Topic: REVIEWS: Mario Kart Wii

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Good.

[GoldenPhoenix]

I put in an hour or so on MK Wii and Greg makes many good points. For one it appears no thought went into the GP mode when it comes to making it a different experience than against human opponents. Right off the bat I was getting pelted with shells and got hit multiple times with the blue shell. With that said the game is GREAT you all need to get it, so far the track designs are quite good and online is STUNNING and silky smooth.

What has impressed me most, is surprisingly, the visuals which are silky smooth and are quite impressive at times (though your kart model looks horrid).

[D_Average]

There's certainely a load of things wrong with this game, but at the end of the day, its kind of like the last season of Seinfeld.  Not as good as in once was, but still great nonetheless.

[NWR_pap64]

Oh baby its so, so wrong! But feels so RIGHT!

That sums MK Wii right there...

[Nick DiMola]

All I have to say is that the online is kick ass. Generally speaking though, my first blush impression is that MK DS is better, we'll see as I get more time in with the game though.

[Mario]

There's certainely a load of things wrong with this game, but at the end of the day, its kind of like the last season of Seinfeld.  Not as good as in once was, but still great nonetheless.

Except this is by far the best Mario Kart game yet

[IceCold]

I loved Double Dash and was kind of apathetic towards MKDS - will I like this?

[Mario]

Only one way to find out

[DAaaMan64]

ya Mario is pretty much right, it's kind of a mix of DS and DD.

[TJ Spyke]

Normally I wouldn't bump a topic this old. I just got the game today, and am really enjoying it. Looks nice, like the expanded field. I don't like playing with the Wii Wheel though. The Wheel feels nice, but it doesn't control right. I had problems drifting and sometimes turning (I would turn left when I wanted to turn right or vice versa). I think I will try using the GameCube controller and see if that is better.

[Halbred]

It's definately better, TJ. However, once you get used to the Wii Wheel, it's actually pretty fun. The key is to make larger-than-you-think-necessary motions left and right to avoid turning the opposite direction.

Playing online with the Wheel increases your gamerscore quicker, too.

However, to really dominate the upper tiers of the single-player mode, you'll need the 'Cube controller to survive.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

It is tricky at first.  The two key influences are  1) Gotta be "perfectly" level to drive straight, anything not level is a turn (kinda weird when there's no resistance, so it's up you to develop a home/anchor position for reference)  and 2) To pull off those hard lefts/rights that you use a lot for power sliding, you have to turn the wheel more than 90 degrees, requiring some awesome funky technique.

It's real fun, and the Wheel becomes an object to direct your anger/energy at, screwing with your driving for lulz.

Once the wheel is understood, there's no need for analog sticks for any performance reasons.

[Mop it up]

I wanted to like the Wii Wheel but unfortunately I cannot stand the button layout of the thing. I still use it every now and then, but I have to use Automatic drift or else things go awry, and fast. I never use tricks or wheelies either. I have to use the GameCube controller to play my best... and that's a comparative term of course, it doesn't mean I'm any good at the game.

[Peachylala]

To each his or her own, I guess. I still managed to get all gold in all classes sans the Mirror Cup (which I recently unlocked) with just the Wii Wheel alone. It takes practice to master, but when you do, it's smexy. =P

Question: Do the VR points really stand for something other then showing you have played WiFi often?

[Halbred]

No. The fake gamerscore is just to measure how well you stack up against the competition.

[Mop it up]

I do think there should be a way to dodge the blue shell

You've probably found out about this by now, but just in case you (or anyone) doesn't know: You can dodge the blue shell if you use a mushroom right before it explodes. You can also dodge it if you make it into a cannon before it hits, but that's pretty circumstantial.

VR doesn't mean anything in the sense of unlockables or awards. It can, however, be an indication of the type of player you're about to face. If you see somebody with 9,999 VR, they are likely using Funky Kong + Lame Runner and are going to somehow achieve a huge lead and be nigh unstoppable. If you see somebody with less than 2,000 VR, they're likely just going to mess around, possibly camp on an item box and target first place. Hackers also sometimes give themselves low VR just for the lawls of it. If you see anyone with more than 9,999 VR, they're a hacker.