I bought Mario Kart Wii yesterday and have already spent more than a few hours playing it with friends. As far as Wii games go, it’s less gimmicky with its controls and feels like a solid console game. There’s just the nagging problem that it’s biggest selling point - the use of the control stick as a steering wheel - is its greatest flaw. There’s so much done right that when it isn’t quite perfect, it really feels wrong.

Controls

So, the second thing you should do after you first purchase and play Mario Kart Wii is toss the steering wheel and plug in a nunchak controller. You should certainly try it out with the wheel just for the gimmick value. Unfortunately, it’d be more fun if it weren’t so difficult. If you take a good player and give them the wheel, they’ll suddenly suck. You just can’t play with the wheel.

Admittedly, I’ve only had a couple of days with it, but the control stick is just so much easier and more natural. You aren’t constantly slightly drifting because the wheel is barely uneven. You can stick tight racing lines instead of veering wildly over the track. That’s really the biggest problem with the wheel. You can only make very small changes. If you panic a bit and go in full tilt mode, you’re guaranteed to smack a wall. Of course, then you’ll over correct and smack another wall. The wheel is so sensitive that you really can only play if you have zen-like control.

Courses

My biggest complaint with Mario Kart games has always been the limited number of courses. Once I’ve played the tracks ad nauseum, I don’t really want to play anymore. The Wii version does a good job of offering more courses than in other console outings. In addition to 16 new tracks, there are 16 “classic” tracks. There’s also a large number of pleasantly designed multiplayer tracks (more on this later) instead of the paltry 3-6.

The new courses are generally quite fun. Many of them have a specific gimmick unique to the course that are fun. My friends especially love a particular course because you bounce off the tops of mushrooms. At first glance, there are no really exploitable shortcuts. You know those shortcuts like the in the Gamecube version of Bowser’s Castle where you can cut off a corner by driving off a shelf right in front of the fire-spitting Bowser statue? I could only get that about every two out of three times. A roommate could nail it every time and could dominate that track. Or do you remember the glitch in Wario Stadium for the N64 where you could cut off about half of the track by bouncing over a wall near the starting line? That sucked for everyone who couldn’t get it. In the Wii version, all of the shortcuts (that I’m aware of) are fairly well visible and accessible. That’s good for everyone.

I don’t like how large the tracks are. I guess it’s in recognition of the wheel but all of the tracks are huge. There are very, very few narrows that require tight driving. I grew up on the Super Nintendo version of Mario Kart. If anyone else remembers that, it was excessively narrow by today’s standards. Tracks required very precise driving and accurate manipulation of both gas and brake. It was precision driving at its finest and it was difficult. It was great. Now, everything is so forgiving. This is even more noticeable in the classic tracks. They weren’t simply copied over, they were re-designed. The tracks are noticeably wider in ways that makes each level so much easier.

You’ll notice the very different play mechanics when shifting from new to classic courses. The old courses often look very flat and have a lot of sharp corners. The newer classic courses are large modifications of the classic style. New courses are filled with variations in track, lots of jumps, a plethora of boost strips, and tons of visual debris. It’s a very odd feeling to play a classic like Ghost House 2 from the SNES after playing some new courses. It really shows how far Mario Kart has come.

Gameplay

First, let me say that the changes to driving are mostly welcome. I like the new drifting/boost technique. Wiggling the joystick always felt strange to me and it evens the field a good bit for new players. I’m glad they brought back jumping (simply because sliding in the GC version just looked wrong from years of jumping). Grabbing boosts from the jumps is very cool and adds much more excitement when you get some air.

I like all of these things but the consistently feel gimmicky. I never have any confidence in my racing ability. You have to hit so many jumps or catch so many boost strips that I never know if I just routinely luck into getting good lines or whether I’m actually able to do it myself. In the old Mario Kart, there weren’t many speed modifiers on the track. You just had to drive well and inch your way to the front with weapons. In the Wii version, you can be in last place in the last lap but finish in first. That simply wouldn’t have happened on the Gamecube version.

The new weapons are nice. I like the POW block and the giant mushroom (in which you grow and squash opponents). I don’t care either way about the storm cloud but I hate the squid. Getting sprayed with ink is often a minor annoyance but it’s a frequent annoyance. I was trying to show a friend a particular aspect about a track but couldn’t because I got inked every time I came up to that section. It’s just annoying.

The thing I want most to go but never does is what I unaffectionately call “F—- Grayson mode.” If you’re playing at a sufficiently high level of difficulty and you’re in first in the last lap, you will be hit by at least one blue shell, have no less than three red shells hit you, get smacked by an errant green shell or another piece of random debris, and succumb to one item that affects everyone (POW block, lightening, etc.). You will, of course, have only banana peels and green shells to defend yourself. Note that if you’re on a track without side rails or walls, you will be knocked off the track by someone bigger than you that you never saw. Mario Kart 64 pioneered this feature, Double Dash took it up a level, and Wii perfected it. There’s nothing more frustrating than driving a perfect race only to not move for 30 full seconds with the finish line in sight and only nabbing fourth.

Winning in Mario Kart Wii feels much more like luck than skill.

I dislike some of the choices that the designers made. Going off track or simply scraping a wall slows your cart down immensely. I guess that’s why so many of the courses are the size of the Jersey Turnpike. This really kills some of the old tracks. Remember going up the wall at the end of Kong Jungle on the N64? Now you need a mushroom.

Slipstreaming is a bit hit or miss, though. I had one friend who swore that drafting was in Double Dash. I remain unconvinced. However, it’s a great idea that deserves a place in every racing game. MKW makes it a bit of something, though. I like that it’s there but it never seems like something I intentionally do. If I’m actively slipstreaming, I’m often close enough to bump the guy before my boost kicks in. I’d prefer to just have the slight speed increase from a draft. I know MKW isn’t supposed to be real-to-life but the boost just seems too over the top. Why would I have a boost from that?

Characters

Of course Nintendo is going to pull out all of the stops here. You get to play from a decent number of Mario faithful. It’s not Super Smash Bros: Brawl, but it’s no slouch. The real winner here, though, is the ability to play as Miis. Once you unlock that, there’s not really much point in going back to the Nintendo characters.

Seriously, MKW took a bit step backwards here. Double Dash was awesome because which character you picked had very different play mechanics. Their special moves were awesome and made character selection a very intimate process. Personally, I loved having Baby Bowser and Diddy Kong. The combination of giant shell and giant banana was too good. Now, though, it doesn’t matter. You simply pick a character and then pick from a selection of motorcycles and go-carts. Since the racing attributes are defined by the vehicle, character selection seems kind of moot. As soon as we unlocked our Miis, my friends and I just play as them.

I should take a moment here to say that Mii integration is really awesome. I always wondered what the point of Miis were if they were never used in a game. Being able to drive them is great. But Nintendo took it a step further. Your Miis are all over the place. They’re in the crowds of some levels. They are on the posters and in the cars in the Mall level (hello, Crank). It’s always fun to look in the background and see someone you recognize.

Multiplayer

MKW took a drastic move here and completely re-tooled Mario Kart multiplayer. I never played the DS Mario Kart but I’ve owned the rest. All of the Karts that I’ve played took a simple concept: you versus your guests. On the Wii, however, it’s much more of a team game. You get computer controlled lackeys to help you out. That changes things a lot.

MKW comes with two basic multiplayer games (outside of racing). The first is the standard balloon fight. However, MKW changes things such that you aren’t out when your balloons pop. You simply lose a point and get more balloons. You gain points by popping other people’s balloons and your team wins by having the most points. I’d like more options here, though. I want to be able to turn off computer players and just play with my friends sometimes. I’d also like to just have a standard balloon battle where once your balloons are popped, you’re done. Finally, I’d like to turn off teams and just have a free-for-all.

The coin race is a bit interesting. It’s less focused on the battle aspect and more focused on grabbing every coin you see. It’s a welcome change and I don’t have any alterations I’d like to make.

I do miss the frantic rumble that was Bomb Blast from Double Dash and Luigi’s Mansion is my all-time favorite course. I also like the blocks level from N64. These two stages really should have made a comeback.

I hadn’t played MKW online so I won’t comment on that here.

I do really enjoy the team aspect of MKW. My friends and I are only mildly competitive. We are more concerned with besting our own performance than trying to beat the pants off of everyone else. We got a lot of mileage out of team racing while we were still trying to figure out the controls and the computer players are competitive enough that we get a run for our money during Battle mode.

MKW does take a disheartening move in getting rid of the 2-player Grand Prix mode. Unlocking content by winning races would be much more enjoyable with a friend.