Tuesday, January 25, 2011

What's Hot: Mario Kart

Mario Kart has always been a great game for players who enjoy competition. It is not a hardcore racing game, but it is not considered casual either. Mario Kart Wii comes complete with three Grand Prix speed classes - 50cc, 100cc, and 150cc. This makes for some great multiplayer games with versus or battle...

modes to choose from. For those who remember playing the Mario Kart of old, the new game does not bring anything different in terms of methods to play the game. Which helps make this newest Kart an instant classic.
There are a few additions to this game worth mentioning. Mario Kart for Wii ships the game with a Wii Wheel - a shell that holds the Wii remote and makes the motion-controlled steering more realistic. This helps to bring out the Chuck E. Cheese racer in all of us. Also, Kart has introduced bikes and a midair stunt system into the game.

The bikes are an interesting changeup to the go-karts which we have come to know and love. They are lighter to drive than the karts, and might have better functionality on certain tracks. The midair stunt system is activated by flicking the Wii remote at the moment you leave the ramp. This makes your racer perform a 360-degree spin, or some other impressive trick. When you land the trick, you'll receive a short speed boost. This new style of play injects a great deal of fun and new strategy into the gameplay, as its influence on course design has made certain items even deadlier, as you're that much more likely to be blasted uncontrollably into lava or other hazards due to how much time you spend in the air.

Mario Kart Wii also offers a great online option for users. It offers a solid framerate as well as an easy-to-use interface. Once online you can easily check for friends, or you can simply get with 11 other racers in worldwide or regional play almost instantly. When in-game, a wheel icon displays for all racers, and depending on the color of this icon, determines the rank of the player. There's also a point system that works with racing and battling separately, this basically replaces the regular scoring in single player mode, and acts as a matchmaker for like-leveled players.

Mario Kart Wii is still very much the game that you have come to love over the years. Above the engaging multiplayer, extensive controller schemes, and deep online functionality, the aspect of simple gameplay makes this game great fun for any player, regardless of age...unless your getting hit by one of those blue shells.

For more information on this game, and to see other reviews, visit Video Games And Extra

No comments:

Post a Comment