[Wii] Mario Kart Wii - EU/AU get it first! WE HAVE NO GENITALS.

Has anyone here managed to triple-star a GP cup yet? I've been trying and trying to get THREE STARS on 50cc, but I haven't succeeded yet--maybe I just suck

Anyway, this is turning out to be one of my favorite MKs, but the CPU AI is severely frustrating. Item rape, as others have mentioned in this thread, seems to be entirely inevitable; the game uses it as an artificial increase of difficulty to some degree. Get far enough in first place and I can guarantee there will be a cavalcade of blue shells (and who knows what else) raining down upon you. Suddenly ::12th place::

I have consistently enjoyed the single player aspect of all the other Mario Kart games, but that might not be the case with this one when I finally move on to 150cc. Unbalancedness be damned, but I really don't see how getting hit with seven items in a row for doing nothing more than having the audacity to keep first place for long enough is all that balanced. Though, I think that sort of unfairness is something of a strength for MKW; the fact that I can't do everything from day one is enticing. If I could, what reason would I really have had to purchase this game other than to get a free hunk of plastic that resembles a miniature steering wheel? Then again, the ostensible depth seems more than a bit artificial given the issues the game has with CPU AI insanity. Maybe I'm just belaboring the casualfags argument.

It's going to take some work to get fully accustomed to the new drifting system. Personally, I'm glad that they've removed the ability to powerslide/drift your way into snaking, but my initial thoughts on the new system generally involve use of the adjectives "lumbering" and "geriatric" and the phrase "like your car is the size of a bus." I'm optimistic that my feelings toward this will change over time, as I remember that similar thoughts were eventually alleviated after I initially played MKDD on the Gamecube. It's interesting, though--despite the lack of snaking, MKW feels very much like MKDS did with respect to drifting.

Yes, there are sixteen new courses to choose from in MKW, and I do like a good number of the new ones. At first, I was adamant that Toad Factory was the most horrible thing to happen to the game. Eventually, I got used to the thing, but I am generally shocked by the number of course hazards that are on each course. Indeed, this challenges players to pay attention to what they're doing; however, it seems to go against Nintendo's beloved make-it-easier-for-beginners-to-play policy. Yes, you'll generally get used to the hazards if you play courses enough, but the initial frustration of not noticing a hazard until it's impossible to avoid might be a big turn-off for some people. I can't really reach a decision regarding hazards. On the one hand, I've found myself murmuring curses at the game when I accidentally ran into a retractable piranha plant, for example; but I know that I will be able to avoid it better if I keep playing the course. Consequently, I begin to think there is even more credence to the notion that difficulty is perhaps dynamically enhanced in order to artificially lengthen gameplay.

Some course hazards require pure luck to avoid, creating an issue with the idea that players will eventually learn to avoid all the hazards. Take, for example, the Shy Guys skating (or whatever it is they're doing) on DK Summit. It's very difficult, if not impossible, to figure out exactly where they're going to be when you're attempting to avoid the deeper snow in that area. There are too many times that I have gone up the halfpipe on the right side of that section--near the second section of deeper snow--only to fall directly on top of a Shy Guy. This is less of a problem for me in 50cc, because I'm generally far enough ahead of the competition that my position isn't contested. In 100cc, however, this is a bigger issue, as the races are generally a lot tighter than in 50cc. I can only imagine 150cc might make those random hazards even more irksome.

That being said, I've managed to get at least one-star rank on all of 50cc; I have all but three cups in 50cc two-star'd. I've hardly played any of 100cc, but I have a one-star rank on the two cups I've completed on that difficulty level/engine size.

Controlling with the Wii Wheel works amazingly well in comparison to other games, but I don't think that it's altogether possible to do spectacularly well with it; I switched to my Gamecube controller after about two or three GP cups with the Wii Wheel. Again, the wheel works great for standard playing (whatever that means), and I'm very glad they've improved control over Excite Truck, a game whose controls I always found to be slightly too touchy for me--a single minute gesture would often cause me to turn too far in one direction, and I would crash into a wall. Granted, as with most other things, I did become acquainted enough with the control in Excite Truck that I was able to race successfully, but I'm glad to see that the primary Wiimote-based control for MKW is easy to use from the outset, even if I don't actually use the thing anymore. Yes, yes, just as with Brawl, I've found myself using a controller for another system entirely, albeit the previous generation's Nintendo console. I'm glad they've provided the option for multiple control methods, particularly given this game's ridiculously wacky difficulty level both in the single and multi-player modes, but it will remain consistently hilarious that the control method that makes best use of the Wiimote as an exemplification of the activity of automobile operation is likely the one that I'll use least. Then again, I've been told you can get a golden Wii Wheel emblem if you play online long enough with the wheel/solo Wiimote. Still, the Wiimote was designed with the ostensible purpose of requiring players to recreate the motion of some activity to achieve some feat in a game, and it is continually proving itself somewhat useless at that purpose. I'm not saying "the Wii is doomed" or anything, but more and more often I am finding that the controller made for the thing probably isn't the best choice or only provides marginal improvements over a more traditional controller. But, hey, I guess the appeal of the Wii is in its universality; maybe the ability for anyone to pick up a game and play it is the direction things should be going in. If that's the case, Nintendo ought to better configure the controls for the Wiimote in order that all players are encouraged to use them over other possible implements. As it stands, the only thing I'd consider using a solo Wiimote for in MKW is performing tricks easier.

I do like MKW a lot, don't get me wrong, but I realize it's got flaws that seem to be increasingly consistent among first party Nintendo games. At the same time, I don't think that their newfound desire to appeal to more casual players is entirely a bad thing. I just wish there would be a better middle ground. In any case, I'm probably going to be playing MKW for quite some time to come.

I'll put my FC on the wiki later.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I've heard that star rankings are more dependent on how well you avoided course hazards in the like, as is perhaps evidenced by the fact that I've gotten a few star rankings after coming in 2nd place on one or more of a GP cup's races. GOD, NINTENDO, PUBLISH SOME CRITERIA....

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I added Grawl and myself to the wiki.

Thankfully, I'm starting to get used to this game, I think. I've got most of 100cc double-starred right now, so hopefully 150cc won't be too spirit-crushing. Watching staff ghosts has been inspiring, I guess.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.