Nintendo - Mario Kart Wii Review

Okay, first off, let me say, I've always been a fan of Mario.  I have Mario Kart DS, and I absolutely love it.  But, for some reason, I just can't get into this game.

For the most part, this really is a great game.  Racing games are always fun.  The tracks are ah-mazing. The graphics and sound are also breathtaking.  What is a little repetitive, though, what with the four different difficulty levels: 50cc, 100cc, 150cc, and 150cc Mirror Class (which I haven't played in; I'm pretty bad at this game.)  For each level, you have to repeat the races over again.  In some levels you can only use "karts" and in others you can only use bikes.

What really bugs me, though, is the lack of control with the WiiMote.  I'm not really comfortable using the WiiMote sideways or in the WiiWheel.  You drive by turning the WiiMote sideways and pressing 2, using the arrow pad for items, and B for brakes.  Sometimes, I'll turn the WiiMote, and it won't respond, I'll hit a wall, have to slowly back away, and then lose the race. 

When you go off a jump, you can shake the WiiMote and you'll do some sort of trick in the air, causing you to go faster when you land.  The only problem with this is, is if you don't use a bike.  Sometime I don't shake it at just the right time, or hard enough, so there is no trick. The problem arises when I land, because then the bike starts doing a wheelie, without me noticing.  When you do a wheelie, you have absolutely no control.  At all.  I then proceed to hit a wall, or fall off a cliff, or throw my WiiMote at the TV (on purpose) and lose the race.  Again.

But other from those last two paragraphs, I must stress: this really is a great game.  There are a great diversity of characters to unlock, karts to uncover, and races to win.  It's very fun to unlock your Mii and here their voice (which is quite odd, I must say)!  You can play with up to four players in multiplayer.  When you play with two players, the screen is split horizontally down the middle, which, of course, is a bit annoying to me. It's very nice that you can also play with one of your family members over WiFi, with them being a guest.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this game.  It just might take some patience, and some getting used to.