I am arguably the number 1 fan of Mario Kart Wii! As a casual gamer (with addictive characteristics), I never thought that I would get so much fun out of playing a driving game! As with my skepticism when we first bought our Nintendo Wii, I was extremely reluctant to buy my husbands gaming choice of Mario Kart for the Wii. I was so sure that I would not enjoy what I thought would be a boring driving game that would only appeal to boys. But however hard it is for me to admit again, Shaun proved to be right. I love it!
Mario Kart has it all. You can play up to four players, or more via the internet. You get to choose great Mario characters to play, along with many ‘pimped up’ karts and bikes. And the more points you score in different levels, the more karts, bikes, characters and tracks you unlock! For beginners you will start off in the 50cc range of vehicles, and will soon progress up to the 150cc range. You will also be graded on your driving ability. If you are good enough to get into the star class then more treats are unlocked like expert ghost data to battle against, and competitions to get you ‘fired up’.
Surprisingly, all this is just for starters. If you have Internet and other friends with Mario Kart, you can hook up online to play against each other. You can also play against other Mario Kart fans all over the world. Boost your ratings and rankings if you can win these races. I can get ‘lost in Mario Kart space’ for hours when I get online!
My favourite extra feature is the competition section. Here you can compete in crazy time trial and quest tasks against other online players. Nintendo are constantly setting new competitions so you will always be spoilt for choice. Just yesterday I was playing a new competition where I had to find 15 coins amongst the autumnal virtual scenery whilst trying to avoid the stampede of giant caterpillars! Mario Kart Wii really is gaming fun for all ages!
Mario Kart is not for the faint hearted though as it can get very fast paced, hectic and dare I say a bit vicious out on the track! If you are anything like me, and you don’t like losing, you may find yourself shouting at your TV screen!
