Mario Kart on the Wii: Family Friendly and Fun for All

Mario Kart for the Wii is not GTA or Need for Speed and unlike most driving games out there, little kids could actually play it without your standard video game brainwash! Technology has taken its course with a steering wheel for ideal game play. In the game you start out with a selection of players, Mario, Luigi, Peach, Baby Mario, Baby Peach, Waluigi, Bowser, Yoshi, Toad, Koopa Troopa, Wario, and Donkey Kong. Also included is the choice of different versions of karts or bikes depending on the player you choose. For example, Waluigi has the choice of a chopper style bike.

Courses:

Mushroom Cup:

Luigi Circuit: Great track for novices.

Moo Moo Meadows: Watch out for the cows!

Mushroom Gorge: Famous for its bouncy mushrooms, be careful not to fall off the mushrooms.

Toad's Factory: Drive through Toad's factory and on the conveyer belts.

Flower Cup:

Mario Circuit: Another track for starters.

Coconut Mall: Cars, traveling escalators and fountains.

DK Summit: Not a gnarly blizzard but heart stopping bends and snowboarders make this course interesting.

Wario's Gold Mine: Very unstable yet addictive, this course has its ups and downs.

Shell Cup:

GCN Peach Beach: Crabs and rolling items. What more can be said?

DS Yoshi Falls: Featured on the DS Mario Kart, waterfalls make for a scenic view.

SNES Ghost Valley 2: A bit creepy, ghoulish and tricky. Find out why it's so tricky....

N64 Mario Raceway: Yet another basic track with no surprises.

Banana Cup:

N64 Sherbert Land: Slippery surface, penguins and abrupt cave turns.

GBA Shy Guy Beach: Few patches of land make for an easy race.

DS Delfino Square: Town square, village area and a drawbridge creates a pier illusion.

GCN Waluigi Stadium: Track made especially for tricks. Rock on!

What makes this game even more pleasurable is its sabotage system pushing other players far behind you. Including:

Bullet Bill: Rockets player far ahead knocking over anything in the way.

Fake item box: Disguised as an item box, causes player who picked it up to spin out.

Golden Mushroom: Gives a speed boost.

Green shell/ Triple green shell: Flip over any vehicles impacted upon.

Lightning: Causes opponent to spin out, drop items and shrink.

Lightning cloud: Contains lightning effect however a choice is given to bump into an opponent and transfer the effect to them.

Mega Mushroom: Enlarges player and causes opponents in their way to be flattened.

Mushroom/ Triple Mushroom: Gives speed boost.

Pow Blocks: Rivals will spin out and drop items held.

Red shell/ Triple Red Shells: Pursues closest vehicle and flips it.

Spiny shell: Causes first place vehicle to spin out or flip.

Star: Increases speed and makes player invincible.

Banana/ Triple Banana: Causes vehicle to spin out.

Blooper: Sprays ink on vehicles and screens to diminish visibility.

Bob- Omb: Creates explosions.

Mario Kart also includes 10 battlegrounds in which you can play Coin Runner or Balloon Battle. For single player, there are about 4 modes: Grand Prix, (which serves as a championship) Time Trial, Battle, and Vs. Mode (Regular Race Mode). Characters and courses become unlockable as you progress in the game. All in all, Mario Kart is a very addicting family friendly game which can be utilized for parties intended for all ages.

Pros:

GameCube controller, Wiimote and steering wheel can be used

Challenging enough

Courses range from very easy to very difficult

Online Gameplay

Very family friendly and fun for all ages

Multiplayer friendly

Cons:

Fifty dollars for just the game and the wheel

Characters and courses are hard to unlock

No Time Trial and Grand Prix for multiplayer mode

Source
Mario Kart. Retrieved June 19, 2009, from Mario Kart Web site: http://www.mariokart.com/wii/launch/