Picked ‘er up today, and played 3 Grand Prix’s… well, almost 3. First impressions after the break.

Okay, here’s what went through my mind, in point form, in no particular order.

-The wheel feels good in your hands and looks nice. The controls are comfortable. It also supports classic, nunchuk and gamecube controls - basically, jump into it from smash bros and you’re good to go.

-For better or worse, the controls are simplified. And I mean really, really simplified. Remember how, from the N64 onward, your miniturbos from cornering were determined by waggling your control stick? It made no sense and was hard to explain to newbies, but it let you massively boost your speed on long curves. Well, now you just hold down the slide button. The turbo does itself. Easier to control? Yes. Easier to learn? Yes. But oh, how I’ll miss the 6-turbo turns.

-Also simplified: the hop/slide/brake. All one button now. Yup, no more hopping to adjust direction… I suppose that made no sense too, but it was nice to be able to keep speed while doing course corrections.

-Intense. This game is intense with a capital OMGWTFBBQ. In my first go at 50cc, mushroom cup, in a standard kart, I went from 12th (AKA freaking last) place to 1st in mere seconds. The right item, or even just a lucky turn, can pull you ahead of the entire pack. Exciting, yes, but it means you have to be racing all-out - there’s often little room for mistakes.

-F*ck the Wii wheel. Seriously. Let me say that again: F*CK THE Wii WHEEL. I played 50cc karts with it, and got a “D” rating on the cup (though I did manage to get the gold). I then jumped to the 100cc mode so I could try the motorbikes, and actually quit disgusted during the 4th race. It’s cute, yes, and fun to hold, but ultimately it’s a huge handicap. Not just a little inconvenient. I went to wiimote/nunchuk afterward, went to 50cc flower cup, and got 1st in every race.
I believe that the relationship between gamer and controller should be a dance. Perhaps the tango. you need to make it an extension of your body, moving in harmony. Thoughts become ingame actions instantly. This fails to happen with the wheel. It feels more like when you have to dance with your ugly, clumsy cousin at a wedding.
Oh, and if you do use the wheel, check your posture. I started slouching and kinked my neck up brutally trying to get comfy holding the damn thing.

-Classic cups: Once again, Nintendo is recycling old games’ tracks… but when you think about the fact the old games came with 4 cups, and this (like Mariokart DS) comes with 4 new cups and 4 retro cups, it’s forgivable. recycling content for bonus material is OK by me. Of course, given the Wii’s capacity, I’m sure they could have fit more if they really wanted… but what they included seems nice.

Overall, Mariokart Wii seems a wonderful successor to the franchise. I’m sure I’ll have many, many hours of fun with it. Especially the derisive laughter as I watch each of my friends try out that goddamn wheel.

F*ck the wheel.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 28th, 2008 at 11:45 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.