Oh the joys of driving… something you probably have not been enjoying as much as you should since the gas prices went through the roof of late. Well don’t you fret… OK, actually fret a lot but for the sake of this review don’t fret… because you can enjoy the joys of driving without spending the money for the gas on both the DS & and Wii (the Wii more because you actually get a steering wheel device to go with your Kart game).

There isn’t much driving games on the Wii… just like the DS it seems. Anyway now that you finally got yourself Mario Kart for the Wii you’re living large (so enjoy)! Yes, this is even better than -- than -- whatever was the last big driving game on the Wii, but whatever. Easy to play (more or less), easy to absorb (so so) and work, easy to get addicted to (depending on your particular flavor of gaming), there just isn’t anything flawed about this new Mario Kart on the Wii… but it could have been better all the same!

Let’s see, first off what is it I don’t like about this game.
First off for the most part level wise the game is mostly a lift of Mario Kart DS (and some other levels from previous Mario Karts though mostly a Mario Kart DS lift). Considering that

the game came out in 2005, and this game just came out you’d think that 3 or so years was enough time for them to make a fresh batch of levels for the Wii launch of Mario Kart (and yet it seemingly wasn’t). Was the DS version just so great that the Wii had to emulate it for it’s version? Maybe, but they really should have strived to make a new version for the game all the same.

Then there’s the fact that the Wii Wheel that you get with this game seems to be a gimmicky device. Now it controls well enough, and for the most part it responds like a regular wheel (you shouldn’t have to make too dramatic turns except for sharp turns) but at times you do have to give strong turns to make a turn. Also certain groups (like X-Play) seem to like using the Wii nunchuk and Wiimote instead of the Wii Wheel, which is great if you only have the one wheel and more than one player (especially if you are looking for a good alternative to investing in multiple Wii Wheels at the store).

Just like the DS version it features a stack of eight main Kart racing levels, 4 races per level (32 in total) along with challenge modes (collect the most coins or pop other people’s balloons on their

carts) but no special mission mode (apparently you get shortchanged on the Wii version with less content than the DS version). This version got some fresh tracks, but for the most part it’s a straight game lift of the DS. Too bad it’s not only a straight lift but missing a part of the DS version, damn.

Of course it does have an original slant with the whole being able to use your Mii racing (but it’s not done until after you completely beat the 100cc middle level tracks, which means your over halfway done with the game by the time you unlock Miis for useage). But seeing how limited your Miis usage age (which seems to be a hallmark of Mario games) I do hope your not buying this for the Miis… it’s just not worth it.

So what are you left with? The racing, it’s all about the racing.
You got the racing, and that’s fun (even if at times the Wii Wheel isn’t as great as advertised). Then you got online multiplayer… if you have a PC with Windows XP on it since the only Wii connector that exist for the PC works only with Windows XP (because apparently Microsoft, Nintendo’s rival, will never accomidate the Wii with a Windows Vista version of the device for hooking the Wii up to your PC’s high speed internet)).

Oh, and

did I forget to mention that ever since they started it with the DS that Nintendo has gotten Friend Code paranoid? Apparently, like other games on the growing list, you can only race with people on your Friend Code list with this game… odd since you can’t exactly make friends without first playing with the online… isn’t that how it works out?

Otherwise when it comes right down to it it’s still Mario Kart, it’s still fun, and it’s still one of the best games you can play right now on the Wii. Not perfect, but it’s good. Still prefer the DS version but it’s still good. And hopefully the Wii Wheel is used again in future games (since it would be a waste if it’s a unitasker when it’s all said and done), but still it’s a great game as long as they improve the game, make a sequel, and make new games that use the Wii Wheel in the near future.

So once I unlock my favorite Princess Daisy (which it seems is easier with the DS version, which is yet another reason I love that game more than the Wii version) I’m off to race to my heart’s content (and wonder why I’m still struggling to unlock Princess Daisy).
So with all that said Mario Kart Wii gets 4 Needs for Daisy out of 5. Enjoy!