Mario Kart Games - Mario Kart Wii With Wii Wheel is Cool
As many know about me by now, I LOVE to drive, so when my children started pestering me for a new video game of course I had to get Nintendo Wii Mario Kart. It is a game that I don’t have to worry about my children playing (no bad language, no road rage, no blood or guts), but still cool if you are an adult, there is a bit of strategy involved too which keeps it interesting for everyone. If you have somehow not heard of Mario Kart, it is a video game where you can race up to 12 people using your wireless remote as your steering wheel.
There have been 6 versions of the Mario Karts games since its conception and 2 arcade versions (Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Mario Kart: Double Dash, Mario Kart Arcade GP, Mario Kart DS, Mario Kart Arcade GP 2, and Mario Kart Wii). Nintendo has always done a phenomenal job of staying on the cutting edge of technology and incorporating it’s seemingly “average” parts and controllers into new and various additional platforms that continue to intrigue kids and even old guys like me. They have done this since the Mario 64 days and this series is no different! This particular game includes a steering wheel that your controller goes into.
Now while I am not too savvy when it comes to video games I can say that I am 100% impressed by the ability to “steer” using no more than a turn of my wrist. It is almost like a bubble level is in the remote allowing it to adjust to the tilt of the control. The tires or rims on the car will turn blue or orange during a skid to let you know that you have an extra boost, and the noises the game makes as the characters run into each other/crash/fall off cliffs/or any of the multitude of things that can happen on the track will keep the kids attention as well.
A quick review: The game starts by allowing you to pick your character from the favorites of the Mario series (Princess Peach, Bowser, Luigi, Yoshi, Wario, Toad, Donkey Kong, Koopa Troopa, Baby Mario, Baby Peach, WaLuigi, and others open as you beat different levels), pick your cart, and circuit that you want to run. There are 4 races in each circuit and each takes you to a fantasy world that only the designers at Nintendo can design, you can review maps of the course before the race starts which is helpful to avoid obstacles. You have obstacles (my favorite is getting flattened by the 18 wheelers personally); you collect items by running over cubes on the screen and can use them to attack or to propel yourself through the course, this also leads to a very complex game of cat and mouse to ensure that you are not on the receiving end of a turtle shell or squid’s ink just in time to knock you out of a first place finish. The total points gathered by your placement in the race determine where you place at the end of the circuit. (Of course I let the children place ahead of me, but I will whomp my wife tonight just wait!)
The most frustrating part of the game for me was finding the darn thing! I tried GameStop, Target, Wal-Mart, even the Pawnshops but ended up going with EBay. It was the cheapest and fastest way to get it, and I was able to get it new and knew it was in stock. They also had by far the best price simply due to competition. While I do love to drive, I don’t like to go into the parking lots of each store and continuously find what I want isn’t even in stock, which is exactly what happened to me and quite a few or friends, while trying to find Mario Kart with the wheel and the additional wheels for each of us to have one. I have found online shopping is much easier for something that is this high of a demand.
Overall I think it was a great investment, but I am a sucker for anything with a steering wheel! I have found having games that the kids like to play keeps them around a lot more and getting one of these in your living room is a sure fire way to have the kids in the neighborhood become your child’s best friend (and maybe a dad or 2 as well!). Now I am off for a little go karting fun with the kids, you really need to try this so far best of Mario kart games!
PS And by the way for a little useless Wii Trivia, Washington Internship Institute is still ticked about Wii using their initials but I guess there is nothing they can do about it!
