[WelshDragon360]

Okay here are my thoughts on it from my personal blog. This is not a review! Obviously this blog is where I just ramble and talk about personal things to a degree which is why I mention some of my friends by name etc. It addresses most of the main points though if you're curious about my experience with it.

Mario Kart Wii came out on Friday and it's fairly good to say the least. I actually didn't get it on Friday because my thoughts were basically that it will be solid but it's just another Mario Kart game. I've played so many now without any drastic changes being made that I just didn't really see the point in rushing out to get it. Then a certain Daniel talks to me about playing online and the next thing you know I've spent £35 in town the next day. What a fucking c*nt.

It's fair to say not much has changed. You still got the 50, 100 and 150cc cups. There's more of pretty much everything, tracks and characters most importantly, with very few immense differences. You have bikes this time which is really cool. I know, I know... it's a kart game, but hey, if it works then who gives a damn? I really like them and probably won't go back to using karts any time soon. They're faster and not too much harder to control. Yeah you need to consider the speed on the real tight corners, you can't just slam around them like you can in karts, but you never need to really break hard and think about a racing line. Just slow down a tad.

Control wise I'm not that impressed with the wheel. It's alright, but why would you want to use it? I mean... it's not unresponsive but if you want to play with the big boys online you're going to need total control. I played with it for about an hour and even though I got good with it I didn't meet my usual skill level. I haven't tried the Gamecube or Classic Controller just because, well, it's the Wii and I really don't want to play my games like that anymore. I'm sure they do the job but I can't comment. My preference is the Wiimote and Nunchuck. It's a really easy system that just feels natural. On the nunchuck you turn with the stick and use weapons with the 'Z' button. On the Wiimote you accelerate with 'A' and jump/skid with 'B'. Not much too it, is there? Anybody can learn it in 2 seconds and do a decent race.

I was a little confused at first about why there were two options of er... can't think of a term. Basically you can choose between automatic and manual. Turns out this has nothing to do with gears, just if you have the ability to jump/skid. I can see why somebody would want to use automatic if they're using the wheel and just want a casual race or something but if you're going to play seriously you really need to use automatic. The difference of building a mini-boost on a corner and not can decide a race. I'm not saying it MUST be used, but you're gonna have to be real lucky or skilled to not play with it on do well consistently. It just feels wrong for me playing Mario Kart without the ability to jump into a corner and build up a boost. That's just how it is.

Overall the presentation is really solid. Looks very tidy, sounds great and the courses have great designs. A lot of the cups are made up of 'retro' courses from past games but they've picked the best pretty much so it doesn't feel cheap. You just have way more content than you usually would in a Mario Kart game. The new original tracks are all much better than those you'd find in Double Dash and already some have shot up into my favourite courses list. Bowser's Castle and the Gorge level are especially cool. The characters are what you'd usually expect with some new ones like Rosalina (who I'm currently playing as) thrown in for good measure. I haven't unlocked many other characters but I heard that Diddy Kong is one so that should be cool.

Online is the real thing that makes this game. Yes, all of this extra content is cool and everything but if it wasn't for online I'd probably be fairly bored of it already. Despite the fact that the Wii online system is really flawed in many ways (that's a longgg rant for another day) it plays perfectly online. I mean PERFECTLY. There is absolutely no lag whatsoever. Not a hint of it. I have no idea how they achieved it but I wish every other game was the same. It's such a smooth experience. Now I've mostly been playing with dearest Daniel and some other people off a gaming forum and I have to say that it awesome. I'll definitely get Kel and Charlotte or Sally to play with me when they're over but that's quite rare. I mean one of them are over every few days if I'm having a very social week. It's a franchise that has always been best when playing with people who you can outsmart and destroy with various weapons. Lifeless AI players just doesn't compare. That's why Mario Kart being online makes so much sense. Now you can play anytime with real people and if you have a big friends list then very often with your buddies. Made even better if they're on Skype. Just a suggestion!

Overall I'm loving it. Grand Theft Auto 4 isn't out until April 29th so it has that long to entertain me. Even then I can imagine one of a few people talking me into a quick online race most nights. It's probably the best Mario Kart ever and I'm so glad that Ninty got the online section of it right. Not just because it improves my enjoyment of the game immensely, but also because it means I don't have to worry about future Ninty games that has online modes. Roll on Smash Bros.