I've always had a soft spot for Mario Kart. While the series lacks much of the depth, sound quality, and sheer amount of content found in Nintendo's other major multiplayer series Super Smash Bros. (of which this blog, to a certain extent, derives its name), it features a wider appeal and far simpler controls, as well as extremely fast-paced multiplayer gameplay that is, if possible, even more crazy, hectic, and crowd-pleasing than that of its fighting game counterpart.
Nonetheless, when I approached the release of the latest game in the series, Mario Kart Wii, it was with nowhere near the level of anticipation and excitement with
which I greeted the launch of Super Smash Bros. Brawl three months ago. I suppose it makes sense, considering the discrepancies between the two series- each new SSB games is always a massive improvement over its predecessor in terms of gameplay and content, while Mario Kart makes its way forward much more modestly, tweaking elements and adding a few new standards each time. Even so, I held out from purchasing its most recent iteration for quite a long time considering my affection for the series, and it was actually my sister's excitement for it (in turn brought about by some friends who already had the game) that eventually drove me to make the purchase, and then only in a fifty-fifty cost split with said sister. In the week or so we've had it with us, however, it has swiftly and thoroughly captured my attention and reminded me why I fell in love with Mario Kart games all those years ago in the first place.
When it comes to the evolution of the series, Mario Kart Wii is actually quite lax when compared to its predecessors, and actually draws most of its own strength from them. Mario Kart 64 brought the series into the third dimension with excellent stage design, Mario Kart: Double Dash!! smoothed out the controls and gameplay and provided an additional layer of strategy with a selection of statistically different vehicles within the game's traditional weight classes, and Mario Kart DS allowed for strategic team battles while providing a selection of remastered courses from previous games in addition to its own tracks. Mario Kart Wii's biggest selling point, meanwhile, is the ability to play the game with a small, round piece of white plastic- more on which later.
So why do I love the game so much? Because it serves up almost every Mario Kart convention to date, and improves on them. The game's tracks are far more clever and creative than those of MK64, its gameplay more solid than MK:DD's, and its classic stage selection just as wide as MKDS's, not to mention a bit more polished. Add in online play (which I've yet to sample, but heard nothing but good thing of) and a few, more minor but noteworthy updates (such as the neat trick system), and you have, if not a truly revolutionary title, at least a brilliant evolutionary one.
The aforementioned piece of white plastic is the Wii Wheel, a shell for the motion-sensing Wii Remote shaped like a steering wheel that can be used in MKWii to- get this- steer your driver around the track. This works perfectly well, but you really have to be willing to sacrifice a bit of control and responsiveness when using it- it lacks the thumb-twitch speed of the Gamecube controller. This is no issue for some brave souls (such as my younger sister), and those who have no experience with the game's classic configuration will likely consider it to be the superior method, but for me, nothing beats the Gamecube pad's excellent analogue stick.
Even my preferred control scheme, however, can't save me from the game's excruciatingly difficult later cups, or the shrill taunts of the infant characters who routinely rout me at it. My several early attempts at winning the game's last cup on the 150cc setting with Koopa Troopa (a retiring and agreeable little turtle fellow) were constantly rebuffed by the squeakily jubilant Baby Mario and Baby Peach. After a while, I finally lost patience and played as Baby Mario instead so that he couldn't taunt me anymore- and I won. That bothers me, somehow.
I would be remiss- not to mention a contemptible lout and a world-class cad- if I were to neglect to share to some degree my feelings about the joy, art, and madness that is Katamari Damacy. Well, to be fair, the game I was playing was actually the sequel, We Love Katamari, but the two are, from what I can see, virtually identical in their brilliantly simple design. The idea of rolling a ball around to pick up as much stuff as possible, growing larger and picking up progressively bigger junk as you go around massive 3-D levels, would seem to be pure madness, but then, Katamari embraces madness to a degree that few games can claim- and sprinkles over it a fantastic original Japanese soundtrack. Japanese game developers constantly impress me with their ingenuity and sense of style, but if I were to pick one series to represent those qualities above all others, Katamari would be an easy choice.
I mean, you can roll up the frickin' Taj Mahal!
Until next time,
-Smashing Brother
I refuse to bend to the will of the spell-checker, and insist that "multiplayer" be a real word. Who's with me?!
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