Mario Kart Wii is, hands down, the most fun you can have with the Nintendo Wii.  It has been some time since I enjoyed a Nintendo title this much.  It is arguably the best game available for the Nintendo Wii, but sadly it is not without its flaws.

Graphics:  95%
Simply put, aside from possibly The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess, these are as good as Wii graphics get.  Vibrant colors and perfectly, lovably rendered characters all pop from the screen like never before.

The re-envisioned versions of classic tracks and battle maps dating all the way back to the first Mario Kart game, look spectacular.  A few jagged edges keep the title from being graphically perfect, but the Wii has never looked so good.

Sound: 65%
Ah...sound.  If you are a retro gamer, or a lover of the soundtracks of previous Mario Kart games, then you will most likely love the audio included here.  It plays like a retrofit of old sounds in a new game.  Nothing spectacular, but the sound isn’t necessarily bad either.  I would have loved to see something far more grand and orchestral from Nintendo, rather than a new version of the status quo.

Gameplay:  85%
Gameplay is really the heart of any game.  Graphics and sound add to a title, but gameplay is where it’s at, and Mario Kart Wii has some great gameplay.

 All the familiar options are here, including racing, time trials and “Battle Mode”.  “Battle Mode” includes the familiar Balloon Battle, and a new Coin Runner mode.  In this mode, teams must collect the most coins, which are scattered throughout the arena.  Smashing into other drivers will cause the target to lose some of his coins.  The team with the most coins, when time expires, wins.  Personally, I really enjoyed this mode, even more so than the traditional Balloon Battle, particularly in multiplayer mode.

“Grand Prix” play in Mario Kart Wii is much like it was in the preceding titles.  Made up of a series of 4-race cups, gamers must complete each of the eight cups (for a total of 32 tracks) to unlock characters, vehicles, and additional cups.

Speaking of vehicles, no discussion of this game would be complete without mentioning bikes.  The new motorcycles (and other 2-wheeled motorized vehicles) are a welcome addition to the game.  I found it difficult drifting with only two wheels, but steering was quick, and a little less sloppy (see the Controls section below).

The biggest problem with Mario Kart Wii is the series continued use of a “cheating AI”.  My girlfriend summed it up best when she said, “First is the worst place to be.”  She was absolutely right.  If you happen to be in first, particularly if you have a sizable lead, you can bet the AI-controlled racers will at any minute unload a barrage of special items which will hit you one after another.  In one race in particular, while leading the race and the finish line in sight, I was hit with four consecutive blasts, and ultimately finished seventh.  This is something that has long needed to be changed in the MK series, and with ample horsepower in the Wii, should have been.

Multiplayer: 90%
Finally, the multiplayer experience Wii owners have been waiting for has arrived.  With support for up to twelve racers, the online component of the game is awesome.  The usual two, three, and four player split screen modes are all available, but online play is now available, with one or two local players.

Although friends are forced to swap “license numbers” (numbers randomly assigned to each “save game” the first time they select the "Nintendo WFC" (Wi-Fi Connection)), the system works pretty well, and considerably better than previous online Wii titles.

Once a friend has been added, players can create a room in which to meet where they can send “canned” chat messages.  Although this chat function is very limited, it includes enough options to get one’s point across without belaboring the process with an on-screen keyboard.  When the room’s host is ready, he can close the room, and begin a race.

Online match making also works fairly well, although it is quite a bit slower than systems used by Xbox Live or PlayStation Network titles, but this is expected from a new network.  Each player begins with a skill rating of 5000, which increases or decreases proportional to performance in each online event, and match games can occur regionally or worldwide, depending on the gamer’s selection.  My only concern, and it could simply be contributable to the immediate popularity of Mario Kart Wii, is that I was disconnected once while playing.  This is considerably less than the problems incurred while first playing Super Smash Bros. Brawl, but a concern, nonetheless.

Cut Scenes: 60%
Granted, this is not a story driven (sorry for the pun) game, but when you include cut scenes, I feel I must include them in the review.  As has been the case for the past few Mario Kart games, cut scenes include a fly-over of the track, and the standard Olympic-like award ceremony.

A new feature is the ability to take a snap shot of an award ceremony.  I’m not sure what I would do with such a picture, but kids might really enjoy the option to show off their accomplishment.

Controls:  90%
The controls in Mario Kart Wii are both varied and well implemented.  With the ability to use the Wii Remote and Nunchuk combo, the Classic Controller, a GameCube controller, or the Wii Remote with wheel, there is something here to accommodate everyone’s tastes.

The combo utilizes the Nunchuk’s thumbstick for steering, but this is just a slight change from using a GameCube or classic controller.  The real fun is in using the included steering wheel adapter with the Wii Remote (additional wheels can be purchased for $10).

The first thing I noticed about using the wheel is just how natural it felt.  If you’ve played some of the other games that utilizes the Wii Remote for steering, you know how a badly implemented steering mechanism can really ruin a game.  The cow racing in Wii Play is so sloppy, it doesn’t feel as though you are steering, but rather just utilizing a different controller to play a videogame.  Mario Kart Wii is nothing like that.

The near-perfectly implemented steering mechanism is so immersive, for the first time in a kart game, you may actually feel like you are driving.  I wish other games (think Motorstorm) would have perfected motion control steering like this.

Some racers will be disappointed to find the slide mechanism has been reworked in Mario Kart Wii.  The ability to slide from side to side to achieve a boost, has been eliminated in favor of a new drifting system.  This new system offers two levels of boost, determined by the length and direction of a drift.  It is not a bad change, but it does take some time to learn if you are an MK veteran.

If I have one criticism, it is that the controls can be a little sloppy at times.  The reason for implementation of such a generous buffer zone is obvious: it allows those with over-zealous turns of the wheel (see children and non-gamers) to compete with the pros, which is inline with Nintendo's marketing of the Wii.  While I appreciate not swerving off the course with a hand twitch, I would have liked to see a sensitivity setting within the game.  (The Wii’s sensitivity controls didn’t seem to alter steering.)  The inclusion of such a setting, and the ability to customize other controls as the player sees fit, would have made this a perfect control scheme.  The sloppy controls are eliminated by using one of the other control options, but who wants to go back to a thumbstick, when you can use a wheel?

Summary:  81%
Some readers may look at my score, and think, “Gee, only an 81%?”  First off, 8 out of 10 is an excellent score. Our reviews do not correspond to a letter grade, so an 8 represents a really good game, which is exactly what Mario Kart Wii is.  With better AI, configurable controls, and some better music, this could be a fantastic game.

Regardless, Wii owners and fans of the Mario Kart franchise owe it to themselves to pick up this title.  And don’t forget the extra wheel!

Mario Kart is Rated E for Everyone by the ESRB

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