Mario Kart Wii

When I started playing it, Mario Kart Wii was really hard for me to get into. I wasn't sure why at first; was it the lack of battle mode options? Was it the weird new animation for hitting a banana peel? Was it the staggering number of "Baby X" characters in the roster? I toyed with it a couple times, and mostly just watched my housemates play, until today when I broke out a Classic controller. That was when I figured it out - it was the Wii Wheel all along.

As Mario Kart iterations soldier on, the franchise has been increasingly accused of a sort of socialist gameplay welfare. Blue shells, bullet bills, the increasing quality of items as a player falls farther behind - they all conspire to bring first-placers back and last-placers forward. And with the increased powers of these items in Mario Kart Wii, this is more true than ever before. But the real effect of this becomes clearer in Mario Kart Wii's races, with twelve racers as opposed to eight: the game is just more fun when the pack is actually a pack.

It's not just for the sake of being able to catch up when you fall way behind, although that's definitely a factor. One of the biggest problems in a straight-up racing game is that everyone is miles apart. The only competitive element is at the starting line, and then keeping your steering up throughout the race. A Mario Kart race - and this is something that the Wii version emphasizes even more - is competitive from the moment it starts until the final player crosses the finish line.

Take the distance-shortening items, the twelve-person track, and the increased effects of course environments, and you've got constant action. It's pure fun, albeit sometimes frustrating due to the power of random chance. And then add the bevy of new ways to get "mini-boosts" from drifting or stunts, and a 150cc race with karts and bikes through shopping malls and volcanoes is a real hectic rush.

Something that surprised me was the amount of unlockable content. There are a ton of unlockable racers and karts, and while the racers technically come down to a matter of cosmetic preference (the unlockable Mii option is awesome too), the karts/bikes can actually have an effect on how you play the game through their performance stats.

As for the Wii Wheel - I believe that it can be useful, and in fact I've been told that all of the fastest times during the game's testing phase were done using the Wheel. It's a little like all the different control methods for Brawl, in that everyone has their preferences, but I really can't get used to the Wheel. Maybe it's because there's no weight behind it like an actual steering wheel. Maybe I have poor greater motor control in my arms. But if you can't play the game, it's miserable, so I'd say you're better off finding a control scheme you like than trying to force one upon yourself.

Progress: Still learning