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Mario Kart Wii

This is the first time I've said this, but I wish I could return my copy of Mario Kart.

No FFA in Battlemode sucks. When I'm playing balloon battle with friends, it feels really lame playing 2v2 with unlimited lives. No satisfaction from knocking people out, and what the hell do you do when 3 people are playing? I bought this game for battlemode, and I can't believe they changed it so much.
 
It seems kind of noobish at first, but I've still been beating the pants off of people using the slides chained with the motorcycle wheelies.
The group that really gained something with this one are the people who could nail the slide turbo, but hadn't really mastered snaking or nailing 2-3 with each turn. My wife's a good racer and has all of the fundamentals, but she was never much for snaking. In this one, she's been doing pretty well thus far as a result. Still, out of our matches I still win about 75% of them. Ditto for online. I dunno what it is, but I'm still apparently doing something that's working better than what the other players are. I think the new slide and knowing how to maximize the slides/tricks plays a bigger part than you might think.
In some ways, with MK:DS we saw driving skill go out the window in favor of snaking. I've played people who couldn't drive for shit, but they could rip off slide after slide in a row and it made up for their bad angles. This one brings driving back a bit.
The "last place power-up" prior to the finish is HORRIBLE in this one, though. It's not really in effect for multi-layer online, but against the CPU it's horrendous. Whenever I'm on the last 1/4 of the race I can pretty much just start a countdown for me getting nailed by some BS.

I agree that the computer item BS on the 150cc/Mirrored Cups are super annoying. I can easily get in first place on any mode but on the higher cc modes I've been blue shelled, then red shelled twice bringing me from first to last on the last lap... I really think the blue shell was a mistake in this one. They really should of got rid of the blue shell, since red shells are annoying but at least their blockable.
 
Well, I've managed to beat every course with gold. I honestly think the trick to this game is a little like previous ones. You have to go after the "designated winner" that the CPU chooses and even if you lose a race or two, ensure that the CPU is winning races or doing well with multiple characters. There were cups that I won and got 2 stars on, but only actually won 1-2 races out of 4 this way.
Pretty much every race I'd get hit with a blue shell, POW, and lightning...but I'd try to hover in 2nd or 3rd when possible. They're still cruel, but the guy in first really gets hit hard with that blue shell in this one. Where's that old ghost item to keep that from happening?
Still, once I get star rankings in the other 3-4 courses I lack I doubt I'll ever play 150cc or mirror again. Online and even local MP is handled on 100cc, plus the BS factor is much lower. Hell, it's also the last speed where the half-pipe ramps are really good. In 150, you're often going so fast that it's better to skip them.
 
This is the first time I've said this, but I wish I could return my copy of Mario Kart.

No FFA in Battlemode sucks. When I'm playing balloon battle with friends, it feels really lame playing 2v2 with unlimited lives. No satisfaction from knocking people out, and what the hell do you do when 3 people are playing? I bought this game for battlemode, and I can't believe they changed it so much.


I dont mind not perminantly killing someone, just means more chances to remove their balloons and rack up more points. Different but not a huge deal for me, especially on the maps where you might not be having the best time driving around and remove your own baloons.

And 3 players is fun if your the one, more targets, I did that the other day and it was hilarious since the other two tried to team up and hit me harder, but I either got a star or the gian shroom and mushed them booth....good times.
 
So, I got the game, and I gotta say, "punish the winner, reward the loser" gets pretty damn old really fast. I think Nintendo swung way too far when it comes to that. The wheel also kinda sucks (albeit it's a dollar of plastic). The saving grace to it, really, is that it is genuinely fun in multiplayer, and bikes are neat.

I understand that the big N is trying to go family-friendly, and that means keeping a tight game where anyone can win (eg, high degree of randomness and loser/winner bias), but it only ends up making the game shallow in the long run. You saw it in SSBB, and now we're seeing it again in MKW.
 
So, I got the game, and I gotta say, "punish the winner, reward the loser" gets pretty damn old really fast. I think Nintendo swung way too far when it comes to that. The wheel also kinda sucks (albeit it's a dollar of plastic). The saving grace to it, really, is that it is genuinely fun in multiplayer, and bikes are neat.

I understand that the big N is trying to go family-friendly, and that means keeping a tight game where anyone can win (eg, high degree of randomness and loser/winner bias), but it only ends up making the game shallow in the long run. You saw it in SSBB, and now we're seeing it again in MKW.

I agree that the Grand Prix does get old for that reason, however you can do custom races with strategic items or even no items. I find that the game plays much, much better with items set to strategic since it eliminates most of the BS without eliminating items completely. I just wish it was an option in GP races.

Also if you want a huge challenge, race against the staff ghost. The normal ghost is usually pretty easy but the fast ghost are a real challenge.
 
Is there any reason to chose one character over another?
 
After playing around a little more, I'm starting to think that using "automatic" with the fastest bike is a little too powerful. With manual, their slide is too sharp to do anything, but on automatic, they're faster and they corner as well as the default kart. They can also still do wheelies. I was having trouble with some of the better staff ghosts, but once I tried this - I'm smoking all of them. It's too bad because it's not fun AT ALL. You're just steering in a general direction and doing a lot of wheelies. Granted you have to unlock the best bikes for this, but it's still really lame. Of note, automatic for Karts is still worthless.
 
After playing around a little more, I'm starting to think that using "automatic" with the fastest bike is a little too powerful. With manual, their slide is too sharp to do anything, but on automatic, they're faster and they corner as well as the default kart. They can also still do wheelies. I was having trouble with some of the better staff ghosts, but once I tried this - I'm smoking all of them. It's too bad because it's not fun AT ALL. You're just steering in a general direction and doing a lot of wheelies. Granted you have to unlock the best bikes for this, but it's still really lame. Of note, automatic for Karts is still worthless.

Hmmm, I really haven't tried Automatic with any bikes yet... maby I should since I just finished unlocking all the characters and bikes. I really haven't tried to beat any fast staff ghost yet though
 
Playing on automatic IS NOT FUN. In fact, online I'd almost like to see it banned for bikes. It's just too effortless. Those bikes that are super fast but can't corner mysteriously handle amazingly now. With wheelies still in effect, it's even better than sliding. I just choose Wario and "the spear" bike. I've beaten every ghost time (including a few of the fast ones, but I haven't played 'em all) and I have a star on every single cup but one.
Even the CPU is confused. I've been nearly lapping them now. Even on 150 CC and mirror, they aren't using as many blue shells. If it ever comes down to you and them on a straightaway - you'll outrun anything.
I literally only lack 1 more mirror cup before having a star on every course and every character/vehicle unlocked.
 
Is there any reason to chose one character over another?

The lightweight characters are faster to start with but get pushed around easily. The heavy characters are a little slower to start with but you get to push the little ones around and (from my visual evidence, so until you see it dont pay attention :p) seem less effected by the POW and such.
 
Anyone else noticed that you can trick out of a POW? Just hit up rapidly right as a POW block goes off. You'll still lose your item and appear to spin out, but you can actually maintain your speed and don't slow at all. One fun tidbit I found on accident, just hoping that the wheelie would help me recover faster.
The similar sized characters are all the same, they're just divided into 3 groups. Each group has a set of vehicles with stats that are pretty close to one another, too. Like Ripskin mentions, it just varies on whether you want quick acceleration or the ability to bully. With this game having 12 characters, I prefer the large or medium characters. Once you get hit, 7-8 people tend to fly by and more often than not, they'll run right into you. Still, the small people can also handle a little cleaner and they recover a little quicker.
 
Is there any reason to chose one character over another?

Not anymore. Only choices you have to make is if you want a light, medium, or heavy character. I'm also pissed they took out player specialty items as well. I thought that was a pretty cool feature in Double Dash where each player has there own specialty item.

I did play online this weekend and that is pretty fun as there is no CPU to rape you in the very end. It does get kinda annoying though because usually everyone is neck to neck and items are flying everywhere.
 
Not anymore. Only choices you have to make is if you want a light, medium, or heavy character. I'm also pissed they took out player specialty items as well. I thought that was a pretty cool feature in Double Dash where each player has there own specialty item.

I did play online this weekend and that is pretty fun as there is no CPU to rape you in the very end. It does get kinda annoying though because usually everyone is neck to neck and items are flying everywhere.

Yup. Nothing as satisfying as seeing a gigantic shell squash your competition - courtesy of Team Bowser of course haha.
 
Yeah, the Bowser Shell was a great addition that I miss. Keeping Blooper from the DS version was dumb, although it's GREAT for the CPU. When the CPU does it I get happy, because it automatically slows them all down, but it doesn't affect me at all.
The item this one is missing the most is the ghost. Probably 1/2 of the BS could be prevented with the ghost. It was available to anyone in 2nd place (or further back) and if you could get the lead, it might finally help the blue shell BS.
Actually, I'd even just be happy turning the odds of getting a blue shell down. In old MK games, the CPU couldn't use shells, so unless your friends were really sucking, you were pretty safe. Now there are 12 CPU characters, so there's about a 15% chance every time you pass power ups that someone's going to get one.
 
Yeah, the Bowser Shell was a great addition that I miss. Keeping Blooper from the DS version was dumb, although it's GREAT for the CPU. When the CPU does it I get happy, because it automatically slows them all down, but it doesn't affect me at all.
The item this one is missing the most is the ghost. Probably 1/2 of the BS could be prevented with the ghost. It was available to anyone in 2nd place (or further back) and if you could get the lead, it might finally help the blue shell BS.
Actually, I'd even just be happy turning the odds of getting a blue shell down. In old MK games, the CPU couldn't use shells, so unless your friends were really sucking, you were pretty safe. Now there are 12 CPU characters, so there's about a 15% chance every time you pass power ups that someone's going to get one.

The ghost was awesome, made anything pass through you and stole someone else's item. Win Win all around with that item. Maybe Nintendo will release an update over the internet to tone down the CPU a little bit and with a lot of hoping maybe specialty items will make there return. If that happens I will be happy and the game will go from good to excellent.
 
Im loving the multiplayer but i thought the single player was so fucking boring especially if your good, in 50 and 100cc i found myself sat at the front not seeing any other karts and just dropping either green shells or bananas. I wnted to get gold on every cup on every cc and its painfull! Aso probably 1/3 of the available tracks are complete shite! if it wasnt for the multiplayer this game would have been taken back after a couple of days.
 
I've got gold on everything, but what's even worse is getting a star on every one of them. Granted, now that I've discovered the lame-o automatic mode it's easier, but some of them just seem to curse me. I've only got one left (Mirror/Star Cup) and they somehow find a way to annihilate me with BS power-ups on DK's Jungle Parkway every time. I'll take one shot from a blue shell and while I'm still down I'll get hit by someone's star or even just knocked into the water by a shell.
I think I've gotten 3 "A's" in a row for that level just because of that one course.

In terms of the courses, some of the tracks are good, and some are just terrible. I would've like to have seen more taken from the DS and MK64 rather than the GBA or the original. Also, of all of the GC courses, why'd they choose the ones that are over-reliant on power ups? If anything, the one with the short 7-lap ring would've been more fun.
 
So what's the verdict? Seems from this thread most would recommend against buying it? The worst aspect of Mario Kart has always been the ridiculous AI. Sounds like instead of improving it, they actually found a way to make it worse. Correct?
 
So what's the verdict? Seems from this thread most would recommend against buying it? The worst aspect of Mario Kart has always been the ridiculous AI. Sounds like instead of improving it, they actually found a way to make it worse. Correct?
It's not really the AI that's annoying. It's the fact that there's a very heavy bias in the items you receive based on how far behind or ahead you are, and they've really amped that up. If the winning player always finds themselves getting screwed for winning, that can be frustrating.
 
i'll just chime in to say that yes the AI is annoying and i've only played for maybe 2 hours so far (far less than most people here i would imagine) but I think this game is really fun and can't wait until my brother gets his copy so we can play online. Online play is well integrated too. Honestly i've never really gotten into mario kart since the SNES days but this is just fun to play. Maybe because i haven't already gotten burned out on this style from gamecube/N64 versions.
 
So what's the verdict? Seems from this thread most would recommend against buying it? The worst aspect of Mario Kart has always been the ridiculous AI. Sounds like instead of improving it, they actually found a way to make it worse. Correct?

I'd say is probably on par with previous entries with the computer rape, perhaps a little worse. It is still a blast to play with some friends though, and the online is great. As with most other karts, you wont have as much fun unless you have some friends to play it with, thats the real deciding factor in my mind
 
Overall I think this one's definitely better than Double Dash. Yes, that doesn't always mean much...but that's pretty much true.
I think the issue is that the DS one really went back to the roots of the N64 one and it did a better job overall. The courses were better, the AI was good, but not so reliant on blue shells, and the levels no longer felt so enclosed.
With this one the main problems are balance.

The Bikes are faster than the Karts just because they can get the equivalent of a mini-turbo almost at will, plus they can do a normal slide turbo. The orange boost for the Karts just can't top that, especially because you can only get it by holding the slide longer. Mini-turbo + wheelie = better than orange mini-turbo.
Even worse the automatic driving option makes the hyper-fast vehicles control too well, making them as fast or faster than a good player who is doing everything manually.

AI = scary. They no longer really cheat by going extra fast, but now the CPU will hit you with blue shells literally at the LAST second and then 2-3 racers will fly past you at the finish line. There are 12 AI racers and now they can all get every power-up. This often means you'll take 2-3 hits in a row as more people pass you when you get hit.

While this one is honestly still a lot of fun, the flaws really take the fun away. In previous ones the flaws actually added to some of the fun. In this one, races tend to be either one sided with the 1st place guy running away from everyone, or a chaotic item fest where all skill goes out the window.

Buy it if you want to play online or have friends that play. If you don't know anyone who has it or don't play online - I'd skip it. The CPU is just simply no fun to play against.
 
150cc sure is tough, had to struggle through all the cups gettin 2nd's and 3rd's to unlock more track goodness.. But it was worth it :D

The cheap AI really makes you work your ass off but its all the more fun when you take 1st
 
I have to say that the unbalanced level at which the AI gets the game-changing/racewinning powerups (blue shells, etc.) ruins the single player for me. There is too much chance in the single player to make it an enjoyable experience.
 
Anyone play in the first "tournament" for the game? It's essentially a slightly revamped mirror Mario Circuit with chain chomps going down the middle of the road.
You're playing against the CPU and just competing for the best time possible.
I can't tell exactly how many people have played it, but they show a bunch of Mii faces and I've beaten literally all but one of them just using the lame-o Wario on the Spear using automatic driving. There's still luck involved, but I've run a "perfect" course 2-3 times and managed to get mushrooms (enabling a short-cut) at the beginning.
After looking at it, I actually think I can potentially beat the top guy if I can get 3 mushrooms and use them right with the shortcut.
Anyway - everyone should give it a try. It's actually pretty fun and the CPU isn't too dirty.
 
Anyone play in the first "tournament" for the game? It's essentially a slightly revamped mirror Mario Circuit with chain chomps going down the middle of the road.
You're playing against the CPU and just competing for the best time possible.
I can't tell exactly how many people have played it, but they show a bunch of Mii faces and I've beaten literally all but one of them just using the lame-o Wario on the Spear using automatic driving. There's still luck involved, but I've run a "perfect" course 2-3 times and managed to get mushrooms (enabling a short-cut) at the beginning.
After looking at it, I actually think I can potentially beat the top guy if I can get 3 mushrooms and use them right with the shortcut.
Anyway - everyone should give it a try. It's actually pretty fun and the CPU isn't too dirty.

The Spear bike on Automatic is so unbelievably overpowered. I tried a few ghost matches and I beat my prior records that I got with very good driving and manual drifting.

I haven't tried the tournament but I might.
 
Give the tourney a shot. It only takes like 2 minutes, you can re-try it as many times as you want, and you'd be shocked how bad most people are. I beat 60% of the times on my first try using a manual kart and getting hit twice along the way.
If you use the Spear/Auto and don't take any shots, you'll beat 90% of the times right there.
That kart should just be banned.
The more I think about it, I'd actually at least like to see wheelies removed from automatic driving. That kart corners at top speed well enough to actually be BETTER than a slide boost :p There's no downside to using automatic at all.
 
Give the tourney a shot. It only takes like 2 minutes, you can re-try it as many times as you want, and you'd be shocked how bad most people are. I beat 60% of the times on my first try using a manual kart and getting hit twice along the way.
If you use the Spear/Auto and don't take any shots, you'll beat 90% of the times right there.
That kart should just be banned.
The more I think about it, I'd actually at least like to see wheelies removed from automatic driving. That kart corners at top speed well enough to actually be BETTER than a slide boost :p There's no downside to using automatic at all.

Eh, there is still some benifit to manual with the spear bike but only on a select few levels. In particular Ghost Valley I still haven't been able to beat the Expert Staff ghost.

I've got everything unlocked but I still have like 3 cups on Mirror mode that I have yet to get stars on. Might try the Spear on Automatic and give it a go.
 
The leaf cup took me forever to get the star for Mirror. I eventually got it with the auto/spear but mainly just because the CPU is less vindidctive when you're playing that bike. In terms of the best vehicle, the Karts are actually pretty good for the Ghost Valley courses.
The spear isn't always the best for each course, but it's pretty easily the best overall option. With VS. mode making the courses random, it's definitely the one I'd stick to. If you have "house rules" against automatic driving, I think the Wario Bike's as good as any.
 
Anyone noticed slow-down in 4-player anything? E.g. battle or race, I could sometimes actually feel input lag - and this is coming from a wired GC controller. We were playing on a CRT TV, so that can go out the window. When we switched to 2 players online, that lag was gone -_-
 
Last night my friends and I started playing online with 12 players. Pretty much you just have one friend do a regional match and then have everyone else "join friend" and you'll be able to hop into his/her regional match.
The 3 of us were pretty much jacking everyone except one guy who figured out the Spear/Automatic trick. I refuse to play with automatic online, but the 3 of us always voted for courses like the GBA Bowser castle that totally cripple the automatic people.
The game is a LOT more fun when there are 9-12 people playing. 1 on 1 pretty much ends up with my friends and I splitting even 90% of the time. With more players, it adds to the chaos factor, yet the power-ups still aren't too bad. One of us 3 or the guy using the overpowered bike won every single race out of 13-14 matches. The other 2 always got at least 3rd, too.
For anyone who has the game buy hates the CPU - play online. It's a ton more fun, especially if you have other friends that can join.
 
Well, it's been 3 weeks and I've pretty much figured out almost everything there is to figure out in this game.
I've won every course with at least 1 star, I've unlocked everything except the other Mii color, and I've played hundreds of online matches.
Pretty much, I think the game comes down to being flawed, but still fun to play online or with friends.

1. Bikes are too strong. Because you can't control how quickly you get a mini-turbo slide, the wheelie > orange turbo slides.

2. Automatic settings are unbalancing with the fastest bikes. The fastest bikes can flat out leave even the best players in the dust just because their extra speed is better than a slide of any kind. They can also still wheelie at will and they handle TOO well. They should either keep their handling the same, eliminate wheelies on automatic, or cripple them in some way. The "Spear" bike is easily the best vehicle in the game and it's too good to beat someone of equal skill with.

3. The CPU sucks. They no longer cheat with their speed, but they'll blue shell you at the worst possible times to the point that I don't think it's random at all. In previous games, the CPU was dirty but amusing. In this one it's dirty and it's not fun at all. Once I cleared all of the courses, I haven't gone back.

4. At least 3 of the power-ups are worthless. The blooper has no purpose except making the CPU karts randomly slower. Unless a player is blind, it does nothing. The [POW] can be escaped with a trick, making it pointless. You can only get the bomb when you're in 3rd place or further back...in which case you're really only punishing the people behind you and making it more annoying for them. Catching up with a forward thrown bomb is a miracle at best. They really needed more defensive options to prevent the repeated beating you take by falling past 4th place.

5. The Battle Mode courses really aren't that good. The new ones are decent, but the "classic" courses were horrible choices. Not being able to eliminate people was also a strange choice. That's like striking someone out in baseball only to have them hit a grand slam with a 4th strike.

6. Characters should be at least a little unique. Granted we don't want everyone using Dry Bones/Dry Bomber over and over like on the DS...but why not make them a little different? Either slightly different stats or unique power-ups would've been nice. As it stands, everyone's just playing the best vehicle they have unlocked with the same 3-4 characters.

7. What's the deal with the online? There should be at least some custom filter options. Should someone with the wheel on manual using a kart have to deal with the automatic/spear/wavebird player? That's not even fair!
 
I played this game and I didn't have as much fun as the mario kart 64 it just seem a little too complicated. It is still a great game though.
 
Well, it's been 3 weeks and I've pretty much figured out almost everything there is to figure out in this game.
I've won every course with at least 1 star, I've unlocked everything except the other Mii color, and I've played hundreds of online matches.
Pretty much, I think the game comes down to being flawed, but still fun to play online or with friends.

1. Bikes are too strong. Because you can't control how quickly you get a mini-turbo slide, the wheelie > orange turbo slides.

2. Automatic settings are unbalancing with the fastest bikes. The fastest bikes can flat out leave even the best players in the dust just because their extra speed is better than a slide of any kind. They can also still wheelie at will and they handle TOO well. They should either keep their handling the same, eliminate wheelies on automatic, or cripple them in some way. The "Spear" bike is easily the best vehicle in the game and it's too good to beat someone of equal skill with.

3. The CPU sucks. They no longer cheat with their speed, but they'll blue shell you at the worst possible times to the point that I don't think it's random at all. In previous games, the CPU was dirty but amusing. In this one it's dirty and it's not fun at all. Once I cleared all of the courses, I haven't gone back.

4. At least 3 of the power-ups are worthless. The blooper has no purpose except making the CPU karts randomly slower. Unless a player is blind, it does nothing. The [POW] can be escaped with a trick, making it pointless. You can only get the bomb when you're in 3rd place or further back...in which case you're really only punishing the people behind you and making it more annoying for them. Catching up with a forward thrown bomb is a miracle at best. They really needed more defensive options to prevent the repeated beating you take by falling past 4th place.

5. The Battle Mode courses really aren't that good. The new ones are decent, but the "classic" courses were horrible choices. Not being able to eliminate people was also a strange choice. That's like striking someone out in baseball only to have them hit a grand slam with a 4th strike.

6. Characters should be at least a little unique. Granted we don't want everyone using Dry Bones/Dry Bomber over and over like on the DS...but why not make them a little different? Either slightly different stats or unique power-ups would've been nice. As it stands, everyone's just playing the best vehicle they have unlocked with the same 3-4 characters.

7. What's the deal with the online? There should be at least some custom filter options. Should someone with the wheel on manual using a kart have to deal with the automatic/spear/wavebird player? That's not even fair!

I agree with this post pretty much. I think it's still fun with other people but I dislike playing some ways now. I've actually tried playing it with the Wii-Mote only with Carts on manual to give myself more of a challenge. Still it's definitely provided more enjoyment then many other Wii games I own so I consider it a solid purchase.
 
I agree with this post pretty much. I think it's still fun with other people but I dislike playing some ways now. I've actually tried playing it with the Wii-Mote only with Carts on manual to give myself more of a challenge. Still it's definitely provided more enjoyment then many other Wii games I own so I consider it a solid purchase.

I actually VERY much agree. That's the thing, that was just my final (unless they patch the game at least) nitpick for the game. I still play it and have fun with it. You just have to take it for what it is. I refuse to play the spear/automatic online, and I've gotten to the point that I won't even use bikes online. Lately I've just been using Toad and the 4X4.
Last weekend my wife and I must've played for 4-5 hours online. It's a lot more fun playing with several people you know online. It's not really easy to do, but we've played with 5 people in one room. The trick is to have everyone sign into a Halo 3 room so you can chat, and then have one person hop into a regional game alone. From there, one by one just keep trying to "join friend" in the online menu. It's a good way to re-create the chaos of MK64. If anything, lag is almost non-existant. Sometimes things will magically appear...but amazingly smooth considering we're chatting and connected to a Halo server at the same time.

I really think a lot of the issues I have could be fixed with some adjustable settings for the online mode. The ability to filter certain things would fix solve most of my complaints.
 
I gotta say, I really like Double Dash better. DD is the only entry in the whole series that innovated at all.
 
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