Mario Kart Wii is the newest version of the successful ā€˜Mario Kartā€™ game series, and one of the few Nintendo Wii releases I have been genuinely excited about (ā€˜Super Smash Bros: Brawlā€™ being the other one). Iā€™ve been a big fan of the games since I played ā€˜Double Dashā€™ on the Gamecube, and I was looking forward to seeing what Nintendo had added to the Wii version.

Like the previous titles, Mario Kart Wii is a simple racing game: you choose from a variety of Nintendo characters, karts, and race tracks, and then race to your hearts content. For the most part, the single-player gameplay has barely changed from the previous versions, which isnā€™t a bad thing. I know that I usually slate companies who constantly re-release games, but when the system is as good as it is in Mario Kart, Iā€™m not going to complain. However, there have been some changes and additions to the gameplay in Mario Kart; and itā€™s not just a couple of new characters and a power up. Instead of the standard karts from older games, you now get to use bikes, which add a surprising amount of depth to the racing; because not only do the bikes play differently to the karts, they also play differently to each other. As well as this, there is a new trick feature, which can be done every time you go into a jump; as well as looking stylish, you will gain a boost every time you do it successfully: so instead of just being a gimmick, itā€™s a really useful technique to use. Even the hardcore fans - and by ā€œhardcoreā€ I mean the ones with blow up dolls of Princess Peach under their beds - will be overwhelmed by the amount of tracks and arenas to choose from. The only thing I donā€™t like about Mario Kart is that, as far as I can tell, all the character classes play the same; for example, if you choose Baby Mario and Toad, youā€™ll find that you will have exactly the same cars, with exactly the same powers; and this feels like a step backwards from Double Dash; when each character had itā€™s own unique/semi unique power, and also killed off any urges I had to try and unlock all the characters (although this might just be a personal thing). Iā€™m not a fan of the new power ups either, but again thatā€™s just a personal thing.

The best thing about Mario Kart is definitely the multiplayer, which is fantastic. With itā€™s two distinctive modes - racing and battling - and plenty of different courses and arenas for each mode, playing Mario Kart with friends is one of the most fun multiplayer experiences around. As well as the f**king awesome 4 player split screen, Mario Kart Wii also boasts a brilliant online system; allowing you to go online with a friend, and take on the Karting world in races with up to 12 players. When I tried it, finding games was quick and easy; and the friend code system works very well; allowing you to find your friends and join in their games instantly. Even after using Xbox Live, probably the best console system around, I was still impressed at the online in Mario Kart Wii. The only thing I donā€™t like about the multiplayer is that you canā€™t use a mixture of Gamecube and Wii controllers; which is just plain stupid.

Graphically, Mario Kart Wii looks very good; itā€™s colourful, vibrant, and varied racetracks are excellent, and I really enjoyed playing through them; even if I was so entranced by the colours of Rainbow Road Iā€™d fall off at every bend. Every character looks unique (unless itā€™s not supposed to) which goes a long way to getting rid of my ā€œthey all play the sameā€ grumbling, and each character has their own distinctive karts and bikes to use. The art style, like in almost all Nintendo games, is brilliant and unique, and I donā€™t think Iā€™ll ever get bored of racing along bouncing mushrooms.Like the graphics, the sound is the usual high Nintendo standard. All the characters are very distinctive, for better or worse -and by that, I mean that Toad is a shrieking midget t**t - the karts and bikes sound excellent; and the various sound effects in races; for example, the rush of a kart up a boosting ramp; are great. I canā€™t really find anything wrong with it; other than Toad being a little whiney s**t, of course.

I think youā€™ve realised by now that I think this game is one of the best games on the Wii; itā€™s definitely the best online game Iā€™ve had a chance to play. Mario Kart appeals to just about everyone, and itā€™s the most fun game Iā€™ve played in a long time. If you have a Wii and itā€™s online, then you need to buy Mario Kart. If youā€™re still offline, then there are loads of modes to play with in a party of four, which you can have fun with in your prehistoric cave after a mammoth hunt or something.Still, now that weā€™ve had almost all of the big Nintendo franchises come out, where is the console going to go from here? Can Nintendo pull a brilliant new series out of itā€™s ass? I hope not, that would be nasty; but Iā€™m interested to know your thoughts (itā€™s only fair, Iā€™ve just written down a page and a half of mine).

8.75/10 - I think Iā€™ve summarised it enough in the paragraphs above, so if youā€™re expecting me to summarise it again in big, bold letters, then youā€™re going to be disappointed.