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Mario Kart is one of those franchises that instills great memories whether you first played on the SNES like a lot of us old school gamers did, or the N64, or even on the hand helds. It is a franchise that demands more than cookie-cutter remakes that many game developers have been putting out as of late. It is easy to create a lot of hype over a game and then have that hype kill the game when it doesn’t meet the insane expectations.

That said, Mario Kart Wii with Wii Wheel meets all expectations and even goes a little beyond.

One of the first things I was looking forward to was the unique interface that the Wii puts on just about everything. The steering wheel was what I was looking forward to the most since I thought I would get complete control of the character. I must admit, the wheel is VERY responsive… almost too responsive. It is very easy to any beginner or even a veteran to overcompensate and steer into a wall, especially if they’re not used to a free-floating steering wheel.

However, we did find that the wheels were critical if one wanted to use the Wii Remote accurately. It is a real pain to steer without a wheel attachment. We literally had to go out and purchase three more wheels because the remotes felt so awkward without one. We later just threw down the remotes and ended up using the gamecube controllers (which you can use) since we’re not only used to it but it seems to have much better control.

The next thing I was looking forward to were the new menus, characters, vehicles etc. I was really pleased with the motor bikes included in the game and their exclusive features. I personally found the Flame Cycle with Waluigi to be my personal favorite. It was great they brought back all the old characters and, more importantly, they took out all the unfair advantages some had over others. Now, everyone is not scrounging to play as King Boo or the Plant thingy. I thought it was awesome that I was able to unlock my own Mii to play.

One of the things that really impressed me was the reinvention of retro courses from classic systems including the gamecube, the SNES, Gameboy Advance etc. It was nice to see old courses that I was familiar with. I kinda wish they would’ve brought back Baby Park from the Gamecube since that was one of our favorite places to do battle.

The items were kinda iffy. We were really annoyed at the Bloopers, that shower your screen with dark ink so you can’t see temporarily. It was cute at first but then it got really annoying. The “hot potato” lighting cloud is probably the most annoying; it would tag you and after a certain time, detonate. You could pass it off to another opponent by bumping them but if you’re in first, alone or otherwise far behind you are screwed. This item, they could’ve done without.

The menus were the next iffy part. It took me a while to figure out how to switch the 1st player mode from the Wii Remote to the Gamecube controller. You are also seemingly limited to how you team up with friends. Granted the team battle and team races are one of the best changes Nintendo made, but I wish they would allow two-players to partake in the Grand Prix. The menus just don’t seem all that user-friendly.

The internet feature is interesting. I’m not accustomed to playing any Mario Kart online (save for the DS) but it was a very nice setup. No more are we limited to annihilating our friends in the privacy of our own home; now we can do that but annihilate world-wide opponents in the privacy of our own home. Not a real fan of online play but loved it anyway, way more than Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Lastly is the graphics; the Wii doesn’t go beyond 480 resolution so one shouldn’t really expect anything grand. The Wii is made for innovative gameplay, not graphics. If you want graphics, get an Xbox 360 or a PS3.

Overall, despite some small issues, the game is superb all around. A 96% to be certain. Buy it if you find one!

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