Though there is still about a week till the release of the Mario Kart Wii game in North America, I got the opportunity to play the European version of the game since it was released a few weeks ago. From what I’ve seen, the game looks smooth graphically and there are quite a lot of characters and tracks (new and old) to choose from. In my initial playthrough, I found it fairly awkward using the tilt-controls to play the game since the control sensitivity seemed to be slower and even inaccurate, than using a directional pad/analog stick (however, I found out later that you can indeed use a Gamecube controller instead).

The options to use motorbikes was a neat new touch, though my friend found it more difficult to control. As for the different modes, it was neat to play in the familiar battle arenas from previous Mario Kart games, but I was kinda disappointed by the fact that you are forced to play in teams, rather than individuals. Again, the game comes in 3 different speed levels (50cc, 100cc and 150cc) and I personally feel that 150cc tracks are ridiculously and frustratingly hard (or perhaps I really suck at Mario Kart). Though Mario Kart Wii has it’s faults, I still find it to be extremely fun, especially while you are playing with friends. Although I didn’t get an opportunity to try out the online gameplay, I’ve been hearing that it’s a lot more fun than the regular game (especially since you can play 12 player online races!). Overall, I feel that Mario Kart Wii is a definite must buy for not only Mario Kart fans but Wii owners in general.

I know that others feel the same way as I do. Check out the video review below from the video game site, IGN.com:

-Stephen