wheel which comes packaged with the game for a total of five controller options. Lots of fans have shown an equal amount of excitment and fear for the new Wii wheel contorller. Fear in the sensed that it could be a flop and turn hardcore fans away and excitment that it could be a fun and intutive way to play the new Kart game. Well, doubters can put those fears to rest as the wheel is a great fit for the new game; while its challenging to get use to it comes very natural and fluent.
Another fear was the addition of motor cycles to the game. With some of the same fears and excitents its also safe to get those feelings out of your head because the new vehicle makes for some new and great fun. At the start of your game you will have twelve chracters and sixteen courses, eight new and eight classic remakes, tp chose from. There are a total of fourteen unlockable chracters, deepending on how you look at it, and sixteen new courses to unlock, again eight new and eight classic courses. Ontop of all that unlockable content there is an array of kart and bikes, big and small to be unlocked as well which can have you playing for hours upon hours.
Another addition is online play from Nintendo wi-fi connection. You can play with up to eleven other players from around the Kart World or you can trade friend codes with you pals for some fun online play.
Mario Kart Wii has a lot to offer in terms if content and accesibitly to newer player, but thats kinda the problem, yea its great for newer player but what about us veteran Karters? It just feels like exsactly the same game I was playing so many years ago on the SNES. Mario Kart wii is a great game if you have a lot of buddies or gals over and you wanna race around some of your favorite chratcers from the Mushroom Kingdoom. However, if your looking for something new and fresh from a great franchise, chances are you'll probably be dissapointed. It's these flaws and repeating gameplay that ultimitly makes what could have been a terriffic game fall short and truely dissapoint to what its full poteintial really could have been.
