Mario Kart Wii - anyone else a bit let down?

[mrbios]

Bought this last night to play with the missus, scratch on the disk though and it wont even start up, says i need a wii update..gets about 5th of the way through and fails

Highly annoying as i bought it when it was the only one in stock in either of the two shops around here, sigh

[breezer]

Its a fun game, but i dont know what could of been expected in all honesty.

Saying that, i havent played it as much as Super Mario Galaxy.

The Wii wheel is fun though, the game wouldnt be as good without it.

[mrbios]

note to self: never play this game with the missus ever again

she cant get used to the control of turning the wheel, so she swings from one side to the other, gets frustrated, which gets me frustrated, which ends up in an argument

oh dear

[Bossworld]

I've given up with it, it's got to the point where as you say it's much more luck than skill.

Got mario kart 64 back on the wii and it's so much better.

Have to say though, there's been nothing decent since. I could never control the GBA one, haven't had a chance to go on the DS version admittedly, but Double Dash was a massive disappointment too.

Some interesting reviews around on metacritic that go against the grain and actually speak out about the luck element - i've had races where i've been hit with 4 consecutive items on the start/finish straight!

[shrek101]

I find it a great game to be honest even better fun when you play online. I do find it easier without the wheel

[steve threlfall]

All golds on 50, 100 and 150cc

All done on the first go. Lightning Cup took two attempts, and the cup with Delfino Square (an eaiser one) took about 5 goes.

Up to about 6500 point online but i now just get owned by the Japanese (and all other nationalities at this level, if i am honest)

[Bazzlad]

Hmm. My Two Cents time me thinks.

Firstly a bit of background.
--------------------------
I am ridiculously good at the SNES Version of Mario Kart - I can complete 150 cc Special Cup with all First places comfortably - a lot harder than it sounds. I spent years on that game and believe it to be one of the top 10 games ever.

The N64 version for me was a disappointment, as on the SNES version I'd judge how well I did by how many CPUs I'd lapped and how big my lead was, on the N64 version due to the ridiculous inclusion of catch up I felt cheated - I could race an unbelivable race, yet the CPU was only 5 seconds behind me etc. - Now don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the game, especially on multiplayer (despite the fact that they murdered the battle mode and to this day haven't fixed it) but it wasn't right.

The GC version for me was the worst in the series. It'd almost become a parody of itself, it was fun, but it didn't feel to me like Mario Kart.

So I came to the Wii version. Reluctantly, and not expecting too much.
Thanks to this game my poor xbox hasnt' been played in over a month - I think the game is perfect. Perfectly flawed, yet I can't put it down.

Bad

• To a MUCH lesser extent, catch up is still on.
  Still I can open up a 20 second lead over the CPU (until I get blue shelled) so it's not bad!
• I absolutely, positively hate blue shells - but understand why they're there.
• The SNES tracks could have been better chosen. Ghost Valley 2? It was always about Ghost Valley 1.
• The FPS drops way too much with the inclusion of more than one player on the same console.

Now I want to put out that at first I was disappointed with this version of Mario Kart, until I started learning the difference between a good player, and a VERY good player.

Good

• The online mode is superb. Everyone beating you? Get on the time trials and start watching the ghosts.
• The depth of the game. Old Mario Karts game (64 and DD) didn't last for single players. We now have star ratings to get, characters and bikes to unlock, mirror circuits, online mode, ghosts to beat, online ghosts to beat and challenges, as well as having 3 control styles, 2 vehicle classes and 3 weight classes to master.
• The bikes. I was really, really, REALLY against the bikes. Until I realised the reason for their inclusion. My Mom plays this game on 50cc with a kart and the wheel. I play 150cc with a bike and the numchuck/wiimote. Both of us think it's great fun. (and maybe one day she can upgrade to a bike )

I could go on about it, but I want to stress, the second you realise the depth they've put into this game, and how much better you can get at it, is the second you won't put it down again!

Oh and another quick hint - if playing locally against your friends, after selecting VS click on options in the top right corner. You can turn off the CPU, turn down weapon strength (meaning no blue shells!) ETC, doing this on battle mode means you can NEARLY play the snes version again - One on One, tactical weapons battle course 4. The only problem is you don't die after 3 hits :@

[dontasciime]

Game is Ok and annoying. I had to stop playing it as It took over my sleep/dreams.

Online is frustrating when racing with no skill players and the points system is terrible and frustrates even more where some noob gets all powerups and you finish last and lose 200+ points

[shrek101]

I love playing it with my daughter. Just had an hours session online, great fun.

[fatgirlinohio]

How much better (or worse) would you say MK WII is compared to Gamecube's and DS' version?

[dontasciime]

The ds version was well done.

I still have not played my Double Dash, still in the draw unopened along with over 50 other sealed GC games.

Wii version of Mari Kart is the best one I have played from a hardware point of view.

[Bazzlad]

Mario Kart games in order

1) Mario Kart Snes 95%
2) Mario Kart Wii 90%
3) Mario Kart 64 85%
4) Mario Kart DS 82%
5) Mario Kart DD 80%

Trust me, stick with the Wii version, it gets so addictive once you break the skill gap.

Tip - If you think the races (online or offline) are skillless and decided by weapons, you haven't broken the skill gap. If you can't win a race against the CPU despite being blue shelled twice on the last lap, you haven't broken the skill gap. If you don't get a least a 1 star ranking just about everytime when you complete a GP, you haven't broken the skill gap.

[Pyrii]

I have to admit I'm disappointed, especially when tracks which I could go around without drifting with yoshi on the DS, I now have to drift almost every corner. I also find the wiimote/wheel control hilariously bad, I played with my mother and she could play better and easier with a Gamecube controller than the wheel. And a side note is that the gamecube driving wheel doesn't work with this game.

This game still leaves you with many "WTF" moments which always makes make the critic in me raise an eyebrow. But the fun is still there, even if some of the new tracks feel gimmicky and old tracks play differently than you remember. So far the online friends system hasn't worked, this is another demonstration of nintendo shunning their own wii friends system and failing horribly. I can't add my wii friends properly so haven't played online much yet, the challenges and ghost data ideas are nice though.

[Bazzlad]

I have to admit I'm disappointed, especially when tracks which I could go around without drifting with yoshi on the DS

Drifting = good. You drift properly on manual you get a boost - I recommend practicing this!

Find your kart is steering badly? Try one of the other karts!

Wheel = stupid. Use a nunchuck.

[Pyrii]

I know my drifting, especially since some of the online challenges require drifting like a madman to have a chance of beating them. I just wanted to make a point that old tracks now play completely differently.

Gamecube controllers are standard for my wii now, Smash brothers, Mario Kart, NiGHTS...

[monkeychops28]

I love it. Disappointed that I could never get on with manual drift and did better on automatic. But replay value really high. I think we've played it more than any other Wii game so far.