Mario Kart Wii Comments by Oli Welsh

"Well i'm buying it. Though I would have done regardless of any reviews - its a game with mario in it, innit."

Fixed ;)

I'm missing how the classic controller fares in relation to the wii-controls in the review.
Maybe he had to to put it online too fast.

>Chill out you cock

I am chilled out. You're the one getting upset and offensive over a number which means bugger all.

>yes I did read the review and yes I expected it to score higher

Well the words explain mark. it's like when your teacher (presume you're in the 3rd grade?) marks your work, gives you a long paragraph explaining whats wrong with it - then gives you an A-.

>It just means your an over sensitive fanboi cock knocker who needs to grow up.

er? Um.. Er.. um.. The irony here is killing me

@LeD
Nice work!

Excellent - but GTA IV is going to hog the next few months, so my US Wii purchase has been delayed...

"show yourself to be someone without the vocabulary or mental ability to make their point properly."

I thought i'd made it quite well.

But the intelligence quota on this forum seems to be quite low, so i have to stoop down to everyone else's level occasionally to make my point.

And i obviously make it well, as it seems to hit a lot of raw nerves.

But this obsession geeks have over a number at the end of a long piece of text describing if a game is good or not - is something i've ever understood.

To me, i just use the following system :

1. Look at score
2. is it 7 or above? Then the review is worth reading the words of to decide whether or not i want to buy the game.
3. less than 7, i might read to see why the reviewer didnt think it was so great.

But either way i use the THREE PAGES of words to make the decision not the score at the end.

Someone said earlier:

>Then why give a score at all?

Sometimes i wonder why reviewers bother writing the actual words of the review at all. Why not save themselves 3 pages of text and just give a score?

I would've gone with the Flash personally.

Can't wait for this game, pure fun on a disk.

Yeah, I kind of expected a nine more than an eight after reading the text... still, pointless splitting hairs over a number. The game sounds pretty solid, all things considered; interesting to see EG so enamoured with the Wii Wheel control, after some other previews (notably IGN's) seemed fairly unenthused. The choice is always there, anyway...

On the other hand, the removal of free-for-all Battle Mode and mulitplayer GP is a ridiculous, incomprehensible and unforgivable decision; not a game-killer, certainly, but a baffling, pointlessly harmful omission. Ah well, still sounds more than good enough to be worth picking up.

BTW, northy: what exactly does SSMB:B stand for? :P

Hi LeD.

Dick status confirmed.

Welcome to my ignore list.

"They why give a score at all?"

They shouldn't. All thats needed is buy/rent/skip.

Hmmm, since getting my Wii a few months ago it's been played about 5 times. I was considering selling it but might give this a go first... Sounds like the GBA version is still the best though.

@Mudtallica

"On the other hand, the removal of free-for-all Battle Mode and mulitplayer GP is a ridiculous, incomprehensible and unforgivable decision; not a game-killer, certainly, but a baffling, pointlessly harmful omission . Ah well, still sounds more than good enough to be worth picking up"

It's been a while since ive dipped my toe into Mario Kart. Probably the N64 version that cost me £130 on Jap import. And, tbh, I dont recall if these options were in that title (although I think they were) but they certainly, from the SNES era, were the top and bottom of Mario Kart multiplayer. It was all about falling behind in one GP race, only to feel the pressure to pull it back on the subsequent. It added to the game no end.

For me, these omissions absolutely are a game killer. It's not good enough to play one-off races and absolutely detracts from the flow of the multiplayer.

Oh well, one more nail in the 'shall I buy a Wii?' decision making process. I just knew there was going to be something that would knock it from greatness.

I really wish that Nintendo would create some new IP this stuff is OLD. Give it a rest. Colour me totally uninterested.

@thomasbeff

Thanks. This was oh so very easy though.

And lol @ tap. Poor little thing.

RIGHT, I'm confused.

So in Double Dash you could 2-player (not 3 or 4 player) co-op through the GP Championships.

In Mario Kart DS you couldn't co-op through the championships, either through local Wi-Fi or WFC. However in local Wifi you could set the conditions to win - so free mode, x races or x wins. In WFC it was fixed to 4 races. This was FINE.

So now because of the review I'm confused on these points:

Can you play the Championship GPs co-operatively at all?
Can you not set the win conditions on normal VS races? So you can't choose to play to 10 races, or to 5 wins, or just play forever? Because if you can, this is actually no different to them letting you play the GPs - just set it to 4 races, pick the 4 tracks and you're away.

If you can do the above in local, can you not do it on Nintendo WFC? So you're stuck playing to 4 races or whatever in friend matches?

Can you have CPU players in local VS matches? Can you have them online?

Can you play against randoms like you could on the DS version?

ALL THESE THINGS I MUST KNOW. Normally Eurogamer reviews being light on the facts and features is fine, because it's exceptionally rare that they're way first to big name game like this - and this just happens to be a big name game where details have been scarce too.

I will absolutely get this game, but I will be sorely disappointed if the multiplayer options are worse than the DS version, and I don't think that'll be the case.

Mucho thanks though, I totally wasn't expecting this review for a long time - it was a pleasant evening surprise :D

Right, that's it, I've had enough.

There was never the chance to play four player championships. I'm 99% sure because it pissed me off so much. You could do it two player, but never four. You started each race individually. Definitely on the cube, all you had was board of wins and losses. Again I'm pretty sure it was the same on the n64 though it's a long time ago now. Any chance someone can load theirs up to finish this debate off. People saying how they've changed it and cocked it up are really starting to grip my shit.

I stand ready to eat a huge pile of humble pie if I'm wrong.

Also any news on patches. Can Nintendo add patches to their games or is there more chance of me pissing in the Queen's handbag?

While we're at it since when does one 8 grade stop you buying it? So one more grade, a nine, and you're sold? It's got 94,91 and 80 so far on metacritic leading to an average of around 87, which is what double dash got. If you like mariokart, you'll like this. More to the point will you buy a Wii just to play this and never buy another game? To say one mark (which is an 8, which to my mind means a very good game - 9 is stunning, 10s are rarer than rocking horse shit) changes your mind makes you a muppet.

8 out of 10! I was counting on this to be a 9/10. This game was going to be my justification for buying a new wii (my daughter broke the last one my pushing a hairclip into it, she was only 2). I am afraid that an 8/10 may not be enough for me to shell out £180 on the console and a further £40 on the game.

Sorry if it offends anyone but I am dissappointed

@Macmurphy.

Yep. Board of wins and loses on the Cube for vs games, and 2 player GP for those that wanted it (although once you got particularly good these became a waste of time so I don't think this omission is a total loss). It was the same on the N64.

8/10 yet another shit Wii game; I was looking forward to this, now I don't think I'll bother.

Where is the Smash Bros Brawl review?

My intelligence is melting...

360 owning Trolls must be out in force again.

How long before we get the age old "nintendo keep re-making mario/zelda" quote?

Personally give me an 8/10 mario kart, over a 10/10 pile of mediocrity which is halo 3 any day of the week (cue all the 360 trolls who have been posting on this forum getting all upset at me now for "trolling" for daring to say their beloved game they got bored of within a few days is mediocre)

Why the hell can't Nintendo make a racing kart game with new IP's?

Why are you guys disappointed it got a low score? I don't get it. It's still the same old re-hashed Mario game, served with each new generation of Nintendo consoles.
Complain all you want about Halo 3, at least it's executed superbly and they put a couple of nice new features in it, hence the resounding 10/10.
Not all games can be awarded 10/10. You'll have to accept that Mario Kart Wii is a nice little game deserving of an 8, no more, no less.

>I really wish that Nintendo would create some new IP this stuff is OLD


Also love that people fail to notice that nintendo are great at bringing out new ips. Look at the brilliant pikmin/animal crossing last gen. Or the very popular wii sports/wii fit this gen. "Endless ocean" now that WASNT a new nintendo IP was it? Or how about "Excite Truck", no that wasnt either.. Or how about "Day of Disaster" coming soon?

They have to keep their existing ip supported dont they? be stupid not to.. but yet they STILL come up with new ip quite regularly.

In fact, as far as i can see, only EA seem to produce as many games as nintendo do..

But as people keep going on about "re-using ips".

Lets see:

There has been THREE full console releases of mario kart since 1996. That's one every 4 years. If you count in the first one in 1992, that's still one every four years.

Mario.. there's been THREE 3d versions of mario since 1996. Again that's one every 4 years. Even if you take into acount the 2d ones on home console.. that's 8 super mario games in 23 years.. Nearly one every 3 years (on average).

Now ther has been THREE halo's been released since 2001. That's around one every 2 years.

Yeah.. so nintendo keep rehashing old ip's ALL the time dont they? Lets not mention that every 3d mario has been significantly different while halo has remained pretty much exactly the same for each iteration.. Lets just notice that microsoft seem to re-use their IP more often than nintendo do.

(and if you dont think they'd have just as many if not more if the xbox had been around long enough.. then you're naieve)


EDIT: Just found out that halo wars and halo chronicles are both due out this year. So that's 5 halo games in 7 years.. And people bash nintendo for reusing ip.

"Complain all you want about Halo 3, at least it's executed superbly and they put a couple of nice new features in it, hence the resounding 10/10. "

No.. it got billions in marketing money spent on it.. thus the resounding 10/10. Anyone who's played it can easily see, it's more of the same, fairly short, and very average experience.

Tell me more smelly

Dont need to.. Go and play it - see for yourself.

I played it, still play it. EG gave it 10/10, and so did Edge. Mario Fart got a lousy 8/10.

Im sure the 8/10 score will make me enjoy mario kart so much less.

Just as im sure the 10/10 score made me not think halo 3 was an overrated pile of skank that i totally wasted my money on, and havent felt that cheated since playing f.e.a.r.


You go back to wanking over your scores.. we'll be busy playing the thing (well i will once it comes out in america)

Have a glass of milk

Thanks for the suggestion. I think i'll have a pint of water instead though.

@macmurphy

Thank you for putting your honor on the line to clarify.

Why are we getting upset about having to pick your courses yourself? You're going to be doing the same set of 4 courses dozens of times, maybe this will encourage more variety and spontaneity in the multiplayer. Kind of like Street Fighter, where each bout is self contained, and each session is always different. If you want to recreate a cup, it doesn't sound like anything will stand in your way.

Do "Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games" and "donkey kong barrel blast" count as other original ips?

They're new games franchines.. but featuring old characters.. Or should i just stick to: wii sports, wii fit, Endless ocean, Excite Truck, Day of Disaster (and lesser extent pikmin/animal crossing). When proving my point that they do actually make new ip's?

"If you want to recreate a cup, it doesn't sound like anything will stand in your way. "

Yeah.. and thinking about it.. The realities of actually doing a "cup" would be pointless anyhow.

Imagine doing a 20 race cup and having some tit drop out on the last game.. etc etc.

Mind you.. I dont play games online, I stick to single player only games only - so it's of no concern to me.

@Bea.

Yeah fair one, having a championship is just surface sheen but that's what makes a game. You can just pick game after game, but imagine if you could structure your own championships where you could have eight races, be 8 ahead on the last track only to have a shocker and not place and watch your mate romp home in first to take the title. I'm talking about local, not online.

To my mind there's always a better pay-off if you can commit to a series of races then see who's winning at the end of it. It's like playing 9 holes of mario-golf and winning on the last hole, pure videogame gold.

Your point's fair enough, but I figure a little touch like this would require minimal programming and it's always seemed a careless omission to my mind. Just having a leaderboard of wins and losses seemed soulless. If they've taken that away, we're down to writing it down on a bit of paper if we want to keep score. I'm all for the Nintendo laid back approach, but denying people an easy way to compete is poor.

I know it's all about taking part and that shite, and that's fine if I'm playing my gran, but if I've got mates round then it's just nice to be able to keep tabs for bragging rights, not have to write it on a piece of paper.

It's a definite oversight. Just to say these are quibbles, I'll still keep a picture of Mario in my wallet and look forward to this massively.

I've just read through 91 comments, most of which were totally stupid and underserving of being anywhere near a topic concerning a Nintendo product.

I ordered Mario Kart on amazon earlier this week, I'm going to wait for the dispatch email to arrive, then throw a sickie at work and play it all day. I am going to find that highly enjoyable. I don't care what score EG or anybody else gives it. You can all go and jump in the firery pits of Bowsers Castle for all I care. Just keep away from me, my house, my girlfriend my four cats, my rabbit and my online MK Wii races.

Seriously, I always see these Nintendo games get super high (or, in this case, high) grades. I read the review and they sound wonderful. Until I play them..

I don't understand why Nintendo games always gets these grades. They haven't been great since the nineties or something. They're all milking Mario, they're all shallow, they all look the same, they all sound the same and they all last about five minutes before you're tired of them.

I just don't get it.

This thread is fucking crazy.
Is 8/10 the new 1/10? It certainly seems that way.

The important thing for me with this game is simply that it will be great fun - just like BWii which only got 7 here, I believe.

You should see some of the flak I got for on a website I did reviews for purely because I insisted that 5/10 was THE average score and ended marking a lot of games 7/10 when everyone else was giving them 8+/10.

For ages if its been less than 7/10 people won't touch it so the score for a decent game became 7/10, 6 and 5 were less than okay, 3 and 4 were awful and 2 was worse than having your gran pin you down and shit in your mouth.

I personally hate scoring games, its just there for the lazy who can't be bothered reading a review.

@russraine

"I've just read through 91 comments, most of which were totally stupid and underserving of being anywhere near a topic concerning a Nintendo product"

Wow, ive heard and seen some fanboi shit on these boards but ive never seen someone just come straight out and say that. Nintendo = Fantastic, automatically, eh? All those reams of discounted Wii shit in HMV must be my imagination...

Congrats! You call a spade a spade, or you'd probably call it a big tool. Prob like what you see in the mirror every morning.

@George Roper: *Shock!* Who'd have fucking thought it, a fan of a NINTENDO game in a NINTENDO thread!

I'll come out and say it too.. Nintendo is fantastic (at making games)...

They seem to release more games a year than any other studio. They rarely put out a bad 1st party game. Their games are always rated highly (and are genuinely good). I've yet to play a bad miyamato (or however u spell it) game. The games they release are always varied and different (i.e. not just endless shooters), and suitable for the whole family. And they take risks with new ip (see previous post if you want a list) regularly while keeping old ip alive.

In the last year alone, we've had (from nintendo 1st party) an fps action adventure (metroid) which was fantastic, a platformer, kart racing, beat em up, etc etc. I'd like to see another studio put out that much variety and quality (all rated highly).

However, nintendo hardware.. not so fantastic. If the wii didnt have nintendo games on it, i wouldnt be interested.



I've seen some blatent trolling in my time but your post takes the biscuit.. run away and play with your 360 love..

If you said this about any other console you'd be mocked

"I've just read through 91 comments, most of which were totally stupid and underserving of being anywhere near a topic concerning a Nintendo product. "

Nintendo though, it seems they are owed only gravely serious and positive comments. why? the mind boggles.

I ove the wii but I think people have a right to speak out if they wish.

I didn't really understand one thing in this review. Question: Will you be able to go online with the game and play a gp consisting of four races that you pick yourself, one after another, leading up to a screen declaring the winner, handing out medals, etc?

Perhaps the person who wrote the review is reading the comments and can clear things out himself? I noticed there were a few others wondering the same thing ...

Jeeeeez - it starts off with irony, Smelly, and then it just descends into the kind of dross you're synonymous with. If you like it, enjoy it... you don't have to (and aren't able to) convert the whole world.

I know Mario Kart SNES was 9/10, and without playing it, I know this won't be as good. Meanwhile, life goes on.

By the way, you lost the right to 'out' people as trolls and fanboys LONG before little Mario was a glint in the milkman's eye. Turn it in.

you can tell you're dealing with the worst end of the 360 trolls this site attracts when they start flaming over an 8/10. For Fuck's Sake Number One

Oh, the hell with the score and the mutliplayer changes. Could we maybe possibly have a list of returning tracks?

Mario Fart!
:oD @LeD

This is Double-Dash with bikes and a plastic gimmick, right?
Should have got 6/10 really. Halo is so much better.
Can't wait for Gears of War 2!

Mucho nerd points for the obscure DC Universe reference in the review tagline!