So, you've heard the news- there's a new game in town. And it's one I've been waiting for almost over a year now.
No, it's not GTA VI, it's Mario Kart for the Wii. I pre-ordered the game months ago, even ordered an extra wiiheel so my wife could play too. What? She likes the game too.
So, that's what I've been doing- playing Mario Kart. My hands are starting to cramp from being held in one position for hours at a time. It's a lot of fun, and battlemode on-line is everything you wanted from battlemode in Mario Kart.
But before this turns into a gush fest- let me talk about the bad. From the get go- the wiiheel sucks. As a design it's fine, really. It does a great job of simulating a steering wheel for a driving game. The B button on the back side is a little spongie but if you're not a ubar-gamer it's not important. The size is a little on the small side, but that's to be expected
Not everyone has got huge meat-hooks for hands.
But the real problem is the button layout and- most importantly- how drifting works. Like in various games, the buttons do different things- except in this game where he B button does EVERYTHING. It breaks, it turns, it drops items, it starts reverse. It's a real pain in the butt, is what it is.
And, drifting. For those of you who aren't big Kart fans- I can't imagine why- but there's a tactic in real racing called drifting. There was even a Fast in the Furious suckquel about it- Tokyo Drift. It's where you induce over steer (the back end of the car starts to slide around on you) but you keep a forward momentum by accelerating and turning into the curve. This is used to preserve a high inertia so top speed can be maintained as you go around the corner and exit the turn.
It's very exiting to watch.
so, anyway, drifting has always been a part of the kart series. A good racer never has to slow down through the turns, just drift through them and come out going faster than when you went in. (the game gives you a boost when you do it right.) And with the Wiiheel, it's near impossible.
I don't mean that in I know how to do it one way and refuse to adapt to a new way- i mean it's just near impossible to do. The reason- with the wiiheel, you have to enter the turn at just the right angle, and hold the wiiheel at just the right angle while accelerating and breaking at the same time. And, most of the corners in Mario Kart aren't set up for that angle.
Which is a lot like real racing, I imaging. However, i don't play a racing game where an Italian plumber and his brother race against Donkey Kong, a giant turtle, several monkey's and such whilst throwing banana peels for realism.
And, I might add- the computer can do it. Which means I should be able to do it.
However, if you ditch the wiiheel and add the nun chuck drifting is as easy as it ever was. But it kind of takes the novelty out of it, you know? But that's the worst part of the game, really.
As for features- this version doesn't really do too much new. It removes special items based off of your character, and gives everyone an equal chance to draw special items.
The graphics are nice- nothing extraordinary. The new features- the stunts are cool, but there's only about 4 different moves. The racing, once you put down the wiiheel, is good. The new stages are tough, and visually interesting. Some of the secret paths are a bit difficult to get through- but hey, if it was easy it wouldn't be the much fun, would it? The retro stages are fun to race through again, although this time there are slightly different physics than the original boards. But that's part of the fun, learning to drive a whole new way on an old course. However, on line is where this game is at it's best.
On previous versions of this game you were limited to 2 or 4 players with increasing diminished screen area for each player. But now, in the age of wifi, Nintendo has spawned it's own network for the Wii's to connect through their internal wifi cards. Now, you can sit and race against your friends or anyone else in the US or around the world.
Which is the real innovation for the Kart franchise. I can play against my college buddies that live in San Francisco, New York, and Juno. Which I've been doing.
And while there's no story to motivate the game or the player (I know that's a real departure for me) it is a race game. the game itself is the motivation to play.
All in all, it's another step up for the Kart franchise.
No, it's not GTA VI, it's Mario Kart for the Wii. I pre-ordered the game months ago, even ordered an extra wiiheel so my wife could play too. What? She likes the game too.
So, that's what I've been doing- playing Mario Kart. My hands are starting to cramp from being held in one position for hours at a time. It's a lot of fun, and battlemode on-line is everything you wanted from battlemode in Mario Kart.
But before this turns into a gush fest- let me talk about the bad. From the get go- the wiiheel sucks. As a design it's fine, really. It does a great job of simulating a steering wheel for a driving game. The B button on the back side is a little spongie but if you're not a ubar-gamer it's not important. The size is a little on the small side, but that's to be expected Not everyone has got huge meat-hooks for hands.
But the real problem is the button layout and- most importantly- how drifting works. Like in various games, the buttons do different things- except in this game where he B button does EVERYTHING. It breaks, it turns, it drops items, it starts reverse. It's a real pain in the butt, is what it is.
And, drifting. For those of you who aren't big Kart fans- I can't imagine why- but there's a tactic in real racing called drifting. There was even a Fast in the Furious suckquel about it- Tokyo Drift. It's where you induce over steer (the back end of the car starts to slide around on you) but you keep a forward momentum by accelerating and turning into the curve. This is used to preserve a high inertia so top speed can be maintained as you go around the corner and exit the turn.
It's very exiting to watch.
so, anyway, drifting has always been a part of the kart series. A good racer never has to slow down through the turns, just drift through them and come out going faster than when you went in. (the game gives you a boost when you do it right.) And with the Wiiheel, it's near impossible.
I don't mean that in I know how to do it one way and refuse to adapt to a new way- i mean it's just near impossible to do. The reason- with the wiiheel, you have to enter the turn at just the right angle, and hold the wiiheel at just the right angle while accelerating and breaking at the same time. And, most of the corners in Mario Kart aren't set up for that angle.
Which is a lot like real racing, I imaging. However, i don't play a racing game where an Italian plumber and his brother race against Donkey Kong, a giant turtle, several monkey's and such whilst throwing banana peels for realism.
And, I might add- the computer can do it. Which means I should be able to do it.
However, if you ditch the wiiheel and add the nun chuck drifting is as easy as it ever was. But it kind of takes the novelty out of it, you know? But that's the worst part of the game, really.
As for features- this version doesn't really do too much new. It removes special items based off of your character, and gives everyone an equal chance to draw special items.
The graphics are nice- nothing extraordinary. The new features- the stunts are cool, but there's only about 4 different moves. The racing, once you put down the wiiheel, is good. The new stages are tough, and visually interesting. Some of the secret paths are a bit difficult to get through- but hey, if it was easy it wouldn't be the much fun, would it? The retro stages are fun to race through again, although this time there are slightly different physics than the original boards. But that's part of the fun, learning to drive a whole new way on an old course. However, on line is where this game is at it's best.
On previous versions of this game you were limited to 2 or 4 players with increasing diminished screen area for each player. But now, in the age of wifi, Nintendo has spawned it's own network for the Wii's to connect through their internal wifi cards. Now, you can sit and race against your friends or anyone else in the US or around the world.
Which is the real innovation for the Kart franchise. I can play against my college buddies that live in San Francisco, New York, and Juno. Which I've been doing.
And while there's no story to motivate the game or the player (I know that's a real departure for me) it is a race game. the game itself is the motivation to play.
All in all, it's another step up for the Kart franchise.
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