Mario Kart Wii

 Wii
Mario Kart Wii Image
Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 73 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1245 Ratings

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  • Summary: Mario Kart Wii comes with the intuitive Wii Wheel, which makes it easy for novices to compete against veterans, so no one is left in the dust. And with a broadband hookup to Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, players can compete with up to 11 other drivers from around the world for racing dominance.Mario Kart Wii comes with the intuitive Wii Wheel, which makes it easy for novices to compete against veterans, so no one is left in the dust. And with a broadband hookup to Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, players can compete with up to 11 other drivers from around the world for racing dominance. The game includes 16 new courses and 16 classic courses from previous Mario Kart games. For the first time ever, players have the option of racing with either karts or motorbikes. Players can also hit the road as their personalized Mii caricatures in addition to the handful of classic Nintendo characters found in the game. True to the series, the game features tons of racing, plenty of power-ups and oodles of objects for players to use to slow down other drivers. And 10 battle arenas keep players busy between trips around the circuit. Mario Kart Wii supports four different control options: Wii Remote with or without the Wii Wheel, Wii Remote and Nunchuk controller combo, Classic Controller and even the Nintendo GameCube controller. So there's bound to be a configuration that fits everyone's style. Mario Kart Wii launches with a new channel added to the Wii Menu to enhance game play: The Mario Kart Wii Channel. This new channel builds on the online community of Wii owners and lets players compete in tournaments, check worldwide rankings, see when their friends are playing and download ghost data. [Nintendo]… Expand
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 65 out of 73
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 73
  3. Negative: 1 out of 73
  1. AceGamez
    100
    Mario Kart Wii has more variety, more to do, and ultimately more to keep you coming back than any Mario Kart before it (and as a hardcore advocate of the SNES original, I never thought I would find myself saying that); but more than that, it is a flagship title for the Nintendo Wii. Not only is Mario Kart Wii the most important title that will be released on the format this year, but it will stand the test of time as one of the best games the Wii has to offer.
    All this publication's reviews
  2. GameSpy
    90
    The offline and online content is extremely entertaining and the pursuit of casual and hardcore karting has never been this much fun.
  3. Play.tm
    85
    The package as a whole works well, not because of the packed in wheel, not because of the new content and innovation, but because Nintendo have proved that they understand what it is that makes this series great - the balance between racing and fighting.
  4. GameFocus
    83
    Mario Kart Wii is a complete game. Of course, the addition of the online mode makes this title a keeper and a must have title for your Wii collection but for unconditional local multiplayer lovers, the offline mode has also received some upgrades and tweaks.
  5. Gamer.nl
    80
    Mario Kart Wii is a great new game in the series. It still plays like a dream and is perhaps the most enjoyable game of the last few years. Even the additions of motorcycles, Wii-Wheel and online mode are suprisingly good. Mario Kart Wii even does something which most other games lack: It brings fun.
  6. Deeko
    80
    After all the hype surrounding this game (or lack thereof), Mario Kart Wii is the same game we've been playing over and over again for years now, which either has you jumping up and down with glee or shaking your head in disgust.
  7. Game Chronicles
    42
    Mario Kart boils down to a whole lot of luck and very little skill.

See all 73 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 297 out of 389
  2. Mixed: 66 out of 389
  3. Negative: 26 out of 389
  1. SuperLeo
    May 3, 2013
    10
    Mario Kart Wii is really fun. There are over 30 courses and you can race as your own Mii which I really liked. I liked playing people over theMario Kart Wii is really fun. There are over 30 courses and you can race as your own Mii which I really liked. I liked playing people over the internet and the shortcuts are fun to find. There are lots of good characters to choose from. I like racing as Luigi on his motorbike. Some people think Dry Bowser and Rosalina are the best characters. What I find annoying when I go on Worldwide are people that use cheats in the game to try and win the race or battle. Still this game is awesome.… Expand
  2. omniface
    Mar 8, 2021
    10
    almost as great as super mario kart, but has golden additional features

    pros great features amazing graphics amazing kart designs    almost as great as super mario kart, but has golden additional features

    pros
    great features
    amazing graphics
    amazing kart designs
    amazing art style
    tremendously amazing music
    fantastic tracks
    incredible items
    incredible other modes

    cons
    time trial mode can get harder than making 3million bells on animal crossing    … Expand
  4. blisss
    Jun 10, 2011
    10
    This is the best Mario Kart Yet, from amazing tracks to amazing gameplay, to the bullet bills that can help you when youre doing bad, to theThis is the best Mario Kart Yet, from amazing tracks to amazing gameplay, to the bullet bills that can help you when youre doing bad, to the blue shells that knock me out of first a lot where it provides a challenge for me to get back into first, to the many fun gameplay modes in multiplayer, especially 3-4 players, is really fun. Its really fun to play with friendss. Its the best Mario Kart yet, and unlike some people believe, even though there are items that can help you, this game does take some skill… Expand
  5. Strike2
    May 25, 2013
    9
    The Wii compared to my ps3 is not very good, with inferior graphics and not as many games my ps3 is what I stick with most of the time. SoThe Wii compared to my ps3 is not very good, with inferior graphics and not as many games my ps3 is what I stick with most of the time. So when there's a game on the Wii that's capable of pulling me off my PS3 it has to be good. Mario Kart is that game. Its a fun racer with great tracks and is one of the few games my family will play with me. Using the Wii remote to steer works surprisingly well and the AI can give you a challenge when you put up the difficulty. The best part though is just how fun it is to play and you can't ask for more than that.… Expand
  6. TitaniumDragon
    Jan 26, 2009
    8
    Mario Kart Wii is a good game, and is worth purchasing if you own a Wii. Its the latest iteration in the Mario Kart series, and it is a good Mario Kart Wii is a good game, and is worth purchasing if you own a Wii. Its the latest iteration in the Mario Kart series, and it is a good game. But it isn't a great one, and its flaws rankle. First off, unlike its predecessors, you have to actually unlock the right to play every race. This sucks, because it is annoying not to be able to just jump in wherever. But the bigger issue here is that playing multiplayer -doesn't unlock the races-. So you get the game, plug it in to play with your friends (and you can now play with up to FOUR people vs the computers in the grand-prix type race) and... you can't play any but the first four cups without beating all the cups in single player. This is incredibly frustrating and there's absolutely no good reason for this. The races shouldn't be locked in the first place, and even if they had to be for some reason, there's absolutely no reason whatsoever multiplayer play shouldn't be able to unlock them. Battle Modes are, likewise, inferior; you can no longer do free-for-alls between four players, which were the most fun, and you can't do elimination battle matches anymore, which were also fun - why isn't this still an option, at least? There's no good reason for it. The computers also are very poor at battle mode. The items in this game also suffer from being too swingy. Blue shells are too difficult to avoid and Bullet Bills are just horribly overpowered and completely game-swinging, and frustrating when you're doing well and then suddenly a bullet bill comes up and beats you. Overall the game is a good game - its got good races (though I feel Mario Kart 64 had better courses on the whole) and it is a fun racing game, but there have been better racing games. If you play it alone, you'll probably like it quite a bit, but multiplayer just feels like second fiddle, and as I purchased it for the sole purpose of playing grand prix mode multiplayer, its quite annoying. That said, the time trials are quite cool in this game, as you race against "ghosts" which are previous racers. While this existed previously, you can now download and race against other players as well as the "staff ghosts", which makes it more enjoyable as you can sort of tell how well you're doing. Overall, thumbs up, but not the greatest game ever, let alone the greatest mario kart game ever. Incidentally, the Wii wheel is pretty awkward - you're better off using the controller.… Expand
  7. muzziklover
    Sep 20, 2010
    8
    Online and offline multi-player; complete and utterly awesome. Offline single player; completely and utterly unfair. The biggest reason youOnline and offline multi-player; complete and utterly awesome. Offline single player; completely and utterly unfair. The biggest reason you should get this game is the online gameplay which is the most fun you will ever get on the Wii with the bonus of having more tracks, more karts and more racers. Going on the downside, single player can be fun most of the time but on the later cc's it is down right unfair with its ridiculous rubber band AI.… Expand
  8. RickyA.
    Nov 13, 2007
    0
    Same characters, nothing new, a letdown, a too fast of a game, pointless and babyish, a disappointment.

See all 389 User Reviews

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Awards & Rankings

18
#18 Best Wii Game of 2008
2
#2 Most Discussed Wii Game of 2008
5
#5 Most Shared Wii Game of 2008