Written By Egan Click
Racing really doesn't seem as cool as it used to be. Racing boats, cars, toys and legs when I was a child seemed like an adrenaline rush and an award to hang myself over other peoples hopes and dreams. But imagining it as an adult, the idea of sitting in a car for a whole bunch of laps seems boring. Is it the racer that won or the machine that he piloted?
Visiting my old hood
Mario Kart leaves all the fine tuning simulations in the dust and always has. They skip the technical aspects of racing, and capitalize on an all out brawl ideology. The fun of racing games isn't in the simulation of real racing for me (if I wanted to race, I would just race) but in the immediacy of a single race. MK for short gives you randomization in weaponry to use against the other eleven racers.
Banks and Balls
MK has also been out for over 20 years. It's been a staple franchise for Nintendo since the SNES and has been released on every consoles since, except the Virtua Boy. Each one has had huge leaps and bounds over the previous and as a whole. They all have their delicate specialties for the Kart purist. Double Dashes co-op, Wii's motion control or WiiU's gravity?
Most uneventful win in online history
Mario Kart for the Wii U is a superb game. It offers you 32 race tracks from the start. A grand prix mode where you play the computer for fake cups. A Time Trial where you battle online leaderboards of fastest laps and races. A Custom Racing mode where you play locally up to 4 players in longer tournaments. Then the online where you can play with friends, in tournaments, regionally and worldly. The races are shorter in this one (2 minutes) and really makes each race feel unique. Did you hit the short cut in time? Did 3 people get hit by a blue shell or bomb-omb to help you pass and get 1st? Outcomes to a race can be a blowout to a hair even when you are racing with the same people online. You can be great at the game but taking it online is putting yourself in an arena of painful entertainment.
An Inbetweener
A few downsides to the core game haven't been issued in patches so the negatives really show you the mold that Nintendo was going for with this specific title. First is there notorious angle on Online games. The Wii U controller has a mic built right in it but good luck finding a game that uses it. You can talk to friends only online during race intermissions and only in custom matches. So if I'm playing regional with my brother, I can't talk with him. If we are racing, I can't chat with him. I get it, I get that Nintendo doesn't want kids talking to strangers which is fantastic. The world is a vampire. But now I gotta use my cell phone to only talk to ONE of my brothers. It's a shameful bummer. The only other downfall is the battle mode. Only 8 tracks are featured and it's just the race track. It's not built at all like the old battle maps. It's more of a big game of chicken since 6 of the players start by going mirror and the other six don't. It can still be fun but it seems neglected.
Wish, Wash, Reheat
The DLC is reasonably priced. Actually it's a great deal since the maps they give you are top notch. They look really vibrant, they feel fresh, and race amazingly. I think I paid 15 for the bundle of both packs but it might of even been cheaper. It's that good that I don't even remember and don't care to check (it's 12 dollars -ed). It comes out as maybe 1 dollar per track but you get way more then that. In the newest pack, animal crossing is featured. Last one they feature the Legend of Zelda series. You get 3 new characters in this one as well (villager, animal crossing character and dry bowser.) A new kart and bike, new wheel, new parasol and you also get that in mirror too.
I got a finger trigger and a plan
The new tracks really help end this game on a high note. Baby Park (a remake from the gamecube) changes the formula from all the other tracks because it's 7 laps and it's just a small, tight circle. Can be trouble because you start passing the pack and items can come back and haunt you (I remember you banana peel!) The Animal Crossing track is a great tribute to one of Nintendo's staple franchises. The track has four environments for each passing season. Resetti makes an appearance and it's just a nice smooth track around your village to the beach to the mayors office. Really hoping for a Wii U game :) . Ribbon Road is fantastic remake of a GBA track that I don't remember playing. Hardly any boundaries and the level is bending and waving in all directions. It's a close court the whole race through as you are tapping people and getting that gravity boost. Big Blue is my favorite because it's another no lap race. It's just one giant race and you are constantly going down and spiraling and water is a barrier that you drive through and from.
Drop the bananas, spin me around, while I go on the offense
As a surprise, Nintendo also released a free update to everyone for 200 cc. 200 cc is AMAZING. It feels like F-Zero X but with items and still no boost. Each drift feels like you could pass everyone in the tightest cornering of anyone's life or a miscalculation into the abyss of Lakitu. It also provides you with new grand prix's too.
Score
9.9
+Everlasting Fun
+Solid Matchmaking
+Wholeheartedly Round (SP, LP, MP)
+Great DLC
-Battle has been KIA
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