Mario Kart wii guff (ie random stuff about it)

[DBloke]

Yes another copy pasta news thing

The more we see of this, the less it seems like it should be limited to the Kart name. Perhaps a better title would be 'Mario Racers' or something like that, as the many vehicles available for each character will also include motorbikes.

Flat-out speed seems to be the big advantage to using a bike, with a turbo boost function that hoists the front wheel off the floor and cuts through traffic at a blindingly fast rate. Bikes can still use the normal weapon set available to the cars, karts and home-made soapbox vehicles in the game, so the trade-off would have to be in terms of stability around corners.

Speed thrills
Mario Kart Wii definitely looks quicker than the GameCube and N64 versions all round, no matter which two- or four-wheeled vehicle you're controlling. Blasting around chicanes and hopping across corners, it seems to be the ideal response to everyone who ever complained that the pace of the games can be a little sedate. Now it's as nippy as can be.

With a selection of courses taken from previous versions, as well as a set of brand new efforts that will take full advantage of the new steering technique on Wii, there's something for everyone. We're particularly looking forward to the downhill luge track, which combines slippy-slidey ice with a steep incline and wide half-pipe corners.


Mario extreme
The half-pipes are for getting SSX-style air and popping a few stunts while soaring up to the item boxes that float a few metres above the rim. Once you're airborne, you can do freestyle tricks by flipping and twisting the vehicle. It seems a strange thing to have in Mario Kart, but it looks like a purely optional piece of bonus fun - there doesn't appear to be any speed boost or freebie item awarded for doing a flashy stunt.

Perhaps it's a way to evade homing shells, in which case it's most welcome - we could use some means of escaping those unavoidable blue devils. Whether the drivers wipe out if they don't land correctly remains to be seen.

Unlike the earlier games, which had a maximum of eight drivers, Mario Kart Wii has a 12-car field - and that goes for the online mode as well. It's going to be the best kind of chaos. The online lobby will be set up to ensure the competitors are as evenly matched as possible, and promises to offer fast connections - and it'll have to, since it's coping with 12 players.
Links to the past
As in Mario Super Circuit on GBA, a selection of classic tracks will be making a comeback. Courses from every previous game, including the 2D-ish GBA and SNES ones, have been brought out of semi-retirement and retooled to fit Nintendo's policy of retro love, best exemplified by Super Paper Mario. The jagged hills and colourful block barriers from the very first Mario Kart look striking alongside the shiny 3D characters.

As well as taking courses from other Mario Karts, the best weapons from the series will be making a return. Aside from the obvious selection of shells, bananas, stars and turbo mushrooms, it looks like there's going to be some means of shrinking individual characters (one screen shows a small Yoshi among what appear to be multiple full-size racers). Could this be a localised thunderbolt effect or the revival of the poison mushroom from the original?

Bundled with a free steering wheel, the game probably won't arrive in the UK until around Easter. If it wasn't for the present lure of Mario Galaxy and the promise of Smash Bros, we'd quite like to go into hibernation to escape the pain of having to wait so long. Sweet torture!

And now pics

Peach dosnt look like a biker chick (im not saying id like to ride her like one ok maybe I do)

 

[zurukea]

can someone put that long article in short form, i'm way to lazy to read so just mark out some key points

 

[JCpackers05]

i seriously. cant wait for this game. it sucks though that this and SSBB are both being released after christmas...so im gonna have to buy them myself! damn.

 

[l7cx1Cl]

can someone put that long article in short form, i'm way to lazy to read so just mark out some key points

THIS
GAME
IS
QWXN

there u go ^^

 

[JAKE196]

Sounds good, I just hope it's not to wacky.

 

[CantGetAWii]

Never played the one on the cube.
Hopefully this one is as good or better than the one for the n64.
It sure looks like it will be.

 

[Frogger]

This game keeps me living.

 

[Brawny]

This is actually in my Top 3 looking forward to in 2008.

I'm not THAT offended by the introduction of bikes, although the "half-pipe" thing does raise some eyebrows...

(Would suck to be you, Emma, with release in Easter and no break)

 

[punisher93]

i think this will be in the top 10 games for the year its looks mad

 

[dark samus]

why are the pics such bad quality? (fuzzy)i'm just worried if thats what the graphics really look like in game

 

[Frogger]

Click it for a larger version, Sherlock. We should never expect fantastic graphics anyway... Unless it's Galaxy, which just simply rocks.

I'm a tad bothered by tricks in this game, I didn't think they could ruin Mario Kart but they're making a good job of it, now all we need is Sonic racing beside them. Tricks, nh, they probably won't be that good either if they're not a fundamental part of the game.

What's the bet that the release date will be slap bang at the end of my half term? Pff, I'll be lucky if the release date is anywhere near my birthday.

 

[DBloke]

Never played the one on the cube.
Hopefully this one is as good or better than the one for the n64.
It sure looks like it will be.

The one on the Cube was the worst version

why are the pics such bad quality? (fuzzy)i'm just worried if thats what the graphics really look like in game

Thats because they have been shrunk to fit the screen
Click on them to make them (slighly) bigger

BUt the grapics are a bit jaggy but who cares you wont notice when your playing

 

[Budo]

Too... much... Mario...

 

[Walugi]

quarter pipe*

 

[manufan15]

I can't wait for this. 12 racers online and off will be awesome, and I'm a little hesitant about the tricks and such, but it's good that it's bonus material and not a really big part of the game.