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Way back when, at E3 2005, Nintendo unveiled Wii for the first time, along with a slew of new titles for the system. Notably absent was a new Mario Kart title: previous titles in the series have launched shortly after new platforms, with Super Mario Kart launching eight months after the Super Nintendo and both Mario Kart 64 and Mario Kart: Super Circuit launching only three months after the Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Advance respectively. For two years, however, the series went unmentioned on Wii. That all changed at E3 2007.
Mario Kart Wii immediately caught the attention of the millions of Mario Kart fans worldwide for the many changes it brought to the series. It was seen to accommodate twelve drivers in a single race, online and offline races and battles and, for the first time in the series, bikes. It also brought with it a novel new peripheral in the shape of the Wii Wheel, with one bundled with every copy of the game in an attempt to bring casual gamers further into the Mario Kart series.
That's not to say everything else is copied from previous titles in the series. There are sixteen new tracks and sixteen "retro" tracks from the five previous instalments as well: two each from Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart: Super Circuit and four each from Mario Kart 64, Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Kart DS. The same applies with the ten battle stages: five are new and five are "retro" with one taken from each previous title. Each of the three character classes - lightweight, middleweight and heavyweight - also gets new bikes and karts (three of each initially) to use, with each kart and bike having varied colour schemes and stats depending on the character chosen to use them. Naturally, more drivers per race means more characters overall, with Baby Peach making her Mario Kart debut alongside a large selection of other good guys and bad guys from the Mario universe.
The most important aspect of any Mario Kart title is, of course, the track design. With 32 tracks and ten battle stages, Mario Kart Wii poses a bigger challenge for the designers than any previous Mario Kart title, particularly due to its presence on Nintendo's best console thus far in terms of graphics. Thankfully, a half-hearted job this most definitely isn't: new life has been breathed into classics like N64 Mario Raceway and DS Delfino Square, while new tracks like Toad's Factory and Dry Dry Ruins are home to some of the best track designs ever seen in Mario Kart.
The same applies to the battle stages for the most part, though some of the retro stages leave a lot to be desired: Cookie Land is definitely not the best of Double Dash!!'s many battle stages when you consider Luigi's Mansion and Tilt-A-Kart were also available. The new battles stages are excellent, however, being some of the largest in any Mario Kart title. Delfino Pier, Funky Stadium and Chain Chomp Roulette are by far three of the best stages Mario Kart has ever seen, with moving platforms, rising tides and ramps galore.
Ramps aren't only present in the battle stages, though: many tracks have added ramps and bumps thanks to the addition of tricks, a new mechanic with the intention of giving racers an extra boost for timing jumps just right. Players need only flick the Wii Remote or Wii Wheel at the right time to perform a trick, which will vary depending on where the trick is performed: larger ramps make for bigger tricks, while small bumps in the ground will only give the player chance to perform a small trick. Racers in karts can drift to get an extra boost on corners, whilst bikes, though the boosts they get from drifts are smaller, can perform wheelies to get a steady boost in acceleration.
Every possible control scheme is available in Mario Kart Wii, so anyone who doesn't want to use the Wii Wheel certainly doesn't have to. The Wii Remote can also be used on its own or with the Nunchuk, or failing that, a Classic Controller or Nintendo GameCube controller can also be used. The Classic Controller isn't the comfiest in the world when it comes to playing Mario Kart, but fans of Mario Kart: Double Dash!! on the GameCube will no doubt find the controls familiar when using the GameCube controller. More serious players will find themselves using either that or the Wii Remote and Nunchuk regularly: the latter is much more precise and allows for faster reactions by their racers.
Despite the many new additions Mario Kart Wii brings with it, it manages to stay true to the series throughout, with every classic mode returning: solo players can try their hand at grands prix, time trials, VS races and battles once again, while friends can play either in versus races or battles. The grand prix mode has unfortunately been given the chop in favour of the more diverse versus mode, in which players can choose from a variety of different options: the preferred engine class (50cc, 100cc or 150cc), difficulty of computer players, types of vehicles allowed (karts, bikes or both), how courses are chosen (selected or random), frequency of items and number of races (anywhere up to 32). In theory, you can still run a standard grand prix in versus mode by selecting to run four races of your choice, but for sure these new options give players much more choice than in previous games.
Whilst the same choices apply in the battle mode, bar the choice of which engine class you want to use, both modes now include solo and team options. All races and battles will always include twelce racers, but in versus mode, players can now choose to split those racers into two teams of six, one which will run under red colours and the other under blue. As in Mario Kart DS, items used by one team member will only affect members of the other team: a blue racer running over a banana dropped by another blue racer won't be affected. This also means that overall points count towards the end result instead of individual points. Unfortunately, this choice is made for you in battles, where racers are always split into teams. Battles should be as hectic as possible, but with players having to look out for who's in which team, it does take some of the fun away somewhat.
Far and away, however, you'll find there's more fun to be had in the online modes than anything else. Supporting either one player or two in versus races or battles, the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection modes allow anyone to join in a series of races at any time. After picking your pool of racers, either from your friend list, from your continent or from anywhere in the world, you'll be sent straight into a race with other players: if a race is already underway, you'll be able to watch until it finishes, at which point everyone in the next race will pick their desired course, one of which will be randomly selected. Once you're in, you can partake in as many or as few races as you want: you're given the option to drop out at the end of every race. No matter what you decide to do online, though, it'll be lag-free, even if your internet connection isn't the best in the world.
Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection also presents the opportunity for a special Wii Channel, aptly named the Mario Kart Channel, which can be accessed either through the game itself or by downloading it onto the Wii Menu. From the channel, you can add new friends to race online and see what your friends are doing. You can also check out all the ghost data you've downloaded from the online ranking tables and from friends, as well as challenge them in races. The channel also brings competitions to Mario Kart: these are similar to the missions seen in Mario Kart DS and allow racers from all over the world to submit their best attempts to the online league tables. There are two ten-day competitions every month and can vary from time trials to races to specially-created boss battles.
Unfortunately, every online game comes with a downfall: cheaters. Mario Kart Wii is no exception, with cheaters quickly finding ways to trick the game into thinking they've completed three laps in an impossible time. Thankfully, Nintendo keeps on top of the time trial tables, of which there's one for each of the 32 tracks in the game, to ensure any cheaters don't stay on the tables for long.
Mario Kart Wii is proper Mario Kart. It's frantic, fun, infuriating, absolutely hilarious at times, great fun on your own and great fun with your friends and family. The online modes add even more excitement to the game, particularly when you consider the opportunity to play with anyone, anywhere in the world. It's easy for anyone to pick up and play and is easily one of the most enjoyable games on the Wii to date. It doesn't mess with the formula and still manages to look and sound great even with more gameplay packed in than in any other Mario Kart game. It's an absolute must-have.
