Mario Kart Wii

Domingo

Domingo

Fully [H]
Joined
Jul 30, 2004
Messages
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Any other fans in the west pick this up last night/this morning?
Thus far I'm enjoying it. It feels a little weird at first (I'm using the Wavebird) but you get used to it pretty quickly.
Snaking is almost gone, but someone who knows how to chain slides can still beat up on someone who doesn't slide well or is on "automatic." Not sure what people were talking about when they said the shoulder doesn't slide. You must be playing on automatic or something. On some levels you actually can still stay in a slide for 75% of the race. The key to it is to still perform a normal power-slide, but just hold it a little longer until it goes gold. The faster you start it and the sharper the turn - the faster the gold flames arrive.
Tricks are the new thing to help good players do well. A lot of the old levels have tons of small bumps, all of which you can get a trick off of. Even the tiny little hills will let you pull a trick if you're at top speed. It's a little bit of a pain to hit the d-pad while holding a slide and sometimes even holding an item...but with some practice you can chain slides and tricks to make some impressive runs. A trick = a gold boost after all.
The one major downside is custom weapons. I have no clue why they got rid of them. Now there's minimal difference between the characters. The only real differentiation is their vehicle.
Still, it's better than the Gamecube one. I dunno if it'll have the skill factor of the DS one and the sheer fun of the N64, but it's definitely better than the GC version.
 
I got it and have been playing it a little tried playing it with both the wii remote and the gamecube controller. The cube controller is a bit easier although I had no idea you needed to get air to get tricks to work, that explains why I wasn't getting any boost, heh. I also went straight to 150cc and I was driving all over the place... I pretty bad at this game so far but I'm sure I'll improve with practice.

Only other Mario karts I played where for the SNES and N64, N64 Mario Kart was my favorite and I'm still not sure if this one beats it yet but I'll definitely play it more later.
 
Custom weapons? When was that part of the Mario Kart series? I never played double dash, but MK on the DS I don't recall having custom wepaons.
 
The computer cheats, like it hasnt since the N64 days. So annoying. Not only does it go much faster when you're in the lead, it gets all the good weapons. You can get hit by lightning 6 times in one race... I mean, c'mon, thats sad.
 
^ Good move. If I could make a trade I'd give up GT5p for Mario Kart anyday (yes I have GT5p on my PS3).
 
Double Dash was the one with weapons that were specific to your character. It was one of the few good things about that one. I really made the characters different. The DS one gave you a million Karts, but Dry Bones/Tank pretty much owned everyone :p

The CPU definitely still cheats...BUT - try out the rear-view mirror! You'll no longer have them warping through your shells and banana's when you watch them. I find that the rearview cuts out a lot of their BS. Granted, you'll still have 1st place shells and lightning, but you can watch the CPU get nailed by these things and keep them a little more honest.

For the tricks- pretty much any time I ever go anywhere near a bump I start wailing on the d-pad. Youd be shocked what you can get air from. Some of the smaller characters can "bounce" off of 2 large characters and then do a trick to fly by them. Combine that with a draft and you can do some fun stuff to come back that doesn't revolve around good power-ups. Cruise up behind a big character, draft to boost by them, but instead of driving around - try to jump into them. It can sometimes be enough to get a little air and do a trick!
 
fallguy said:
The computer cheats, like it hasnt since the N64 days. So annoying. Not only does it go much faster when you're in the lead, it gets all the good weapons. You can get hit by lightning 6 times in one race... I mean, c'mon, thats sad.
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Ugh....I'm still picking this up today, but the computer 'help' mode is the reason why the SNES version will always be the best. If you were good you could start lapping karts--but ever since the N64 version that's been nearly impossilbe (unless you count snaking on the DS version). The SNES version is the only version where the actually speed rating of the kart mattered. If you were good with DK or Bowser no one could catch you.

If this version didn't have such a nice online component I probably wouldn't be buying it. I understand the people in the back will get better weapons--but if they suck at driving they aren't going to catch a good player. Going against the computer and having them barrage you with blue shells, lightning bolts, and red shells gets old pretty quick.
 
picked my copy up this morning..loving it so far but have to agree,,cpu is a dirty whore..:p..weird getting use to the racing wheel but its not so bad after a few races.

Battle mode is pretty cool seeing as now u can have 5v5 battles(or 6v6 cant remember)
 
I picked it up at a Midnight Launch and have been playing the heck out of it. I am loving the online play, it is so easy and fast to set up a race. This is the online play that SSB:Brawl needed to have.

I agree with everyone else, in 150cc the CPU is a pain. I am also not loving the blue shell, I wish there was a way to turn off some weapons in the game so that I could ditch that one.

The Wii Wheel is a nice addition and I am liking it a lot. It felt a little gimmicky at first but once I started playing with it I began to enjoy playing with it. My daughter gets to play with the Wavebird, I'll let her have the little edge that it brings. :)
 
Domingo said:
Still, it's better than the Gamecube one. I dunno if it'll have the skill factor of the DS one and the sheer fun of the N64, but it's definitely better than the GC version.
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Thats not really saying much.

fallguy said:
The computer cheats, like it hasnt since the N64 days. So annoying. Not only does it go much faster when you're in the lead, it gets all the good weapons. You can get hit by lightning 6 times in one race... I mean, c'mon, thats sad.
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The catch up and cheat features in the games drive me nuts. I haven't opened my copy of the new one yet but am not looking forward to the cheating.

Yea I was hit in double dash by 5 or 6 blue shells in one race. I'm sure it will happen to me in the new one as well.
 
Mario Kart's always been pretty socialist with the better weapons. Stay in first place the whole race and the only thing you get is banana peels and the occasional green shell.

Actually, one of my favorite tactics when playing with friends is to purposely not get a boost at the start, wait at the line for a little while, and then start driving normally. It's thoroughly amusing to get a blue shell or lightning bolt at the first item box you hit. It's also amusing to purposely hang in second place for the race, get triple red shells and steal the victory away from first place right at the very end. :p Gotten called lots of bad names doing that sort of thing, but it's oh-so-amusing.
 
finalgt said:
Mario Kart's always been pretty socialist with the better weapons. Stay in first place the whole race and the only thing you get is banana peels and the occasional green shell.

Actually, one of my favorite tactics when playing with friends is to purposely not get a boost at the start, wait at the line for a little while, and then start driving normally. It's thoroughly amusing to get a blue shell or lightning bolt at the first item box you hit. It's also amusing to purposely hang in second place for the race, get triple red shells and steal the victory away from first place right at the very end. :p Gotten called lots of bad names doing that sort of thing, but it's oh-so-amusing.
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Don't forget those stupid muschrooms. Man I hated those things. All the did was slow you down even more.
 
autumnkartwii.jpg


My daughter is loving it!
 
It annoys me how you get better items the further behind you are... sheesh couldn't they make it completely random?

Either way it's still fun but I can't play it for a really long period of time like other deeper racers. Here's to hoping that a F-Zero Wii is on it's way!

Edit: Also I would like it if I could turn certain items off like Bullet Bill, Star, Blue Shell, Red Shell, Lightning bolt and Lightning cloud. The games still fun even with those cheating items on though.
 
sculelos said:
It annoys me how you get better items the further behind you are... sheesh couldn't they make it completely random?
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Have you never played previous mario kart titles? They've always had handicapping on item pickups.

I picked it up this morning at Best Buy. The one lady in front of me at the Mario Kart area bought 2 Mario Karts and 6 extra wheels. Is it me, or is that thing just a gimmick? I'll probably be sticking to my wavebirds. Maybe if my nephews and nieces like the wheel enough, I'll buy a few more. But I don't see myself using it.
 
Tzzird said:
Have you never played previous mario kart titles? They've always had handicapping on item pickups.

I picked it up this morning at Best Buy. The one lady in front of me at the Mario Kart area bought 2 Mario Karts and 6 extra wheels. Is it me, or is that thing just a gimmick? I'll probably be sticking to my wavebirds. Maybe if my nephews and nieces like the wheel enough, I'll buy a few more. But I don't see myself using it.
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The Wii wheel is a gimmick so I didn't buy any. I like the Wiimote+Chuck control scheme the best as I can fluently do tricks without pressing a dpad.

And I know Mario Kart is definitely not competitive and gimps/helps players doing poorly or well but thats what makes it a great party game. Either way I bought it and will play it when I have friends over who don't like Smash Bros. I'll probably at least get all the gold medals in the game and unlock all the cups.

Don't think I'll buy any wheels though, it's a good move for Nintendo to make with all the Wii casuals but I don't really like them.
 
meh... i liked the gamecube version a lot.

i always sucked at the n64... this one is VERY similar to n64's, and mini boosting is basically dead.

i give gamecube a 10/10, this one a 6/10 and mario kart 64 a 5/10.
 
Tzzird said:
Have you never played previous mario kart titles? They've always had handicapping on item pickups.

I picked it up this morning at Best Buy. The one lady in front of me at the Mario Kart area bought 2 Mario Karts and 6 extra wheels. Is it me, or is that thing just a gimmick? I'll probably be sticking to my wavebirds. Maybe if my nephews and nieces like the wheel enough, I'll buy a few more. But I don't see myself using it.
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Yea it is a gimmick. Some people like it though. I've seen a bunch of people buy the tennis and golf addons that some thrid party made for them. The wheel will prob get thrown away or thrown in a box for me.

Gave all of my GC controllers to my brother when I gave him my GC to play with. Should have held on to my wavebird. Might have to steal it back from him. Right now I'm just using classic controllers for anything that calls for them(ie smash brothers)
 
frankyk said:
meh... i liked the gamecube version a lot.

i always sucked at the n64... this one is VERY similar to n64's, and mini boosting is basically dead.

i give gamecube a 10/10, this one a 6/10 and mario kart 64 a 5/10.
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You're in the minority opinion with that one. Most did not like the gamecube version at all. I enjoyed it, but to date 64's has been my favorite (I've played all but the ds version). I'd pick this on up this week, but... finals and a project to turn in = bummer.
 
Been spending more time playing this one online with friends. Motorcycles = almost too strong. Yes, I know they can't get the golden boost, but the ability to wheelie and leave a car in the dust is annoying. Their blue boosts also seem to be better than those for the karts. I'm thinking once all of the dust has settled, serious people will either be using bikes or the max speed cars only.
The CPU is annoying, but no worse than any previous ones.
Mushrooms rock in this one. They give you a long sustained boost, allow you to do tricks off of small hills, and like 90% of the short-cuts only work with one now. Lots of old short-cuts have been tweaked, but the new trick boost opens some levels up for an insane number of chain boosts. The tree level = one big giant boost.
Being in 2nd is good in this game. Not only can you get that too easy draft, but the hit radius on a shell is greater than before. Not to mention the obviously better power-ups.
I'm glad to see the shields weakened. The 3-hit combos don't always work, and the heat seeking shells are easier to lose than ever.
Controls still remind me of the GC version. The slides still go too wide, and I miss the ability to lose traction and spin out that was in the N64 one.
Fake items really should stop shells. They love giving the guy in first fake boxes instead of bananas or shells. Oh yeah...Rainbow Road SUCKS.
 
Mini-boosts are still there. In fact you can even snake a little on several courses. The main difference is the game just does it for you. Going back and forth with the stick doesn't do it - you just have to slide at a certain angle and hold it.
One way or another, they're no match for motorcycles that can mini-boost and wheelie...or cancel from one to the other rapidly. That's my new thing. Wheelie canceling into a slide turbo, and as soon as that ends, wheelie for a second and then repeat. It requires a little too much thumb finesse for fun, but it's great for serious play when the CPU is playing rough.

I really don't like that they crippled the GC controllers just to keep things fair. There's no mapping for the X button at all and the Y button's just a clone of Z. Why no map the "trick" button or even fire to one of those? They intentionally made the GC controls a little nerfy even though all serious players are going to use 'em. We all know there will likely be separate tournaments for the wheel and pads anyway.
 
I been enjoying this game so far. I really like the new maps and how they brought back alot of the old classic maps from previous Mario Karts. I also thought that the wheel is going to be useless but after playing with it, I actually think its quite fun to play the game with the wheel compared to a gamecube controller or regular willmote with nunchuck. I just cant jusitfy $14.99 for another wheel though.....
 
I like the wheel, too. I actually think you'll probably see a dedicated set of people playing only with the wheel...maybe kinda like PC gamers who use gamepads. I'd a different experience and it's kinda fun. Plus, you can identify players who are using it.
It's a cool addition, but I think it'll take quite a bit of practice to be able to keep up with good pad players.
 
I really like it so far, played the N64 one a ton. And my wife enjoys this so more fun all around :D

However for the life of me I cannot get jump to work to drift, snake or boost off corners at all. Book states tap or hit b (nunchuck set up) and all I do is slow down no matter the way I push tap or press the button. Same on my classic controller :( Anyone else having issues with it or tips to make it work?
 
Domingo said:
I really don't like that they crippled the GC controllers just to keep things fair. There's no mapping for the X button at all and the Y button's just a clone of Z. Why no map the "trick" button or even fire to one of those? They intentionally made the GC controls a little nerfy even though all serious players are going to use 'em. We all know there will likely be separate tournaments for the wheel and pads anyway.
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That's upsetting to read. Good thing I'm not going to get serious with this game. The older I get, the harder I find it to get really serious with games. I'm content just getting a sample of a lot of games.
 
I picked it up Sunday around 5PM at Best Buy today along with a new Logitech Wave keyboard.

I decided to finish off my Netflix (The Office Series Finale and Batman Begins) tonight and play with it Monday night when I wasn't going to be rushed.

I've only play Mario Platformers, and Mario Kart on Nintendo (all I play for games period) - and I've enjoyed all of them - SNES was fun cause it was different, N64 was in 3D, Double Dash I got really good at - and this seems to be another good time waster. I am probably going to use the GameCube controller (I'll look into the mappings though) but I'll probably pick up a WaveBird off eBay or Craigs List. If that don't work I'll get a Classic Controller. Or maybe I can get used to the wheel.
 
I found the classic controller not as comfortable for this game, I prefer the nunchuck personally, havent played with the wheel yet, probably will when I pick up a 4th controller and try it out before I put on the glove.
 
played it for a few hours tonight, awesome. played online with my friend and the online component is excellent.

I'd have to say i love the wii wheel, gimmick or not it's so much fun playing with it.

Game is great, but can you customize the battle mode at all? I'd rather not have computer players sometimes. I gotta read the manual and unlock everything still but this game is really great so far
 
Domingo said:
Oh yeah...Rainbow Road SUCKS.
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No way man! That track rules!! I love it when ppl select that and I cain them :D Agree with the bikes tho, the amount of times I've been pipped to the post when in first place by a bike wheelie'ing over the line and leaving me no chance is really annoying.

On the subject of sliding with a WB, you have to be in manual to do that?
 
I've really enjoyed the new Mario Kart. Too me it's much more similar to the N64 version than that of the GC. I'm also happy that some older tracks made it into the group. Also, I think the entire 'manual' and 'auto' drift will seperate the more serious players from those who aren't. Someone stated that an extra Wii Wheel would cost them $15, but I picked mine up for $9.99 @ Target...it's worth it.
 
This is probably in the manual but I'm at the office wright now but on the grand prix side how do you unlock new tracks? I played the 4 cups and won that are in 50cc and I still have ? marks in the 4 windows to the right.
Am I missing something?
And it does have autosave wright?
 
Tigerblade said:
No way man! That track rules!! I love it when ppl select that and I cain them :D Agree with the bikes tho, the amount of times I've been pipped to the post when in first place by a bike wheelie'ing over the line and leaving me no chance is really annoying.

On the subject of sliding with a WB, you have to be in manual to do that?
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Yup, I've pretty much only been using manual. To slide you just use the right shoulder like in previous games. Instead of going back and forth with the stick, you pretty much just hold the slide and try to make it as sharp and clean as you can. It'll turn blue at first and it'll go gold if you can hold it a little longer or sharper. After 10-15 minutes, you'll get the timing for releasing a slide the instant it goes gold and then starting another.
My issue with Rainbow Road is that shells and things like the "POW" block pretty much ensure you're falling off. I'm not too fond of a trainwreck race and it seems like I always end up in one. When my wife plays it's like the CPU takes a breather. She made it through the whole race only dealing with a singe blue shell and she just so happened to be going through the warp tunnel when it tried to hit her. Stupid karma :)

The bikes are too much from what I've been seeing. None of my friends can keep up with them just because of the wheelie offering a free boost whenever. You can cancel the wheelie any time you want with a slide, so you can pretty much just permanently stay in one and just slide when a corner shows up. The only character/car I've seen that can keep up is Toad in his hot rod. I think that once I get better that maybe the larger characters and hidden karts might do better, but with all of the unlocks I've gotten from clearing all of 50cc and 100cc with gold and stars = overmatched.
I've had a lot of luck using Rosalina and the dirt bike, although I think the Mii characters seem to have the same properties she does.
 
Creepingdeath1977 said:
This is probably in the manual but I'm at the office wright now but on the grand prix side how do you unlock new tracks? I played the 4 cups and won that are in 50cc and I still have ? marks in the 4 windows to the right.
Am I missing something?
And it does have autosave wright?
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Did you get gold in those races? Were they in single player mode? Usually when you complete the 3 group of races, the 4th opens automatically.
 
DaRat said:
played it for a few hours tonight, awesome. played online with my friend and the online component is excellent.

I'd have to say i love the wii wheel, gimmick or not it's so much fun playing with it.

Game is great, but can you customize the battle mode at all? I'd rather not have computer players sometimes. I gotta read the manual and unlock everything still but this game is really great so far
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Yeah you can, look in the rules option at the top right of the screen when your selecting your controller options.

I still wish GP was customizable though, after I get all the cups won I probably won't play normal GP mode though anymore.
 
One thing I'm not sure if you can do but I'd like to do is play online 1 on 1...but with the CPU involved. They actually cut down on a lot of BS (like shell shield = automatic win) and add for some fun chaos.
Anyone know if that's an option?
 
I really don't understand all the hate for Double Dash. I'm a long time Mario Kart fan. I've played every one in the series, and for the past few years Double Dash has been my favorite.

I'm not sure yet if Mario Kart Wii is better than DD. I miss the strategy of having two items at once and and the unique items that each character got. You could swap your characters back and forth during the race, so you'd want to choose two characters that had special items that compliment each other.

Either way, Mario Kart Wii is freakin awesome because of the online mode :D

Now if only Smash Bros Brawl had an online mode this good :eek:
 
I unlocked the 5th cup after beating the first two cups in Grand Prix mode. My rank for those to was two stars and one star, that also unlocked Rosalina for me as well. After beating the other two starter cups I got another cup unlocked and rank was two stars each. I think you have to get a good rank and a good place in the cups to unlock them, been so long I cant remember exactly how to do it in the N64 one but I am pretty sure you needed all golds to pull it off.
 
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