ShadowReality

I thought it was about high time we started reviewing some games. I’ve been meaning to do this for some time and although I don’t play a lot of PC first person games that are appreciated on this site; I thought I’d start reviewing some Wii and DS games that I’ve been playing over the last 6 months.

First up then…it’s an easy one Mario Kart on the Wii.

This was an innevitable release the moment the concept of the Wii was born. But there was some considerable concern by Nintendo fans for some time over this title, just as there was over Mario Galaxy, that the company might get this game wrong. Thankfully the fears proved unjustifed and this is probably the strongest game in the franchise since the old classic on the SNES.

The game looks and plays like a dream and despite the steering wheel controller; feels no different to any Mario Kart game you’ve ever played. It’s so user friendly that even your first race is likely to be a successful one. The wheel itself merely houses a horizontally held wii controller but works perfectly and allows for a very forgiving yet responsive control. Plus you get to use a steering wheel - how cool is that? All the problems games like Excite Truck suffered from are no-where to be seen.

The game itself is split into typical Mario Kart modes; singler player races and tournaments; multiplayer matches and tournaments; time trials etc. There are a good selection of characters; vehicles and tracks to choose from initially with numerous hidden characters and vehicles to unlock. There are the DS style 16 new tracks and 16 retro tracks which balance out nicely. Playing those old SNES levels with the original music and carefully remodelled circuits is a real treat. So to is getting to play Mario Kart with your own Mii - an unlockable feature. Having made Mii lookalikes of Steve Merchant and Larry David this was particularly enjoyable.

Another new feature is the use of bikes instead of cars for 100cc races. In 150cc races both bikes or cars can be used. Some thought the bikes might not work but again there was no need to worry - they play just as well as the karts but add some original appeal.

In summary this is probably the perfect Mario Kart title; great looking with strong gameplay; nice little touches and hidden unlockable content; great multiplayer; a control system that gets it spot on; retro appeal; well designed new tracks…this is as good as could have been expected really.

GRAPHICS 8, SOUND 9, GAME PLAY 10, OPTIONS/MULTIPLAYER 9, LIFESPAN 9

OVERALL SCORE 90%