Mario Kart Wii - Official Topic

Argh. I can\'t decide if I should splash for this or not. I agree with mOojc, Double Dash was a bit \"bleh\" - felt bland and well, lacked real credibility as a racer. Don\'t get me wrong, it was fun. But unlike the SNES version, I never felt people with real skill were rewarded.

I actually don\'t see online being very fun, if everyone can finish in any position every race; because of gay giant blue shells. But then again, ARGH! Nintendosim demands I buy this!

( Edited 07.03.2008 11:51 by TheStratMan )

I think it's a buy. It'll be better than Double Dash no question if you ask me, and the Wiimote steering controls could be great. I've been wanting a proper racing game on Wii, Excite Truck was excellent but only 2 player.

Have you played Mario Kart DS? Unbalanced as hell but still amazingly fun. I think Nintendo have taken steps to stop snaking this time around too. Not sure about them Blue Shells though.

I think they should travel along the ground again like on MK64, hitting everyone they pass. That would make it more fair IMO, because then the person in first place won't go right down to last place in an instant. They should also be rarer.

Thing is, people criticising the wheel haven\'t even tried it. It\'s bit silly to dismiss it without at least trying...

( Edited 07.03.2008 12:59 by jb )

Well I have to buy it as it\'s the only racing game that I play for any length of time.

Double dash tracks were bland and there wasn\'t much variety the music also sucked. The inclusion of old tracks pretty much fixes this though.

The online sounds like a lot of fun, better than brawls even.

Thing is, people criticising the wheel haven\'t even tried it. It\'s bit silly to dismiss it without at least trying...

( Edited 07.03.2008 13:03 by Blade2t3 )

The wheel makes Nintendo hypocrites. The Wiimote can be used to simulate loads of things, that's it's aim and purpose. Nintendo thought "Let's put a round peice of plastic on it to make it look like you're holding a doughnut like an idiot driving a REAL CAR!"

Nothing should disguise it from what it is. A piece of plastic shaped like a steering wheel that you put on the already perfectly innovative and capable Wiimote.

I think you're missing the point: Adverts with people holding a wheel controlling your kart are going to look a lot appealing to more people than holding the wiimote.

It's basically an advertising gimmick, but also means it's more intuative to more people, a lot more people have driven than have played computer games, and a steering wheel is the global standard for controlling the steering of a vehicle, everyone recognises it and is comfortable with it. I would have thought there won't be anything to stop you steering without the wheel and only the wiimote if you want to.

SuperLink said:
The wheel makes Nintendo hypocrites. The Wiimote can be used to simulate loads of things, that\'s it\'s aim and purpose. Nintendo thought \"Let\'s put a round peice of plastic on it to make it look like you\'re holding a doughnut like an idiot driving a REAL CAR!\"

Nothing should disguise it from what it is. A piece of plastic shaped like a steering wheel that you put on the already perfectly innovative and capable Wiimote.

I\'m thinking the wii wheel is probably for casual gamers, it probably helps them grasp the game better.
Yeah I know it sounds silly and even patronizing but then were dealing with people who would find holding a remote control sideways to steer a car probably fairly bizarre, and find lots of buttons confusing.

Edit: sorry completely missed your post squeek, but yeah my thinking is along the same lines as yours.

( Edited 07.03.2008 15:31 by Blade2t3 )

I think i will use the wheel just to get a better frame of reference for where im am but that all depends on what control scheme i like better, and also how many friends im playing with.

It is true that nintendo is mostly doing this for the casual aspect to "bridge" people into it. Then again it isnt as lame as some other 3rd party attachments like the pointless golf clubs and tennis attachments.

No......it's lamer.
Plastic crap like that Wii-wheel are just ways of making more money, they don't really affect the gameplay that much apart from making the slightly less competent Wii-ers think they have a larger chance against some more experienced Kartsmen, like me

Seriously, I reckon the best way to grasp the game better is to practice it with just the Wii-mote. Does anybody know how much the wheel costs (if anything)?

I don't think people should put up with Nintendo killing the planet like it's nothing so they can make a few hundred million more �s on brainless casual gamers.

The wheel comes free with Mario Kart. That's right, that's how precious plastic is to Nintendo. Don't worry Nintendo, thanks to you it'll run out at twice the speed. We'll be out of Oil by 2010! Well done, good job.

Wow, your really into this save the earth crap. I couldn\'t give a shit to be honest.

Seriously, I reckon the best way to grasp the game better is to practice it with just the Wii-mote. Does anybody know how much the wheel costs (if anything)?

Think you missed the point slightly...wheel makes it more appealing to casual gamers, dosn\'t make the game necessarily easier to play, just makes the concept easier to grasp.

Edit: wtf why does the roll emoticon bring up the sarcy emoticon?

( Edited 08.03.2008 14:08 by Blade2t3 )

Little trailer thingy;

I forgot how retarded G4 was

I\'m not too bothered by the Wii Wheel. I\'ll give it a go, although I reckon using the GC controller will probably be better for me.

It\'s good for the causal gamer though. My mum would probably be more interested in playing if she used it.

New videos on the Mushroom and Flower Cups.

Enjoy!

( Edited 08.03.2008 16:08 by Marzy )

Baby Peaches voice makes me want to kill kittens....

All the baby characters are really annoying and pointless.

Issit just me or do all those new tracks look pretty bad, especially the one where you jump from mushroom to mushroom that was shown in the G4 trailer. The last track of the flower cup probably looks the best, and I'm hoping as usual the tracks do get better as the game goes on.

I got the new ONM today and it has review on Mario Kart Wii. I haven't read the full thing yet, but it got a score 94% and they commented on how the wheel works well and the new stunt system is great.

Yeah well they would.

Not the best of news -

http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/858/858352p1.html

You mean their negativity on MKWii right? Well I say stuff 'em. They'll bloody moan about anything. They complained about Brawl in the podcasts before and look what it got.

Yes I agree, but one criticism is hard for me to put aside, that being the one about this game being constructed in a way to suit the casuals rather than seasoned MK players.

I got the impression with Mario Strikers Charged that the game was a farce because there was a system in place that meant even nubes could defeat you. I fear the same has happened here. MK has always had that leveling but it sounds like it has been emphasized in this game like no other to get more people playing and \"having fun\".

The lack of the DS version speed also does not please me, speed is everything.

It does seem like a under par quality MK all round. If that is the case only it\'s playability can save it. I am hugely disappointed already with this game, just by looking at it. The style of the game does not have the feel of MK, the graphics do not have the style I have come to expect, it seem soulless. Harsh but true.

Despite the speculation one thing seems clear, it looks like this MK does not have anywhere near the same production values of Brawl and Smash [.]

( Edited 11.03.2008 15:31 by Linkyshinks )

Before previews/reviews: "Hope it doesn't have snaking", "Hope boosts are taken out like SNES version"

After preview: "Oh no, boosts don't do much, it's broken"

It seems pretty customisable to be honest, if you think items are spoiling it then turn them off. It has 16 new tracks, which is the same as the other mario karts, and for some reason this is seen as a negative some places, "Not enough new tracks", even though there's 32 in total.

Graphics aren't superb, but to be honest I don't think it's a necessary, especially if it runs smoothly all the time and the draw distance is good. I don't see how this style is much different to double dash or 64 in the general scheme of things. I wish they'd get rid of the baby drivers, pensioner versions would be much better for a start, waving their walking sticks when they got knocked.

Hopefully when playing online there won't be a massive rubber band effect, as that would be annoying, and to be honest I'll probably end up playing this mostly online so any complaints that only apply to single player I won't be too bothered about.

I think you need to take online comments with a pinch of salt when deciding for yourself, you'll hear a lot of contradictory comments about one game "not enough new/old stuff" "too different/same".

Unless the reviews start saying there's serious problems then I'll still pick it up even if it's only a :shock: :horror: 7 or 8 rated game.

Seems like quite a solid game from what I've seen and heard, despite some of the criticism it's faced so far.

The turning off items idea is brill, should really bring out the driving pros. One thing that pisses me off playing Mario Kart atm is some people *cough* going on about driving lines, and how his racing line is "perfect".

Anyhoo, looks pretty decent will definitely pick this one up!

I will still be buying it no matter what the outcome is from all it\'s reviews, there is definitely going to be a good game to be had here.

It still pisses me off that there could even be any question about the quality of a MK title after DD, this should not be happening. You would have thought Nintendo would go all out to make this the best version so far. Nintendo are a huge company now, they need to have the resources in place to cope, especially if lacking in resources means games of the calibre of MK pay the price. There is no doubt at all that it was made using a second string team, and one with a bad art director I believe.

\"Graphics aren\'t superb, but to be honest I don\'t think it\'s a necessary, especially if it runs smoothly all the time and the draw distance is good.

I agree, but I think the art is bad, like really bad in places, it seems to lack the essence of Mario Kart. I got that gut feeling when I first saw the game. MK has never been about graphics and technical prowess but I have always come to expect great art and style that have always been a hallmark of the series.

I really hope the music softens the blow, if not

Mario Kart Wii will be a HUGE success, but it won\'t please some of the veterans and what they were expecting and hoping for from this game.

To use jb\'s term, why should we have to settle for something \"solid\", this is MK for fucks sake. Why?, because this is what Nintendo have started to do, they only push in the directions where they see profit now and good reason. As far as Nintendo were concerned they did enough with this title as you see it. That is troubling, when I see this game I cannot see the evidence of them striving to create a special game in the same way you can see it in Brawl and Galaxy. It\'s just another version of MK that will sell well across the board due to the changes they have made, one\'s that mean even more so leveling of the field.

( Edited 11.03.2008 15:51 by Linkyshinks )