Also Available On: N/A
Publisher: Nintendo
Age Rating: 3+

This game has been causing many to foam at the mouth for a long time, with its classic Nintendo gameplay and the bundled Wii Wheel peripheral. Could anyone really resist?

Mario Kart Wii is the game that almost every Wii owner has been waiting for, with its compelling but simplistic races and its engrossing, old-school gameplay, it has all the ingredients of a true masterpiece.

Eight championships and a total of 32 tracks are included, with 16 of them new and 16 from older Mario Kart games. The racing lineup has now been increased from eight to 12 and, for the first time in the series, this title offers players the chance to race in either karts or on motorbikes.

The bikes, however, are a little on the tricky side when it comes to control. They are certainly more manoeuvrable when making your way past track debris and other competitors, but with movements that are much sharper than the karts it’s easier to collide with anything in your path.

Powerslides on the bikes are also much more exaggerated, with even the heavier bikes taking more extreme turns than the karts. But, with practice, the bikes become fun to ride and the result makes for a more exciting game.

Mario Kart Wii is filled with Nintendo idiosyncrasies, such as bopping tunes, quirky animations and tracks teeming with obstacles such as banana skins to avoid and collectibles to pick up.

The tracks are superbly designed, with hazards, well-placed chicanes, shortcuts and fiendish environments to test even the greatest racer. Donkey Kong’s Snowboard Cross, for example, sees you make your way through a slippery, icy world that makes for a very entertaining and challenging experience.

Playing Mario Kart Wii is a thrilling ride, with much of the play involving finding the next speed boost to get ahead of the pack. Some tracks have a strip that, when touched, sends the kart into a Tony Hawk-style jump before landing while travelling at great speed.

A range of stunts that can be pulled off, from a well timed jump to a wheelie on a motorbike, all resulting in one thing: when you land you gain a speed boost.

There's also a host of speed boost pick-ups, from mushrooms to bullet bills and other environmental effects that makes you go faster, such as water rapids and conveyor belts.

The control system in the game works fantastically well, using either the Wii Wheel or the Wii Remote. You can steer using the ends of the Wii Remote or you can control using the wheel. Both are effective, though the Wheel certainly adds a fun novelty factor to the whole experience.

The Wii Wheel is great to hold, thanks to its ergonomic design. It also features a large B button that, when pressed, sends you into a powerslide. And due to the wheel’s excellent responsiveness, controlling the perfect powerslide is a far more attainable prospect than with other control methods.

Multiplay is what Mart Kart is really about and that’s certainly the case here. There’s two to four-player split-screen, online racing with up to two players per machine, battle modes and team racing.

The game also encompasses the brilliant new Mario Kart Channel, allowing you to keep track of your friends, online rankings, ghost data and special competitions.

Mario Kart Wii offers one of the best gaming experiences on the Wii so far. It’s terrific fun when playing with friends as well as solo, while the bundled Wii Wheel, the new tracks, the enriched gameplay and the new Channel all add to what is an addictive, compelling and hugely fun game to play.