Pre-orders, the point of them and mini kart review.

Isn't that getting the game or whatever product you've pre-ordered the very same day that it's released? I sure thought so, but now it seems I'll have to wait till Wednesday or even Thursday to play GTA IV, because the site I bought it from doesn't have their stuff in time. I guess I really can't blame them, though, since it's really not their fault at all, but it's still annoying. Should I have just gone witht he regular edition instead of the limited edition? Can't tell, but if I had, I would have gotten the game sent to me on friday, which would probably mean that I would have had it today. Ah well, what can you do? Nothing, that's what!


So yeah, Mario Kart Wii. I bought it and I'm happy to say that I'm enjoying it too. I mean it took some getting used to, since I haven't played a Mario Kart game since Mario Kart 64, but once I got in to it, it worked out fine. Although, like I suspected, that damned Wii Wheel just complicates things. It's really more of a nuisance than anything else. Luckilly though, you can use a Gamecube controller or a Wiimote too, which makes things a whole lot easier.

When it comes to the actual game, I can't help but feel like there's too much of the old and not enough of the new. Sure there's 16 new tracks, as well as 16 old, revamped tracks, but many of the new tracks are based on the older ones, so what's the point? That said though, some of the new tracks are really great and fun to play, and that's not to say that the old ones arent't, but come on, Nintendo! You can't live off of nostalgia forever. They could have at least thrown in some Super Mario Galaxy-inspired tracks, but such tracks are nowhere to be found.

New to the game is the ability to perform tricks, a new way to boost and the addition of bikes. All welcome in my book, but it seems like if you wan't to perform tricks you need to use the Wii wheel, which kind of sucks. But it's not the end of the world, since you can just boost instead of performing a trick and at the same time avoid covering the extra ground that's needed for the trick. If you're dead set on tricking though, the new tracks are the ones you're looking for, they've been built up with that in mind, so there's plenty of jumps to go for.

So the new boost-system, love it or hate it, I'm just glad it takes "snaking" away. This time around, there's no stick-wiggling to boost, you just simply brake and hold the button down to slide away. The longer you hold it down, the more boost you get once you let it go. It still takes some getting used to, but it's a whole lot easier than the aforementioned stick-wiggling.

On to the bikes, while a nice addition to the game, they really aren't that much different than driving a kart. The main differences are that you can boost by tilting them back on straight roads and that you're going to get knocked around a whole lot easier. That said, though, they are a welcome addition and can offer a different playstyle than karts if you really want them to.

Graphically, the game doesn't really look much better than Double Dash! did. Which is a shame really. Of course, there are some small improvements that are mostly noticable on the new tracks, such as better lighting and particle effects. But it's not at the level of polish that SMG has, not even close. In all honesty, I was more impressed with Mario Kart DS on the graphical side of things.

Online mode, what many people will buy this game for, actually works pretty well. I haven't tried much of it, but the time I did spend online worked almost as well as it would with any Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 game. On top of the actual racing online, there's battle mode, which I haven't touched, and leaderboards. Being able to keep track of leaders worldwide, continental or on your friends list is a really nice feature, which will probably keep the insane fans of the franchise happy, even if they're possibly let down by the single player game.

There's also a bunch of hidden content to be unlocked, such as extra vehicles and characters. I haven't unlocked too many myself, just King Boo and Rosalina from SMG, which is probably the only thing they've added from that game. But who knows, I haven't unlocked everything yet.

All in all, 32 tracks, 25 characters (12 of which needs to be unlocked), online capability and the inclusion of the Wii wheel for the same price as any new game makes me feel good about my purchase.


As I'm finishing this up, I noticed that the site I pre-ordered my copy of GTA IV Limited Edition from has finally sent it. So hopefully I'll still have it tomorrow, but I'm guessing Wednesday. Still, it makes me a happy camper to know that it's on it's way.