Mario Kart Wii

[Neo Samus]

You are not the only one Dave. It seems like no one can be "happy" any more. There is always something that someone doesn't like about some game. But I'm getting off topic.

About Battle Mode, I'm liking a lot of the new ones. For example, the Desert Thowmp stage looks cool espically when the Thowmp hits the sand and creates waves.

[Lemonectric]

About Battle Mode, I'm liking a lot of the new ones. For example, the Desert Thowmp stage looks cool espically when the Thowmp hits the sand and creates waves.

I like the music there, too.

But being able to keep playing after all your balloons are gone? WHAT?

I guess it gives the losers something to do. It is kind of boring when you've lost and it takes the others forever to kill each other.

That is when you adopt the MK64 strategy and turn the losers into bob-ombs! That was the most freakin' awesome thing; striking fear into the hearts of your opponents after you've already died. Of course, once you blow up, that's it.

[Takero]

How's that supposed to work out? What do the losers do once they die?

[JCvgluvr]

Also: ugh graphics u_u; Though I guess theres no need for discussion there...

I don't understand the graphics complaints. Looks to be about as good looking as Mario Galaxy. What more can we expect?

That is when you adopt the MK64 strategy and turn the losers into bob-ombs! That was the most freakin' awesome thing; striking fear into the hearts of your opponents after you've already died. Of course, once you blow up, that's it.

This was such an awesome feature. This sweet, sweet game of revenge made it acceptable to die!

How's that supposed to work out? What do the losers do once they die?

That's what I'm wondering. What's the point of protecting your balloons if you can still keep playing?

[I-n-j-i-n]

...Are you serious? I think the only game for which this statement is remotely applicable is the DS, and that was only because of OMGOVEREXAGGERATEDSNAKING. I don't think I know anyone who considers Mario Kart remotely "hardcore."

I have to disagree. The overall difficulty level in the original Mario Kart was definitely not for the easy-over crowd but rather those who cut their teeth on some of the harder stuff like F-Zero. Mario Kart games, for the most part, had a bit of a learning curve and depth to it that people seems to underestimate. But now with the newest version, they definitely are trying to baby-it up. The battle courses already look pretty straightforward and bland compared to the more elaborate battle maps even in the first Mario Kart games, and all the relative depth of the Mario Kart Double Dash and MK:DS (snaking and all, and no, it's never overexaggered, Imagery, because MK:DS basically became MK:Snake So Nobody Has Any Fun).

There always was the Mario game, the Mario Party games, all the simplistic Mario Sports games, then the was Mario Kart. I know they were intending to sell the game to the casual audience like with every Mario franchise, but I think their depth as a competitive game is equatable to Smash Brothers. Both games are a class above in terms of depth than the more casual of Nintendo franchises.

[Imagist]

Your only example that smacks of "hardcore" to me is MKDS (and I didn't mean that snaking's presence and impact on the game was overexaggerated, I mean the snaking itself was overexaggerated--to the point where, as you point out, it became the only viable tactic, and basically defined the game for many players). I really don't understand your comparison to F-Zero; I would say F-Zero is by far the more "hardcore" game, from a much more sizeable slew of cars and racers (all of which, unlike most of the Mario Kart games except the most recent, vary widely in stats and properties--and even the variations between karts and racers in recent MK games have nothing on, say, F-Zero GX's capacity to build your car from scrap parts) to a far greater depth of gameplay designed to be difficult and challenging, not kind of goofy and, well, fun (like, for example, most of the tracks with oddball elements in MK games). The atmosphere and design of MK is, overall, a whole lot simple and more casual, to the point where anyone can pick it up and have fun with it. Even when it got more competitive with MKDS, it was very limited, as snaking was the only "advanced" technique involved and even with that, many people doubted that its prominence was intentional.

[Lemonectric]

That's what I'm wondering. What's the point of protecting your balloons if you can still keep playing?

Well, I'm guessing it's sort of the same concept from MK64, but not as cool. Like, you can still drive around to torment the remaining players, but you've already lost?

But then what if you steal someone else's balloon with a mushroom or star or something? I don't think I like the idea.

[JCvgluvr]

Well, I'm guessing it's sort of the same concept from MK64, but not as cool. Like, you can still drive around to torment the remaining players, but you've already lost?

But then what if you steal someone else's balloon with a mushroom or star or something? I don't think I like the idea.

No, you still get to keep playing once your balloons are popped. The battle is now points-based, I believe. So you won't stop scoring once all your balloons are gone.

Which leads back to my initial question...

[Neo Samus]

This is just a guess, but maybe once you lose all your balloons the kills you do don't count to the total score? Or when you make a kill you decrease's the opponents score?

[I-n-j-i-n]

Your only example that smacks of "hardcore" to me is MKDS (and I didn't mean that snaking's presence and impact on the game was overexaggerated, I mean the snaking itself was overexaggerated--to the point where, as you point out, it became the only viable tactic, and basically defined the game for many players). I really don't understand your comparison to F-Zero; I would say F-Zero is by far the more "hardcore" game, from a much more sizeable slew of cars and racers (all of which, unlike most of the Mario Kart games except the most recent, vary widely in stats and properties--and even the variations between karts and racers in recent MK games have nothing on, say, F-Zero GX's capacity to build your car from scrap parts) to a far greater depth of gameplay designed to be difficult and challenging, not kind of goofy and, well, fun (like, for example, most of the tracks with oddball elements in MK games). The atmosphere and design of MK is, overall, a whole lot simple and more casual, to the point where anyone can pick it up and have fun with it. Even when it got more competitive with MKDS, it was very limited, as snaking was the only "advanced" technique involved and even with that, many people doubted that its prominence was intentional.

I guess it depends on the different track aspects of Mario Kart, because by far, the higher CC class you go on Mario Kart, the more it resembles a hardcore game. I can't really pinpoint that on MK:Wii until I buy it and play it (yes, all the criticism and I'll end up buying it. I'm a sucker for Nintendo sequels even if I hated New Super Mario Bros to death). I agree F-Zero is the more complicated series, but I still think Mario Kart as a whole are on another level of depth than something like Mario Strikers, which you can basically master in a matter of days. Hard to say you can do the exact same with Mario Kart personally. Though Mario Golf made by Camelot had that kind of deep depth to it, apparently it's not in vogue all of a sudden.

I agree that Mario Kart now more than ever is being sold in the light of being a simple game to play, but I think taking the more advanced techniques and automating them is a huge step toward parity between the newcomers and veteran players more than ever. I mean, go from the totally unassisted, minimal-boost power turning of the original to Mario Kart Advance to all the automation in the Wii version. It has since simplified, if it is even to be considered a simplistic game to begin with.

[BardicKnowledge]

I'll also pick it up, despite reservations. Still, we need F-Zero Wii. I'm yet to see a racing game I like better than GX...

[JCvgluvr]

I second F-Zero for Wii. I would snap up a worth sequel to GX in an instant!

[Ray Falling]

I talked to a gameshop owner today who told me he had heard that the Mario Kart Wii disc will contain an update or something that renders the Freeloader useless.

He also said that updates after March 10 may already have rendered Freeloader useless, in which case I'm screwed no matter if I get Mario Kart or not.

*sigh*

[Bigfoot]

So apparently, Mario Kart Wii is good.

Famitsu gave it 10/9/9/9

[atmuh]

one more week!

and ray falling brawl had an update on it but it ran fine on other region consoles with freeloaders

it may be different with mariokart but i doubt it

ive ran jap updates on my us wii and it still works fine!

actually thinking about it its gonna be interesting because this will install its own special mariokart channel well ill let you know in a week if my wii is bricked or not

[Ray Falling]

one more week!

and ray falling brawl had an update on it but it ran fine on other region consoles with freeloaders

it may be different with mariokart but i doubt it

ive ran jap updates on my us wii and it still works fine!

actually thinking about it its gonna be interesting because this will install its own special mariokart channel well ill let you know in a week if my wii is bricked or not

Hmm okay that is sort of promissing I feel a bit better now. I was thinking not to buy Mariokart anyway (since I'm still not wow-ed) but it'd be crazy to never update and never purchase games with updates just so I can keep playing my imported Brawl.

Worst case scenario though: waiting till June for Euro Brawl.

[BardicKnowledge]

actually thinking about it its gonna be interesting because this will install its own special mariokart channel ...

Atma, can you elaborate? What's the new channel going to have?

[JCvgluvr]

MK Wii got a 9/10 from Nintendo Power!

They praise all new features, modes, and multiplayer options then there have ever been before. They don't like how it isn't as revolutionary to its respective series like Mario Galaxy was for the Mario series. They also don't like how it doesn't pack in as much sheer content as Brawl did.

[Nekofrog]

Brawl didn't pack in a lot of "content".

It shoehorned in a crapload of unnecessary "challenges" that ranged from monotonous to the absolutely absurd.

Sort of like Rare throwing in massive fetch/collection quests to artificially lengthen what was usually a shallow title.

That aside, looking forward to MKWii.

[JCvgluvr]

Brawl didn't pack in a lot of "content".

It shoehorned in a crapload of unnecessary "challenges" that ranged from monotonous to the absolutely absurd.

Sort of like Rare throwing in massive fetch/collection quests to artificially lengthen what was usually a shallow title.

That aside, looking forward to MKWii.

Brawl doesn't have a lot of content? What do you call the Subspace Emissary mode, complete with beautifully rendered cutscenes? What about Classic mode, all the multi-man brawls, target tests, homerun contest, coin launcher, scores of trophies, extremely extensive collection of remixed, orchestrated and original soundtracks from dozens of different games, and 39 different fighters?! Did you forget about the 41 stages, stage builder, and Wi-Fi mode (or the "with friends option")? Just what kind of content are you looking for?!

While I can agree that a few of Brawl's challenges are quite mundane (beat boss battles with all characters? Please!), I don't think Rare's games were massive fetch quests. I find DKC 2 to be one of the best platformers I've ever experienced. The gameplay was fun, and the collection was effortless and addicting. Traveling to the lost world with my bonus coins was so freaking cool! And the music, simply mesmerizing. Its right up there with Kirby Superstar and Super Mario World. Even Donkey Kong 64 doesn't deserve 2/3rds of the crap it gets.

[Triad Orion]

Ever played Donkey Kong 64 or the two Banjo titles on the N64? Though I maintain Banjo-Kazooie was a great game, those three titles were massive collect-o-thons and fetch quests. The games ended up getting so mired in their own collectibles it borderlined on insanity.

[Chiwalker]

Shell Cup-Peach Beach(Mario Kart:Double Dash), Yoshi Falls(Mario Kart DS), Ghost Valley(Super Mario Kart), Mario Raceway(Mario Kart 64)

Kick ASS!

Ever played Donkey Kong 64 or the two Banjo titles on the N64? Though I maintain Banjo-Kazooie was a great game, those three titles were massive collect-o-thons and fetch quests. The games ended up getting so mired in their own collectibles it borderlined on insanity.

I loved DK64 btw...maybe you just refuse to be satisfied.

[djpretzel]

Pre-order Here & Help Support OC ReMix!

Since Jimmy started his support thread, I though I'd just mention that since many of you, myself included, are planning on buying this game, if you do so using the above link, through Amazon, you help us out in the process!

Thanks,

-djp

[Nekofrog]

Pre-order Here & Help Support OC ReMix!

Since Jimmy started his support thread, I though I'd just mention that since many of you, myself included, are planning on buying this game, if you do so using the above link, through Amazon, you help us out in the process!

Thanks,

-djp

Nice. Thanks.

[Drack]

The game has been LEAKED and is now in modders' hands.

Including mine.

Overall it feels more like double dash than like any other mk game.

Controls

Here are the gamecube controller controls:

"Automatic"

Left Stick: Steer

D-Pad: Nothing or trick/wheelie - untested

C-stick: Nothing

A: Accelerate

B: Nothing

X: Rear View

Y: Nothing

L: Item

R: Nothing

Z: Rear-view.

You can't even drift with this setting. Well, you automatically drift when you turn, but you can't mini turbo. Useful only if your GC controller has broken B and R buttons, or if you have never played a mario kart game before ever. And even then manual would be a better bet.

"Manual"

Left Stick: Steer

D-Pad: Trick/Wheelie

C-stick: Nothing

A: Accelerate

B: Hop and drift

X: Rear View

Y: Nothing

L: Item

R: Hop and drift

Z: Rear-view

There is no reason to use automatic, ever.

Drifting/Boosting/Drafting

Drift mechanics abandon the "left right left right" boost method .. instead you'll get a boost after drifting for a certain amount of time. This time interval is shorter if you're turning hard, so they definitely made this a turning maneuver. Snaking on straightaways is NOT practical. This has some other important repercussions. Items are more effective now that you can't immediately mini-turbo to re-accelerate after getting hit (though you can wheelie).

You can KIND OF snake a little bit with the Wario Bike or other low Drift stat vehicles but not really - Wheelie is more practical if you have a bike.

Boosts at the start of the race are MKDS style - start charging the engine between the 2 and the 1 of the countdown.

Drafting is HUGE, Like a mushroom but spread out over a longer duration.

Tricks and Wheelies

Press the Dpad at the start of the jump and you'll do a trick before you land, and get a boost when you do. Reminds me of Snowboard Kids, but unlike Snowboard Kids, you don't fall flat on your face and lose lots of time if you land mid-trick.

Doing Dpad-up (only with bikes) makes you do a wheelie. You can cancel it by hopping, otherwise it lasts about 2 seconds, and you get increased speed and way decreased turning. If another driver bumps into you, you will lose a ton of momentum. Use with care, this isn't Moto Racer where you can wheelie all the time.

Items

There are some new items, like the giant mushroom from new SMB. It makes you huge and a little faster, and you crush people running over them.

Also POW block which hits the top 6 placed racers (but never yourself) with about a green shell's worth of delay and makes you drop your items. doesn't work if they're in the air but I haven't been able to hop to avoid it.

The Lightning Cloud works like a Gooey Bomb in Brawl. You don't use it, it appears in your item box already active (like a grenade without a pin). Bump into another kart to give it to someone else. Once a period of time has passed, it's a one-person lightning bolt that hits whoever has it.

You are WARNED on the heads up display when a hazard is approaching from behind. This includes red shells, blue shells, bullet bills, giant mushrooms, stars, POW blocks, Lightning Clouds.

You will still be way in first on the home stretch of the final lap only to get POW blocked, blue shelled, Lightning'd, red shelled, green shelled, and crushed by the lightning user and finish 11th. This JUST happened to me, those hazards in that order.

In multiplayer, items can be set to basic, normal, frantic, and off. Basic and Frantic change the frequency of the more powerful items.

Tracks

The enemies on Peach Beach are much more aggressive.

The last track of the mushroom cup is Toad's Factory, with conveyor belts - one section has conveyors pushing you forward in the middle and backwards on the sides, but all the item boxes are on the sides. There are also places with side to side conveyors in an area like the big sliding blocks on the bowser castle MKDS stage.

Vehicles

At the start of the game, each weight class has access to 3 cars and 3 bikes. Once everything's unlocked each weight class gets 6 cars and 6 bikes. One is the standard kart for their weight class, the second being a more specialized one for their weight class ("offroader" for heavy, "Nostalgia One" for medium, etc.), and finally another, differently specialized one for that weight class. Within a weight class, choosing different drivers just colors the cars differently and may have a small impact on the weight stat. By the way, the driver models in the character select are atrocious. They look worse than double dash's, reminds me of the n64 days...

Vehicles have the following stats:

Speed

Weight

Acceleration

Handling

Drift

Off-road

Mini-Turbo

I'll be editing this post with more impressions.