The phenomenon started way back in the days of the Super Nintendo and has grown steadily ever since. Mario Kart has taken the kart racing genre by storm and defined the genre in many ways. The latest iteration makes a few changes to the series but largely remains the same game.

Mario Kart is pretty impressive graphically, at least for the Wii. The characters, rides, and environments look good in 480p widescreen. That being said, it is the Wii and you’ll notice some jaggies here and there around characters and course elements. The game runs at a blazing 60 frames per second which makes any graphical imperfections fade from your mind as you barrel through each of the game’s 16 tracks. The framerate drops when you have three or four players on the same console, but it’s not enough of a drop to cause any issues. The sound design of the game is decent, but nothing to write home about. Background music is forgettable and sound effects are minimal.

The gameplay of Mario Kart hasn’t changed much since the series’ infancy. On the Gamecube, Nintendo introduced multiple riders on the karts with Double Dash. That feature has been dropped on the Wii and replaced with new motion controls. Packed in with the game is the new Wii Wheel that lets you feel like you’re really driving… in theory. In practice, the new wheel isn’t the control scheme you’ll ultimately settle on using. The steering, while better than what we saw with Excite Truck, isn’t very precise and will frustrate you for the few races before you switch to using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. This control scheme is by far the best to use, as it allows for precision turning with the analog stick and also the best way to use the new in-air trick system with the Wii Remote. While in a jump, you can flick the Wii Remote in different directions to pull off tricks which, when properly executed, give a small speed boost when landing. This addition adds a small bit of strategy to the otherwise straight forward racing title, as you need to balance your jumps and tricks without falling off the map. The other addition to the game is the use of motorcyles and bikes, which are somewhat fun but not very well balanced.

For the first time in the series, online play is available where you can race with up to twelve people anywhere in the world. I do like that Nintendo allows the use of your Mii as your avatar in the lobbies and during the race, but don’t expect to talk any kind of trash or even give praise. Voice and text chat are completely absent from Mario Kart Wii. You can’t even choose from pre-rendered text statements like those available in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. There is very little lag with the game online, which is a plus. Nintendo will also be conducting World Tournaments where you can show your worth as a Mario Kart racer.

While online play is a great addition, much of the gameplay has remained the same. If you’re a diehard Mario Kart fan, you’ve probably already ran out and bought this game. But if you’re satisfied with the DS and Gamecube versions, there’s really no need to go spend another $50 on this. It’s fun, but there’s not a whole lot that has been added. You’ll still need to go through the 50cc, 100cc, and 150cc races to unlock all of the characters and karts, something that will seem monotonous to a lot of players. If you’re a fan, pick this one up. If you’re on the fence, just rent it.

Overall: 7.5 of 10

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