by Craig Buck

Created on: July 24, 2009   Last Updated: April 01, 2010

Introduction

Mario Kart consists of racing over 32 tracks which are broken down into batches of 4, meaning there are 8 cups to win. These cups exist at 3 levels, namely 50cc (easy), 100cc (medium), 150cc (hard), for the first time in a Mario Kart game you are able to ride motorcycles adding a new dimension to the game. Also a first is the introduction of online play which really brings the game on.

Game Modes

The game has numerous modes for both online and offline play. In single player mode there is the grand prix where you race on a series of 4 tracks to gain points in order to win cups and unlock more circuits. These can be quite fun when you get to the 100cc level. The 50cc cups are very easy to win and are only really there as a light introduction to the game. Ghost data mode pits you against another players best lap. This can either be another local players time (somebody else who has played from your console), your friends data downloaded from the net, Nintendo staff data or the fastest time in your continent / the world. By beating Nintendo staff you are able to unlock more characters to play as in the game.

Courses in the game are a mixture of retro courses from all previous versions (SNES, DS, GBA) as well as some new ones made specifically for the Wii, the new version of Rainbow Road is extremely taxing.

As well as racing, there is also a single and multiplayer battle mode where you are assigned a team (red or blue) and the object is to outscore the opposition. There are 2 types of battle, coin runners where the objective is to collect more coins than the opposition and Balloon Busters where you must try to burst your opponents balloon by using the powerups found around the circuit. These battles are immense fun, especially in multiplayer mode.

If you have your Wii connected to your internet connection, you can participate in competitions that Nintendo run from time to time, these range from standard competitions like competing a lap in the fastest time to going through all the gates, slalom style. You can compare your best time against those of your friends, your continent or the whole world. If you are like me, this will emphasise just how bad you are at the game.  This is one of the few games that actually utilises the Wii's wifi capabilities to the limit.  The online play works really well and adds a much needed extra dimension to the game.

In multiplayer mode you can race against each other (up to 4 players) in a grand prix style scenario

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