Mario Kart Wii AU Hands-On

Australia, March 16, 2008 - Cam: So Naz, in the last 24 hours we've done some pretty freaky stuff. We've bounced from gigantic mushroom to gigantic mushroom, we've bumped down a mogul run, we've launched ourselves up mountains and we've fired red shells at those who oppose us. Yes, we've finally gone hands-on with Mario Kart for the Wii. What did you think?

Naz: I've got to say I was far happier with the graphics than I expected to be. I think the whole package sparkled with that trademark Nintendo polish. Each track had a completely different flavour. From the gently swaying trees and difficult to dodge cows in the meadow course to the conveyor belts and crane-carried platforms in the Toad's factory course, each track brought back a fond new memory of a Nintendo title from yesteryear but presented them with fresh style. With twelve racers on track there was also always constant chaos erupting with turtle shells, bananas and other insane weapons lobbing in from all angles and keeping the action exciting. I reckon the visuals really deliver and are on par with Super Mario Galaxy.

Happy Golucky trips the light fantastic in Lollipop Land.

Cam: Say what? I don't think so girlfriend! *Does chicken-head finger snap* Granted, the screen at the hotel we were at had chronic burn-in, so we weren't getting the visuals in all their glory, but to me the game's graphics were definitely below the level of Super Mario Galaxy, both technically and artistically. That's not to say it's bad looking – it's very nice indeed, with an almost painted quality to the wider environments and an excellent use of colour and lighting. Hell, even the lens flares are great, and they're one of the most overused racing game clichés of all time. Still, this just didn't blow me away in the same way that Galaxy's visuals did. And that's as good a segue as I'm going to get into the game as a whole. Simply put, this is going to be another very good Mario Kart game, but I'm just not overcome with excitement. What's going to differentiate this title from previous games in the series? Very little. Some new courses, a half-baked new control scheme (more on that in a sec) and twelve player online. My first impression is that Nintendo is pretty much joining the dots on this one. How did you feel about it Naz?

Naz: Not impressed with the graphics, Cam? C'mon buddy, I realise seeing nothing but the back of my kart every race I thrashed you in would have got a little repetitive for you but trust me, the view from first place was sensational. Poor karting skills aside though, I have to agree with you on the control scheme. While the handling was butter smooth with the Wii Classic controller (and even the standard Wiimote and Nunchuk setup worked really well) the steering wheel attachment was predictably weak. If I wanted to impair my driving skills while playing Mario Kart I'd opt for a couple of beers over the steering wheel nonsense any day of the week. The precise powersliding mechanics have always been crucial to the game's appeal and that sort of subtlety just isn't possible with the motion-sensing wheel mechanic.

Crusty Demons of Dirt eat your heart out.

Cam: Exactly. A large part of the gameplay genius of the series lies in tweaking the angle of your kart as you powerslide around corners, at the same time as flicking the stick back and forth to turbo out of the slide. That's obviously still there for the Classic control option, but the subtlety and style is lost in the morass that is motion control. There's simply no need for it, with the upshot that there will be a whole generation of casual gamers who won't understand the core handling mechanics of the series. There's even an automatic versus manual option in the game – automatic meaning that boosts are automatically built up in long powerslides. I guess it doesn't matter that much, but it does seem to be diluting the gameplay a little for the sake of extra accessibility. Then again, perhaps we simply haven't used the wheel enough. We'll see. How about twelve player online racing? Are you looking forward to that Naz? Objectively, I think it's hugely important for the Wii – the system desperately needs online-focused games, but personally it's unlikely to rock my world. Give me eight people playing wirelessly in the same room on Mario Kart DS over playing online any day. I need the trash talking. I need the social interaction. In fact, I'm likely to play more four player splitscreen than I am online.

Naz: Yep, I agree. It's great to see Nintendo building in the functionality of twelve player online racing, especially as you can do it with or without the crappy Friend Codes. That said, the thought of playing Mario Kart sans-trash talking throws a big fat wet blanket over the whole experience. It's ridiculous that Nintendo feels it has to block voice support across all online games because of the fear of some big bad boogie monster ruining your gaming experience by swearing. Surely a far better option would be to throw up a warning on the game's box and during the startup sequence that says "Online voice chat may contain traces of foul language (and peanuts)" and let the parents decide whether they need to protect little Billy-Tim by banning the headset.

No one chose Waluigi. For shame.

Speaking of multiplayer, our split-screen racing antics were a blast (especially when I nailed you with a turtle shell during a powerslide around the final corner – AND it was a green shell (auto-aiming red shells are for pussies!)). On the other hand, the Battle mode games we played were just plain broken. All of the maps are far too cluttered, making it impossible to see your opponents from enough distance to line up any sort of attack strategy. Playing a deathmatch mode where you have to keep one eye on the power-ups you're collecting (and why are there so many useless turbo power-ups in deathmatch?), another eye on the course so you don't drive into an abyss and a third eye on the map so you can try and anticipate an intercept course with your opponents isn't any kind of fun. Tri-cloptic freaks might be able to keep track of everything but I just found it frustrating. Cam?Cam: Okay, first things first. Number one – Nintendo could quite easily sidestep the question of exposing young ears to nasty words like 'flange', 'mirken', 'bilge-pump' and 'cock-wagon' by simply limiting voice chat to friends only. That would also conveniently keep sexual predators at bay (presumably another major reason not to go with voice chat). Instead, we have text chat. In a racing game. What's next? Morse code in WoW? Actually, that would be pretty cool.

Secondly, Naz – you suck at Mario Kart. If your skills were a videogame character they'd be Funky Kong – and you know how I feel about that guy. I would follow up by saying I smoked your ass every time, but that would be weird. Third – you're right, Battle mode didn't have much sparkle from our brief time with it – there was frequent slowdown in the preview code, and because we were playing teams it was a little hard picking who was who sometimes. Still, like the GP courses, it does have a selection of both new and classic courses, plus decent options (although the 'Frantic' weapons set didn't seem so aptly named), so I suspect that there will be plenty of gameplay gold to be mined. Check it out for yourself here.

Luigi, schmuigi - we want Mr L!

Changing the subject slightly, how awesome was it seeing Mii spectators on the side of some of the courses? Not awesome in the sense that they looked good, mind you – they looked absolutely awful, but awesome because I'm hoping that the Miis on the roadside will be pulled from your machine. Thus, when I boot up Mario Kart I'll have History's Greatest Monsters cheering me on – Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Mussolini, Pinochet, they'll all be there!

Naz: Miis… Schmiis. The spectators weren't blowing my skirt up but I was intrigued by the appearance of the classic Mario "POW" icon in the weapon line-up. Sadly, I didn't get a chance to use it during our session. It's just hard to find the time to experiment with power-ups when I'm busy winning all the time. Being a winner is just my cross to bear… sigh. It was also great to see the DS' bullet power-up make its console debut. For those who haven't seen it in action, the bullet is a new super power-up dished out only to those players trailing behind the pack (cough… Cam… cough). Engaging the bullet power-up sees your kart turn into a giant bullet that ploughs through everyone on the road at speed. Shame it didn't help you though, eh… Cam?

Scary. So scary.

Cam: I believe that's Bullet Bill you're referring to Naz. I'm surprised someone with such self-proclaimed skill in this series would have such a faint knowledge of an important DS (and Mario) staple. Still, this is coming from a guy who drives with Baby Peach. Baby Peach! For the most part the weapon line-up is pretty standard, aside from a rain-cloud pick-up that didn't appear to be in the code we played, and the POW power-up you mentioned, which appears above your kart and requires you to hop three times to get rid of it. Fail and you'll spin out.

There are a few other changes to the Mario Kart formula. Bikes have been introduced (in fact, the 100CC GPs are bikes only) and have a few advantages – one of which is using wheelies to get a little extra speed. It's too early to say, however, whether they're a good addition or just a gimmick. One element that does sound like a gimmick at first but is actually pretty cool is the ability to flick the Wiimote (if you're using motion control – presumably there's a button for the Classic controller) to do a trick while you're in the air. Sounds gimmicky until you realise you get a speed boost on landing. Nice. There are also a few cool aspects to the online experience. AI will automatically take over if an opponent drops out of an online race, there will be national and international rankings, and you'll be able to pull Ghost data from some of the best racers in the world.

The genius of Nintendo - taking a hoary old cliche like mine cart rides and turning it into a great course. Bless 'em.

So there you have it. Our initial impressions of Mario Kart Wii. Despite the criticisms we've raised, it was still a whole lot of fun, and we're absolutely looking forward to playing more.

Source: http://wii.ign.com/articles/859/859925p2.html