Mario Kart Wii comes with the intuitive Wii Wheel, which makes it easy for novices to compete against veterans, so no one is left in the dust. And with a internet hookup, players can compete with up to 11 other drivers from around the world. The game includes 16 new courses and 16 classic courses from previous Mario Kart games. You have the option of racing either karts or motorbikes. The game features tons of racing and plenty of power-ups for players to use to slow down other drivers. And 10 battle arenas keep players busy between trips around the circuit.

This is an excellent game that everyone should own. It’s a fast and fun racing game that is easy enough for beginners to pick up and enjoy while still a challenge for veteran players to master. Mario Kart Wii has more variety, more to do, and ultimately more to keep you coming back for more.

A world famous racing game, Mario Kart will be released in the US on 27th April. The game had been appeared in Super Nintendo, N64, GameCube, Game Boy Advance and NDS. If you are a Mario fan or Racing Game Lover, you should had played some of them in the past.

After the release of NDS version, as the game supported multiplayer via Wi-Fi or internet, the game become even more famous. For this Wii version, if you have a broadband hookup to Nintendo connection, you can compete with up to 11 other players from all around the world. There is a new channel added to the Wii menu: The Mario Kart Wii Channel. It lets player compete in tournaments, check worldwide rankings, see when their friends are playing and download ghost data.

Mario Kart Wii will include 16 new courses and 16 classic courses from previous Mario Kart games. For the first time ever, players have the option of racing with either karts or motorbikes. Players can also hit the road as their personalized Mii caricatures in addition to the handful of classic Nintendo characters found in the game.

Long have we been waiting for it, finally it's here: the latest installment of Mario Kart has just arrived for the Wii. And to just make it clear in the beginning: those who've liked the previous versions of Nintendo's top fun racer will also like the Wii version.

As it's been the case since the SNES version, characters from all around the Mario universe come together and make out the top driver among them. After creating your driver profile, choose your game mode, your favorite driver and vehicle and finally the race type. Now the fun starts - you'll steer your driver through different courses, collect items such as mushrooms, shells and bananas granting you the ability of quick turbos or to hit your enemies, beat your own track times or fight a big battle royale for balloons or coins alone or with friends.

The first thing you'll probably tackle in one-player mode are the Grand Prix races. One of these consists of four tracks with three laps each. Difficulty increases with increasing motor power, from 50 ccm to 150 ccm. While the 50 ccm cups are rather easily won, the 150 ccm one will also require a lot of luck (or hours of training). By winning the available race cups you'll unlock new ones, just as one would expect. By fulfilling certain requirements - mostly being fast enough and winning cups - you'll not only unlock new courses but also new drivers and vehicles. Overall there are sixteen new tracks and an additional 16 remade older tracks from previous Mario Kart games. Pure nostalgia! Add to this some new and old multiplayer stages, twelve initially available and twelve unlockable characters with three car options each, you get yourself a big heap of options and fun.

The controls and basic gameplay pretty much work like they always did with two buttons for acceleration and braking/going backwards/initiating drifting and the the direction pad for item usage. For the actual steering you can either use an analog stick or the motion sensing of the Wiimote. Nintendo did an excellent job implementing all possible control pad devices, from the classic controller to the Gamecube one and the Wii remote in two configurations. The most fun, of course, is the steering wheel that's sold with the game. You plug in your Wiimote and get started. Even though it did take me a bit of time to get used to (it's been my first experience with that peripheral add-on), this is probably as close as you can get to simulating a fun racer with no claim of real-life physics. If you want to go for the best times, however, either the Gamecube pad or the classic controller offer the slightly better reaction time of the analog stick compared to the motion sensing of the Wiimote.

Now what's new in Mario Kart Wii compared to the previous versions? Drifting is still in the game and an important technique, but it takes longer until you get a small speed boost, so the infamous 'snaking' technique is less easily doable. To make up for that, you can perform stunts (just flick your Wiimote) whenever you leave the ground, e.g. make jumps over track obstacles, which nets you a small boost. The same goes for driving in an opponent's slip stream. And there's a new class of vehicles besides karts: namely bikes. They allow you to perform wheelies to gain a speed boost. But take care, while you drive on your back wheel only, steering is almost impossible and you're more vulnerable to hits from enemies. Unfortunately, in my opinion, jumping was not brought back.

Mario Kart Wii is the latest addition to the Mario Kart franchise. It is released as a combination pack of the game and an additional wheel that your controller fits in to help you drive.

The game has a combination of 32 different courses in the championship mode. The courses are a combination of new courses designed for the Wii and classic courses from other Mario Kart games from Nintendo's past game systems.

The highlights about this game are:

Inclusion of 2 wheel bike type karts.
An in game stunt system! If you fly off a half-pipe or a jump you can do a stunt! When you land you get a speed boost.
The online play is nice. It is good to play against people online.

The bad:
Some of the power-up's are way to powerful and unbalanced. I was in last spot with 1/2 a track to go and picked up the super star. I finished first and beat my wife. :( She was not impressed that I could do that.
Entering "friend" codes to play online is tiresome.

4/5
Latsyrhc
Tamarack Collectibles

The latest entry in the Mario Kart series for the Nintendo Wii. Comes with the Wii wheel.

Graphics: they look good. Not ultra realistic, but it's the Wii, no need to compare it to Crysis for the PC.

Control: The control in this game comes in 2 types:

Wii Wheel Control: This is the new standard fpr Wii racing games. This gives you realistic control as if you were driving a car. It's very cool at first, but it has small amounts of problems. For example, you can get stuck in a wall. This control scheme is appropriate for the game so it's good.

Gamecube control: Although not included with the game, Mario Kart Wii is compatible with the Gamecube controller. If you are used to playing racing games on a controller, then this is for you. Also has problems than the Wii wheel. I like it a bit better but you might not have one.

Gameplay: The racing in this game is very well done, the new tracks are creative, and the old track selection is superb. This is your typical racing game, only with items being thrown around A LOT. The game can be very hard, but it's easy at 50cc. There is abattle mode where you team up with other characters to defeat the other team. Here you dfeat them with items. you can chose from bikes or karts.

The online is very robust. There is a ranking system, there is no lag, battle mode is also online. There are also tournaments .

The game has high replay value with unlockable characters and karts/bikes. This game is very well worth the purchase, wether you are Mario Kart fan or a racing fan.

Mario Kart for Wii is F-U-N for the whole family. Everyone from 4yrs. to 80yrs. will enjoys this game. The graphics are great considering it is the Wii. This is definitely one of the best racing games ever made for any system. No more wires thanks to the Wii remote. Best of all this game comes backage with a Official Nintendo steering wheel that the Wii remote plugs into. Although the wheel is nothing special but works really well. The controls are easy to get use to. Many of your favorite characters to chose from along with many funny vehicles to pick from. The integration of your Mii's is also a welcome edition. The course are mostly rehash of previous versions of Mario Kart but are still enjoyable. Along with the rehash courses are new and fun courses. The online play is also a long over due and welcome edition very easy to use. Now you can play friends o line or play complete strangers online. The only draw back with this is no communication. The only negative I can say about the game is the inability of your character to be able to dodge attacks. Other wise this game is definitely one of the best putout for the Wii. Wellsworth the money.

I have always been a fan of the Mario Kart series ever since the first game on SNES. When we recently got a Wii from grandma I was eager to pick up the Wii edition of the Kart franchise. The added innovation of the Wii Wheel to steer the Karts and newly added bikes makes for a truly interactive and fresh gaming experience. I was thrilled to see that courses from previous iterations in the Kart series were playable as well and further tracks, karts and characters were unlockable through play.

I look forward to playing this game with my friends and to trying the Kart Racing Network and racing online.

I recommend this game to old fans of the series and new players looking for a fun racing game experience.

If you own a Wii but not Mario Kart Wii, you wasted your money. There are currently only a few really good games for the Wii, and Mario Kart is one of them.

In my opinion, this is the best game in the series as it combines a huge amount of tracks with a huge amount of Nintendo characters. In Mario Kart Wii, you can play as several different classic Nintendo characters like Donkey Kong, Mario, Luigi, Diddy Kong, Yoshi, Peach, and many more. There are also many un-lockable characters that Nintendo veterans will appreciate like Funky Kong, and Birdo. Mario Kart Wii introduces several new tracks and also pulls some from previous Mario Kart games including some from the original Super Mario Kart.

In addition to the standard races, you can also play two battle modes which are fun to play with other people. The single player mode is pretty fun especially with all of the secrets you can unlock. As usual the game plays excellently although I don’t like playing with the wheel that comes packaged with the game; I find it too difficult and I use the Gamecube controller instead.

If you are looking for a great game to pick up for your Wii you can’t go wrong with Mario Kart.

Pros:
- Awesome multiplayer modes.
- Great graphics.
- Huge assortment of tracks and characters.

Cons:
- None.

I just purchased this game and it is really good for family fun nights. Since it arrived in the house my family has ben pasted in front of the tv playing it.
The game features many of the Mario characters to play.
There are many cars and carts to choose from before game play.
The carts come in 3 speeds.
You can unlock many new boards to play with your friends or family.
You can play with up to 4 people at once. You get the choice of using the wii remote, nunchuck, classic wii remote and wii remote with driving wheel.
The driving wheel that comes with most of the Mario Kart games makes it a bit more real for players.
You can access the B button on the back of the wi wheel for using your cart items.
They also have a battle mode where you can go against other players and pop balloons or collect the most coins.
From my 7 year old daughter to my husband, this is a really great game.
It's recommended for young children :)

Mario Kart has always been the ultimate "casual" game. Even if your friends (or parents) don't like video games, they liked Mario Kart. Non-gamers of all kinds have tossed a red shell at one point or another. It's only fitting (and inevitable) that the franchise makes its first appearance on the ultimate "casual" console. Mario Kart Wii adds a bit of new aspects to a formula that's tried-and-true, but it largely stays the same as the series we've known and loved for years.
Of course, Mario Kart Wii brings new things to the table as well. First up is the Wii Wheel, which is included with every game. The Wii Remote fits right into the center and allow for easier control of the vehicles for many gamers (more on that later). Also new to the game are motorcycles. You haven't lived until you've seen Bowser on a bike!

Throw in 12-player online, ghost data downloads, tournaments, and more customization options than ever before and you have a recipe for one of the best Mario Kart games ever.
When you first boot up Mario Kart Wii it will prompt you to download the Mario Kart Channel to your Wii dashboard. If you have your Wii online, this is a great tool as it creates an easy way to check and see if your friends are online playing the game, check out the latest tournaments, and check out where you rank versus your friends, region, and worldwide. All of this can be done without needing the game disc in the machine. Adding friends to your game is easy as it uses the same friend codes already on your Wii machine. All you have to do is select from your existing list of friends, a much easier way to manage friend codes and hopefully a standard all future games will abide by.
Speaking of online, you can play standard vs. matches or battle mode with up to 12 players.
All of the battle modes and vs. modes can be played offline as well, with up to 4 players per Wii. There are options galore for the racing modes.
If you want a true marathon match, set the races to 32 and the tracks to "in order" to see who the true master is.

mario kart wii is great game for new or old school gamers. this game features new and the old tracks from previous mario karts that we loved. theres also a online mode that is lots of fun to hook up with your friends. if you dont like useing the wheel you have the option to choice the numchuck classic or game cube controllers. there are a ton of unlockables to keep you coming back to the game and a time trial mode that i found to be pretty fun also, i really cant think of anything bad about this game, great fun for all ages and any kinda of gamer!!

If you thought the aroma wafting from Smash Bros.' warmed-over Wii appearance seemed stale, try a whiff of Mario Kart Wii -- it's so predictable that it's practically vintage. But don't think for a second that this latest iteration isn't still a stellar kart racer -- even after over 15 years of facing contenders to the karting throne, nobody does it better than Nintendo -- but series vets need to prepare for regression. While 2003's Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (GameCube) took daring risks with the formula by adding two-man vehicles, character-specific power-ups, and co-op play, this sequel regrettably jettisons all of those enhancements. Now, it's clear that those radical innovations weren't all popular among the vast legion of Mario Kart players, but they added tremendous depth and facilitated high-level gameplay for those who wanted it.
Mario Kart Wii feels highly reactionary, as if Nintendo willfully sought to dumb down the driving mechanics in order to even the playing field for the masses. Bundling the game with the plastic Wii Wheel contraption reinforces that commitment to democratizing gameplay: Sure, nongamers will get a kick out of careening around the course via tilt controls and gesticulations, but you'll find yourself haphazardly oversteering. The wheel isn't necessarily your enemy, though. It's solidly constructed and comfortable; players who stick with its motion-controlled driving for a few races will eventually acclimate to it. But of the game's four control options, the Wii Remote-and-Nunchuk combo clearly works the best: It's the only way to get both familiar analog stick steering and the freedom to easily put the crucial new trick system to use with the Wii-mote. Plus, this new split control setup feels perfectly suited for the newly added motorcycles, allowing you to make tight turns while launching weapons and landing tricks with ease.

In an age where games are becoming more and more graphic with their realistic violence and mature with their subject-matter, it's great to know that there are some video game standbys that you can fall back on. Although Mario had his humble beginnings battling the wicked Donkey Kong in the early 80s, he really became the face of family-friendly video games when Nintendo started issuing Super Mario Bros. with its 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) back in the mid/late 80s, and the franchise has grown with each Nintendo console release. First, there were the simple platform games, which eventually evolved into 3-D exploration when 3-D gaming hardware took the mainstream. Then, there were the Mario Kart racing games.

Mario Kart Wii is the latest installment in the Mario Kart racing games, and it delivers all the expected joys of racing familiar characters and skewering them with turtle shells and bombs...ooh, nice animated violence! I have to admit that I skipped a generation or 2 of the Mario Kart games simply because I never owned a Game Cube or any of the portable handheld game systems (i.e., Gameboy, DS, etc.). If you are going to play Mario Kart, I strongly suggest that you play this with the Wii Wheel. I recall that back in the N64 days, learning to drive on a Nintendo controller had a bit of a learning curve. The Wii Wheel really smooths and eases that learning curve. You'll still have to deal with the occasional steering sensitivity problem, but I got the hang of driving with a Wii Wheel much faster than driving with a controller (which is still an option, by the way). Although gameplay is fairly straight-forward, there are a few nuances here and there (particularly maneuvering tips) that reading the manual beforehand helps out with. All in all, there's really nothing to complain about here. I absolutely love this game. Mario Kart Wii is a great game that both adults and children will enjoy thoroughly.

Now, let's just hope I don't envision turtle shells as I'm driving to work in my Civic.

Nintendo did a good job adapting Mario Kart to the Wii system because this is a great game.

As someone who grew up playing Mario Kart on both Super Nintendo and N64, the new tracks in the Wii version seemed a little wild at first, with lots of jumps and boosts, but some are actually pretty cool. There are plenty of older tracks brought over from previous versions, too, like SNES Mario Raceway and N64 Sherbert Land. Banana peels, red shells, and mushrooms are all back, along with a few new items like the Bullet Bill.

The controls may seem a little awkward early on, but once you get used to it the wii wheel really enhances the gameplay experience and it's easy to use. I find the online play to be the best part of the game. If you have an internet connection for your Wii, you can meet friends to race amongst yourselves or you can play random racers from all over the world. The only downside is that only 2 people at a time can play online from one Wii, unlike the 4 people that can race together offline on the same Wii.

Overall, this is a great game that I would definitely recommend to anyone that enjoyed the past Mario Kart's or just likes racing games in general.

Mario Kart Wii is one of the best games out for the Wii. Everyone can pick up and play this game. The gameplay is more comparable Mario Kart 64 than it is with the series' last enstallment, Mario Kart: Double Dash; a decision which I believe was in the right direction. They did a good job trying to keep things fresh by the addition of motorcycles, 32 tracks, and some little gameplay tweaks such as the tricks you can perform off ramps. The multiplayer battle modes are less amusing, but I am sure there are those out there that will highly enjoy it.

Some flaws I have found are that the game gets a little old too quick, even with 32 tracks to race on. And while the addition of the Wii wheel was promising at first, it feels more like a gimmick than anything else. The controls are clunky and non-responsive. While you could take the time getting used to the Wii Wheel, I suggest using a more classic control scheme via Game Cube controller, Classic controller, or my personal favorite, the Nunchuk/Wii Remote combo.

In the end I would still highly suggest this game to any Wii owner. It will provide hours fun for players of all ages and of all skill levels.

Mario Kart has never really been full-blown "hardcore," and neither has it been wholly "casual," a truth that Nintendo has fully embraced this time around. Mario Kart Wii comes complete with three Grand Prix speed classes – 50cc, 100cc, and 150cc – with the expected unlockables after that. Each character fits distinctly in a race class, has specific light, medium, or heavy cars to choose from based on that class, and there's of course a healthy dose of local multiplayer via classic versus ad battle modes. If you grew up with Kart, you will not find the Wii iteration full of pioneering new play modes, which might prove disappointing for some. At the same time, though, Nintendo's series was founded on a winning formula and we can therefore sympathize with any reluctance to break from it.

Still, there are some welcomed additions. Not only does Kart for Wii ship with a Wii Wheel -- a shell that encapsulates the Wii remote and makes the process of motion-controlled steering more believable -- but now there are bikes, Mii support both on and off the tracks, 32 total stages (half new, half classic), as well as a few new items thrown into the mix. It all feels and looks like Kart, mind you, but the extra bells and whistles are definitely recognizable But you knew that. The real question here is how exactly the game plays, what works and what doesn't, and whether or not you need to start sending hate mail to Nintendo for screwing up your now-teenage baby.

OK, so I know a lot of people have heard all of the reviews and raves about this game, but think about it...a game so good that you will NOT (I repeat NOT) find it in any stores @ any time. The game flies off the shelves of stores if & when it arrives. Mario Kart Wii takes mario kart racing to a whole new level. Plus, when you purchase it, you receive the most unique accessory known to gaming EVER...a Wii racing wheel. You don't have to use it of course, but you might wanna mess with it if you think it may or may not work for you. There is the option of using the classic controller or using the nunchuck while driving. I have tried the classic controller & the wheel itself, & they both work pretty well. I'm almost afraid to see how the nunchuck would even work in a racing environment, but I definitely give it 5 out of 5 based on the gameplay & replay value. I am glad to know that I finally have a game to replace Wii Sports taking over my life. If you have it, swap licenses. If you don't, go buy it and have fun racing up to four people in your home or you can get two people to race and go online and race against the WORLD (up to 12 racers in one race). Enjoy the game and definitely pick it up if you haven't already.

I purchased a Wii system for my 52 year old wife for Christmas. She is into tech toys and with the Wii Fitness system getting excellent ratings, I went ahead and bought it. Of course, I also play the game though not into the fitness side of it. I say, read about, and purchased the Mario Kart game from a seller on Ebay. This purchase came with a brand new game and 2 steering wheels. (I must make a note at this point, the wheels are not required to play the game. Just hold the hand controller in a horizontal position with the keys side facing your and move it like a steering wheel. Don't let the lack of a steering wheel keep you from buying the game.) The menus were easy to navigate. Selecting a Mii was simple except I have not figured out how to get my own Mii to show up yet. Game play is excellent. There is a fair amount of different courses to run to keep your interest. The availability of different race cars/cycles is good with each having unique actions and driving abilities. I thought the game was too sensitive to movements of the wheel until I played against my son. He was able to cruise around the courses without any problem which means I have some practicing to do. This is an excellent game for all ages including us over-the-hill gamers. I do have one negative thing to say. You must press the "2" key to accelerate you racer. Believe it or not, after holding this key for long time periods, my finger gets cramped. Looks like I need to do some exercising. Have fun with this one, it is a fun game.

If you are a Wii fan, then you must own this game for sure. We have played Wii since early 2007 and been kind of bored and upset for some games already. Now, Mario Kart Wii for the Nintendo Wii, brings in all that fast-paced excitement racers have wanted and even more. Both my 5-year old boy and wife really love it and rate it as one of the best Wii games.

Graphics: A+

Sound: A-

Control: B+ for the Wii Wheel, but A+ for my boy

Fun & Enjoyment: A for solo gamers; A+ for multiplayer action

Especially, Mario and his friends are back and ready to race once again in Mario Kart Wii! Experience new tracks, enhanced Wii graphics, extraordinary gameplay and the addition of motorcycles surprisingly working well. Also, place first in Grand Prix circuits or clear skill-based missions to open up increasingly difficult and thrilling circuits. Besides, the game as a whole is easy to get into, the online play is well done, the items are imaginative, and of course, the multiplayer is spectacular fun. Now you can feel like your Mario and steering to avoid obstacles and doing incredible stunts - in the safety of your home of course.

All in all, Mario Kart Wii is a must buy for the Wii collection.

After renting it on Gamefly, I went on eBay to buy it. I got the one with the wheel with the game all new in box for a fair price, so I'm pleased. After playing and beating Mario Kart on DS and playing this new Wii version, it's the best racer concerning Mario Bros so far. It takes some time getting used to the wheel, but once you got the hang of it, it becomes easy and natural (something like learning how to drive stick shift with real cars).

If you have a Mario Galaxy save on your Wii's memory, you can get a special character Rosalina (otherwise you'll need to hack/cheat to get her and it's the fastest, easiest way to get all the licenses in one go, but then makes the game fairly pointless as working to get all the licenses on your own are the rewards while playing the game). If you must cheat/hack do so offline only, never online as it's unfair to others who are playing without cheats. It's not recommended to hack your Wii since it could ruin it (and make it an unusable brick). I think Nintendo will repair your Wii if this happens, not sure though.

I'm not much of supreme hardcore gamer so I found this game a bit on the challenging side, but to the hardcore gamer, this probably is an easy game. Depends on the gamer really on this.

It's a worthwhile game and lots of fun! :D

I haven't played video games since the Nintendo 64 (2 video game console generations ago), so I am somewhat of a new person to the video game world. Mario Kart Wii is no doubt one of my best games on the Wii. Just like the other versions in the past, its fun and very addicting. To make things better, you can use numerous controller schemes that fit your liking. You can use the wheel (the most fun), a gamecube/classic controller (the best way to win races) and the wii remote/nunchcuk combo. Mario Kart Wii is not just for kids either! I am a 22 year old college student and I am very entertained by it. The best part about this Mario Kart version is that you can play with other people around the world. As long as you have a Wifi connection, you can enjoy throwing shells at people from Europe and Asia! I highly recommend this game!

Mario Kart has been around for a good while, from it's 16-bit days to it's day's on the gamecube and ds Mario Kart has always captured people who like racing games and those who can't even stand it. Also staying true to Nintendo's family oriented audience there are locations brought to life from the Mario game series, cartoonish violence (turtle shells, banana peels, etc.), and simple yet embracive.
The character cast hasn't changed to much from the days of SNES and N64 (not counting the cube version, too many variations there) but almost everyone got their own vechiles thus making them more unique gaming experience (square-enix did this very well too it's go version of Mario Kart, Chocobo Racing). There are unlockable characters as well thanks the expansion of recordable space (taking about you Cube) and the feel playing this game simulates actually driving.
But instead of listening, or in this case reading, get out there and race with your friends, your family, and even those around the world... so what are you waiting for? See you at the finish line.

If you love Mario Kart, you won't be disappointed with Mario Kart Wii. It's a great racing game for everybody, even those who don't usually like racing games. Single player mode is tons of fun, but things get a lot more exciting when you race with your friends.

Mario Kart Wii builds upon Mario Kart Double Dash and Mario Kart DS, with a few new tricks. There are now karts and bikes to choose from, mid-air "tricks", and half-pipe boosts. There are also plenty of new and classic maps to choose from.

The powerslide boosting has changed with this version of Mario Kart. To prevent people from drift-boosting along straight track, drift boosts are no longer controlled by smacking the controls left and right. Instead, the boost charges up the longer you powerslide.

Mario Kart Wii can be controlled with any of the Wii controllers available, from the old GameCube controllers to the new Wiil (one Wiil is included with the game). I prefer the classic feel of the GameCube controller, while my girlfriend loves to use the Wiil. You can also use the Wiimote sideways as a Wiil, or with the Nunchuck or Classic Controller for a control style similar to the GameCube controller.

This game is a perfect fit for the Wii platform. The thing I, and my family, love about the Wii is that most games can be picked up and enjoyed right from the start. There is not the long learning curve with many other games / systems.
This game fits perfectly. My 4 year old has some difficulty staying on the road (so do I at times) but even she enjoys playing the game and especially using the steering wheel. For those fans of the original N64 mario kart, your favorite tracks are still there. I never played the N64 one, so my wife killed me on those tracks (she was familiar with them).
My family also likes that the game integrates Mii's that you have created into the background of the game.
Although the game is easy to pick up and learn, you can also play with increased difficulty, making the game enjoyable for the older kids / teens / adults.
Another hit from an incredibly fun game system.