Mario Kart Wii (now with spoilers! Even in a racing game...)

[Drago]

I reckon you're right about Petey's noggin AVMA, it truly is an unwieldy thing, and you can't exactly reduce the size of it without removing the very Petey-ness of Petey.
Anyhow, bought it today and jeepers it's fun. Just finished all of 50cc; being something of a MK whiz I thought I'd be smart after clearing mushroom cup to try my hand at flower cup 100cc. And I sure suffered for that mistake. Using a wheel I was still getting to grips with, the feeling completely changed by a vehicle I hadn't tried yet, on tracks I'd never even seen before... Not pretty stuff. Ended up ranking 6th, which is pretty much laughable.

Haven't had a chance to try out much else... the online rankings is about as grand as I could have hoped for, I have no complaints with it whatsoever. Shows your ranking in relation to everyone else in your friends list/continent/planet, then allows you to try racing someone slightly better than you, a staff ghost or the #1 time. I learnt about the tracks pretty quickly by taking on those #1 times, I tell you.
Still yet to try out battle mode (or all-team mode, as I spitefully call it) or online... those will be for tonight, assuming I can squeeze all that in before work. ...Me... work... when there's Mario Kart to be done? Blasphemy!!

Incidentally, the way they've inserted Miis into the background is your usual stuff, except for Coconut Mall, where it's one of the funniest things I've seen so far on Wii, with Miis' faces up on posters and Miis poorly trying to park cars in your path in the parking lot. It's hilarious crashing into one of your mate's Miis as it grins at you dopily. Fantastic stuff there.

[Drago]

Had a thorough online session today, and wow... I swore at the television more then than I'd sworn all year. It's remarkable how bad you can get screwed over in the course of a couple seconds. I'm talking getting hit by a Spiny Shell, Mega Mushroom and Bullet Bill all in the blink of an eye.

Look I'm all for random items, but the fact that you can go right from first to last on the last bend through no fault of your own irks me. Additionally, whenever I was in the back, all I got were Mushrooms. Like all the time (exaggeration, but not too far off), it was nuts.

Was fun though. There was this one Rosalina user called Andromeda who was just destroying everyone. Me and a Macca fella were pretty much just fighting for second each time. Another guy called Rick seemed to have the most awesome last lap luck. It's just really cool for all these other racers to finally have someone behind them, wanting to win, using whatever dirty tricks they can...

3523-2392-3541 for anyone who wants me to swear at them.

[Starry Might]

I got this game yesterday morning at Super Wal-Mart, and it's great! Nintendo has done it again!

So far, I've cleared all the regular cups and two of the retro cups at 50cc with Peach.

Incidentally, the way they've inserted Miis into the background is your usual stuff, except for Coconut Mall, where it's one of the funniest things I've seen so far on Wii, with Miis' faces up on posters and Miis poorly trying to park cars in your path in the parking lot. It's hilarious crashing into one of your mate's Miis as it grins at you dopily. Fantastic stuff there.

I like that track a lot (mainly because I love shopping malls in general), and I think you're right! I think that the Miis in the background are the ones you've got. (I think my Dad's personal Mii was a model in a poster at the Coconut Mall, for one thing ).

[Jeff]

The Miis in the cars are the most frustrating thing ever! I lost a race because of one of them once! And it was my brother's Mii too, I actually turned to him and yelled at him for it.

Other than that, I really like this one. Battle mode is just as great as it was in MK64, I kind of miss 64's death match, but the team-based thing is cool too.

[Clark]

got this yesterday...have only played a few matches online and a couple single player cups..
msg my aim for my wii code, too lazy to look now, but if you do wish to get beat, let me know and we can arrange it.

[Starry Might]

Me again. I've cleared the regular 100cc cups, and that was no easy task, partly because of the cheap AI (anyone else agree on this?) and partly because bikes are harder than karts.

Once I tried the Sugarscoot (the scooter) on the regular cups after the first one, I had much better luck (I had a horrible time with Rainbow Road, though!), and I unlocked some new stuff, including Mii Outfit A! Now I can play as my personal Mii!

Unfortunately, I lost the first retro cup, finishing 5th overall. I'm thinking that maybe if I go back to the faster Standard Bike M, I might fare better.

Oh, and during my 100cc regular cup endeavor, I had the most awesome 1st place finish to date on Grumble Mountain. Why?

On the last lap in the last leg of the track, I was in second and threw a Red Shell, and guess what? It hit Bowser (who was in first place), stopping him RIGHT BEFORE THE FINISH LINE. I went past him and won! (Oooh, I bet he was FURIOUS, especially since I was Peach!)

I even took a picture of the replay as proof (BTW, pity you can't save replays, huh?). Anyone interested in seeing it?

[Drago]

Though I had initially convinced myself I would stick with Karts, I think I'm rapidly becoming a bike man. I can't stand waiting for the gimped powerslide (not a whole lot of turns wide enough for you to get the full boost) and just sweeping about with those tight turns and popping a wheelie on the straights is satisfying as all high hell. Koopa Troopa + Bullet Bike = where it's at.

We seriously need more than 5(?) TPMers playing this game. I want full-scale tourneys, people! Start hassling others.

[Blademaster]

We seriously need more than 5(?) TPMers playing this game.

-AntiAsh
-DragoKnight
-Starry
-Jeff
-ACE
-Blademaster

[Heald]

I'll buy it when I move back to my house which has my Wii in it.

[Clark]

maybe we can get a tpm race going sometime. pretty sure you can set up a race just between friends...so yea. lemme know! i havent won online yet..just started the 100cc on 1player and its kicking my ass. so yea lol

[Blademaster]

I'm actually doing pretty well online. This is a pleasant surprise for me considering how often I'd lose in Mario Kart DS. Cheap snaking bastards...

[Jeff]

I recently cleared 100cc too, although I still have one silver and one bronze to replace there. I'd be working on that right now, and 150cc, but instead I get to sit here and listen to my brother yell at the TV and learn the hard way that evil is blue, has spikes, and it flies.

[Clark]

UGH those powerups against you BLOW. i swear 10 things hit you as soon as your 5 feet from the finish EVERY time.

[Blademaster]

OK, I've just finished clearing the eight Cups on 50cc and 100cc, and as such have unlocked (Spoiler:) King Boo, Diddy Kong, Rosalina, Dry Bones, and Mii (Who sounds as similar to me as he looks similar to me, which is fucking SCARY.), as well as a few random Bikes and Karts. Thus far, here's what I have to say:

The Bad: First and foremost, as much as I hate to sound like... well, like a modern gamer... THE GRAPHICS ARE SHIT. Absolute shit. For the Wii, and compared to Brawl and Galaxy, these blocky 3-D character models and track accessories and 2-D fences and flags and whatnot... This game has graphics that look like they're from 5 years ago, as far as I can tell. I honestly think the GameCube could've pulled this off.

Next, a good chunk of the race tracks in the main Cups are kinda 'blah' to me. Specifically, the Mushroom Cup was mostly a letdown - (Spoiler:) those first two tracks weren't that fun in Mario Kart 64, and they aren't fun now. Same with Mario Circuit. Yeah, it's a staple, but it's a BORING staple.

Lastly, am I the only one who thinks at least a couple of stages are copies of other stages? (Spoiler:) DK Summit and DK Mountain from the GameCube are virtually identical save for the snow. There was another pair that seemed pretty lame in the originality department, but I forget offhand.

The Good: Most of the rest of the tracks. The Wi-Fi (In your face, Brawl!). The weird-ass rosters of characters, vehicles, and Items. And... Oh, darn it, what else was there...?

Oh, yeah.

RAINBOW. ROAD.

Holy fucking Jesus... This game wasn't too impressive at first, but when I got here, I was blown away. The background, the design, and the psychadelic effects it has on you are awesome. And there's a total of FOUR Mario Galaxy references here, which is AWESOME. Said references are:

(Spoiler:) 1. Star Bits floating over the track at a few points.
2. Transparent Sling Stars around speed boosters all around the track, and a single beautiful Launch Star that rockets you up a tunnel and onto a higher part of the track. The sound effects are spot-on, and the colors when you go through the tunnel... It's just a gorgeous sight.
3. Rainbow Road has been in space since the start, but the Mushroom World (as depicted in SMG) is now clearly visible far below the track; if you fall from said track, you are engulfed in a meteoric aura and plummet like a shooting star; the aura and the sound are again, directly lifted from Galaxy.
4. The most awesome Easter Egg of all (IMO), the track's theme music is a remix of the traditional Rainbow Road psychadelic acid music CROSSED with the Good Egg Galaxy theme. THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY THEME IS (to an extent) PLAYED ON RAINBOW ROAD.

(orgasm)

The Ugly: See "(orgasm)"

The Random:

-I miss (Spoiler:) King Boo's original voice. >_<
-Diddy Kong needs to be MURDERED for his voice. (<---Not marked as a spoiler because PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW THIS.)
-(Spoiler:) Rosalina sounds kinda like a hooker in this game.
-(Spoiler:) Moonview Highway is like that Robot Chicken skit of Mario Kart GTA: Sirens blaring, doing drive-by's on Miis with Shells, cars being blown off the road by Bob-Ombs... WHY WASN'T THIS A BATTLE MODE TRACK!?!??! ;-;
-(Spoiler:) Coconut Mall is a fucked-up place. Where else in a video game can you be distracted by modeling posters depicting Beavis and Butthead long enough to crash into Darth Vader while he's trying to park his yellow sports car?
-ACE's bitching about cheap last-second Item attacks is 107% accurate.
-Word of advice, newbies: In the secondary Cups, don't think you know all the tracks because you've played them before. Nintendo's 'modified' them a bit. Just a little heads-up for the first time you (Spoiler:) go flying over the jump in Bowser's Castle from Mario Kart 64 and are gonna land on- ZOMFG GIANT LAVA GEYZER SHOT UP ADN ROASTED MEH!!!!!!!11!1!1!111

Overall, so far? It ain't Mario Kart 64, but it's pretty damn entertaining. I'd say it's a worthwhile addition to the Mario Kart family. BUY IT!!!!!!!!11

[Clark]

yes i noticed bowsers castle shot me in the ass...it was quite the bitch. also, RAINBOW ROAD kicks my ass and its so fkin sexy i cant stop.
i dont really mind the graphics, doesnt kill my eyes with shiny shit.

[kainashi]

on 150cc the computer likes to hit you with multiple items on the last lap right before the finish line when you're in 1st, thus dropping you into 3rd or worse.

[Clark]

hmm..played blademaster a bit earlier, he won all the battle maps we did. and i won 3 of the 4 vs racing.
comon guys we need to set up a huge race or something!

[PNT510]

You really don't need spoiler tags. It's Mario Kart, it's not like there is some big plot twist you might accidentally reveal.

[Heald]

KING BOO KILLS BABY DAISY AT THE END OF THE GAME

by the way this post contains spoilers

also, to be making with the compliance of a dare, I HAVE FURY

[Blademaster]

You really don't need spoiler tags. It's Mario Kart, it's not like there is some big plot twist you might accidentally reveal.

I don't like having anything spoiled for me in a game. I'm just returning the courtesy. Unlike some people. Thanks for spoiling the ending, Britprick. My money was on (Spoiler:) Dry Bowser killing (and eating) Toad, but you had to go an ruin it. Jerk.

[Starry Might]

Gee, thanks for wrecking the ending for me, Heald. ;-P

Seriously...

Though I had initially convinced myself I would stick with Karts, I think I'm rapidly becoming a bike man. I can't stand waiting for the gimped powerslide (not a whole lot of turns wide enough for you to get the full boost) and just sweeping about with those tight turns and popping a wheelie on the straights is satisfying as all high hell. Koopa Troopa + Bullet Bike = where it's at.

Yeah, I'm likin' bikes more, too!

Lastly, am I the only one who thinks at least a couple of stages are copies of other stages? (Spoiler:) DK Summit and DK Mountain from the GameCube are virtually identical save for the snow. There was another pair that seemed pretty lame in the originality department, but I forget offhand.

Now that you mention it...they're really not that identical, but I guess they do have some stuff in common!

(Spoiler:) Coconut Mall is a [censored]-up place. Where else in a video game can you be distracted by modeling posters depicting Beavis and Butthead long enough to crash into Darth Vader while he's trying to park his yellow sports car?

LOL

Anyhow, yeah, 150cc = PAIN IN THE BUTT. Fast speeds + cheap A.I. = CRY.

HOWEVER, I've been having better luck since I started using my trusty Wavebird instead of the Wii Wheel (I tended to oversteer with the latter control type). Thank goodness this game and "Brawl" are backwards-compatible with Gamecube controllers! ^_^

Oh, and since I've figured them out, I've been doing tricks more, too!

[Drago]

For ease of use, anyone who mentions their friend code will now have it appear in the first post in this topic. If anyone says theirs, I'll add them so add me back, foo's! (Yes, I'm insinuating that people are too lazy to skim through a couple pages to find codes. I know I am.)

[Clark]

i forget mine, but *if* u aim msg me ill be more inclined to turn my wii on.

[Austrian ViceMaster Alex]

I'll post my friend code for this, just because: 3351-4368-5881.