The mix of simple, but challenging, courses, funky power-ups and the usual Nintendo charm was straddled by a control and gameplay system that was nigh on perfect, and a multiplayer mode that was universally recognised as one of the best ever devised.ĭitching the two characters on a kart and going back to basics, Mario Kart Wii retains the essential drifting, power-up-throwing action of the previous games, but adds the twist of motion control, either via the Wiimote and packaged Wii Wheel, or Wiimote on its own. First arriving on the SNES in 1992, this deceptively simple racer became an instant hit and not only spawned several sequels, but also an army of would be contenders. Unless you’ve been living in the dark, under a rock, at the bottom of the sea, on an as yet to be discovered planet, you’ll have heard of Mario Kart.
So, the arrival of one of Nintendo’s most critically acclaimed series – Mario Kart, is, in this humble reviewer’s opinion, a very good thing indeed. But for every one good game, there seems to be 30 terrible ones, and only a handful great titles isn’t exactly good going for a console that’s now almost a year and a half old.
Yes, we’ve had the excellent Zelda: Twilight Princess, the superb Metroid Prime: Corruption and, more recently, the flawless Super Mario Galaxy to name a few of the major releases. Why then, is the platform so barren when it comes to decent games? Not being one for cooking simulators or motion controlled horse riding, or the endless stream of cookie cutter party games, I find myself a little dismayed at the lack of usual grade A titles I know Nintendo can produce. Nintendo’s Wii has quickly become one of the biggest selling consoles of all time, with some still having problems getting hold of one, so heavy is demand.