GameTrailers previews Mario Kart Wii
Thursday, March 27th, 2008 at 12:15pm by BlakeThe peeps over at GameTrailers are impressed with what they see but are slightly concerned with the more simplistic gameplay (read: no snaking). I say who gives; game looks and sounds awesome.
March 27th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
I was wondering exactly why the reviewer was “worried the game might be catering to much to the expanded audience.”
If it’s just the snaking, I could care less. Bring on the Kart.
March 27th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
I’m all for no snaking, but I don’t know if I like the new method for the power slide. I think they could’ve fixed the system with a longer cool down between power slides instead of a warm-up before initializing the power slide. I also worry that the “tricks” might get repetitive if the characters don’t have enough individually. I mean, if EVERY time I go off a ramp, Peach goes spread eagle and makes the exact same high-pitched scream, it’d get annoying. Hopefully they’ll put a lot of variety into the game in this respect, even if the tricks are somewhat “automated”. And I really don’t like the idea of restricting the Gran Prix classes to one type of vehicle or the other. I think you should be able to use any vehicle you want when you want. And, as weird as it may sound, it seems like they’ve complicated the kart stats. This seems awkward especially considering how the rest of the game is being so catered for new or expanded audiences…. I’m just hoping that I’m not as disappointed with Kart as I was with Brawl.
March 27th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
I’d wager that you can unlock the ability to choose any kart/bike on any GP class. MKDS gave complete freedom to choose other character’s karts, and they seem to be taking a lot of inspiration from that game.
March 27th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
was snaking possible in kart64?
in general, i don’t like the simplified controls for boosts. slide boosting was a talent back on the 64. also, the graphics don’t really make me take notice. and the motorcycles look out of place….
but gripes aside, kart games are consistently quality. I’m not too worried here.
March 27th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
I’d wager that you can unlock the ability to choose any kart/bike on any GP class. MKDS even gave you the ability to choose other characters’ karts, and they seem to be taking a lot of inspiration from that game.
March 27th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
The elimination of snaking? GREAT!
The addition of motorcycles? LAME!
March 27th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
The game looks really great to me, eurogamer had really positive things to say about the new boosting system. The online stil seems a tad shaky, but that’s ok.
March 27th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Looks great! Another game I think I’ll be picking up launch day.
March 27th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
More excited for this than I ever was for Brawl. Mario Kart is one of Nintendo’s best franchises for skilled single player and, most of all, multiplayer goodness.
March 27th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
@ Kale
Why were you disappointed in Brawl?
I also second the tricks, they could get really annoying. Although you will never hear me complain about peach going spread eagle. Ever.
March 27th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
@ Kale and rushliOn
I can’t say I’m disappointed with Brawl… but I can understand why someone would be. There are SO many things that this game is missing that it could have had, regardless of having more characters and such, I still think that for its’ time and whatnot, Melee is still a better game in general. Kind of like how no Guitar Hero will probably be as great or solid of a package as GH 2 was. I could give reasons, but I would have to write a ten page paper, probably, just to cover all my bases.
Now, on to Mario Kart… yeah, all we can do is pray that Nintendo gets it right. On the bright side, guys, it HAS to be better than Double Dash!
March 27th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
can any of you tell me if you’ve snaked in kart64? wikipedia references that this was possible in 64 in the kartDS entry, but not in the kart64 entry….
it was easy enough to link boosts around corners, but stright line snaking in kart64 is something i never did….
March 27th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Damnit!
I was really hoping that nonsense wouldn’t pop up, but somebody always says it.
Double Dash was great. Period.
March 27th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I agree Double Dash is fantastic. But I also think MK64 is one of the weakest games in the series.
March 27th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
@deepthought
I think it was possible in MK64, if the track was large enough (like the Luigi one). But when we played a multiplayer match, we had a rule that no one used it. That worked for offline, split screen games.
Best!!
March 27th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
I couldn’t snake anyway. Dunno if I’m gonna be allowed to get this so soon after Brawl though. =P
March 27th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
@Rabbitduck
The main reason I like Brawl over Melee is two-fold. First, I think the Wii-Mote sideways owns the Gamecube controller. I owned Melee and was awful at it. Everyone was always just a bit faster than me. Now I can keep up at least. That doesn’t always mean I win, but I am winning more than I used to in Melee!
The second is the WiFi. I’ve already scheduled a Brawl night (on Tues, so don’t think I was treading on Thurs Brawl Night) for my friends with the game. This feature alone makes it better since I am starting this whole adulthood thing and I don’t have the friends stay over and play Brawl all night long. Also since all my close friends have moved away or got families/houses it’s not like the good ol’ high school days.
Back to MK: Wii
I never owned MK:64, but when I played it I felt the controls were a bit too sensitive. I was never a huge fan of it. Double Dash on the other hand was great. Loved the multiplayer aspect of that game and to truly be good at that game took some skill at switching drivers and knocking players off or stealing items. Ahhh, great game.
/End rant
March 27th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
I can not wait for this game.
It will rock the Wii.
I will buy it on the first day. No questions.
I always like it better than Smash bors.
March 27th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
hmm- i was very into mk64. heck, i still love it.
i never snaked on a straightaway though. on luigi raceway it was definately possible to get 4 to 5 boosts on each turn and three going into and exiting the tunnel. I always thought they were necessary to beating the ghost and I don’t consider those snaking.
guess i’ll be checking youtube to seeif anyone’s snaked a straighaway on kart 64…
March 27th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
oh ok… if it’s just snaking im cool… i was a snaker (when playing agaisnt snakers) and it ruined the fun…
March 27th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
I’m excited although I’m disappointed that they gimped the battle mode. Forced team-play and no free for all? Lame.
March 27th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
I feel like this game is unfinished. And they’re trying to cover that fact up with a blurry bloom effect.
March 27th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
I’m disappointed that they simplified the power boost. “Keep drifting” doesn’t sound as fun, honestly. I’m with Kale; I would have liked a timed cooldown after a boost. That way you can prevent snaking but preserve the mechanics.
“i never snaked on a straightaway though. on luigi raceway it was definately possible to get 4 to 5 boosts on each turn and three going into and exiting the tunnel. I always thought they were necessary to beating the ghost and I don’t consider those snaking. ”
Boosting multiple times on a turn isn’t snaking. Snaking is purely boosting back and forth on a straight(-ish) part of a track. That’s why it’s called snaking, because when you do it, it resembles a snake.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:28 pm
They should’ve just kept Mario Kart Double Dash’s Power Slide. You couldn’t snake in with that one (well, snaking was MUCH MORE limited) and it was fun to use, it also required skill, so you had to continually play to master it. The power slides in this game are much too simplistic. I agree with Game Trailers on this one — I’m quite nervous.
March 28th, 2008 at 2:50 am
Eh, I didn’t even know it was called snaking or that it was a hated technique until Mario kart DS released and everyone went online and got beaten by people who abused it.
Yes, you could snake in Mario kart 64, but it was easier to do so F-Zero gX than it was Mario Kart 64.
Mario Kart DS
Mario Kart 64
Mario Kart Super Circuit
Super Mario kart
Mario kart: Double Dash
Ya, Double Dash’s speed offended me greatly along with exclusive character items, Double Dashing, some of the stages, and the graphics. The art, or should I say the colors are a constant difference between the home console versions and handheld versions now. I like the slightly paler but more concrete look of the handheld games. The color in the console versions can be pretty bad for me to look at, it actually physically hurts my eyes, and I’m too lazy to change the settings on my tv everytime for this game. Plus the colors make the game look and feel a bit ridiculous like the games more about the items than the racing.
Mario Kart 64, the Super Mario Kart and Super Circuit all had greatly balanced items. MKDS and MKDD items were greatly unbalanced in terms of the rate of appearance of certain items and sometimes the mere existence of an item. The items used to be there to help balance the right a bit more by giving people who weren’t in first an edge without completely screwing over the leader. Now the leeader is completely screwed more often and what the heck is up with the bullet bill, that’s not skill based at all, plus it rarely helps the losers out better than 3 red shells.