Mario Kart Wii - The Saga Continues!

Overview
Mario Kart for Wii is a game that is perfect for anyone and everyone - especially if you have been a fan of any of the past Mario Kart games. It is simple to pick up and understand, and is appropriate for all age groups. It's a game that parents can play with their children, children can play by themselves, or parents can play late night together (don't let the kids find out how you got so good!!).

Startup
For someone who hasn't played the game before, the startup screen may be a little confusing. There are 4 different "Licenses" that you can play with, and you just have to select one. Each license is a different Mii that you have on your Wii - and the progress is tracked. One of the few downsides to Mario Kart Wii is that you can only play with one license at a time, so if you are playing with two people, you can only get records for one license, not both. In the scheme of things, though, really not such a bad downside...

Wii Wheel
One of the best things about Mario Kart Wii is the included Wii Wheel (and then subsequent purchases of Wii Wheels... because you can't hog it!). The Wii Wheel is pretty easy to get the hang of: you put the Wii controller in the middle (there is only one direction it can go), slip the wrist strap through the designated hole, put the wrist strap on (because you don't want to be tossing Wii Wheels around your family room during sharp turns - yet to happen... but the wrist strap is reassuring...), and you're done! The wheel works just like a regular steering wheel - when you turn the wheel left, your character turns left, and vice versa. It is a lot of fun, and a lot more interactive then the other controller options.

Other Controllers
The Wii Wheel is not the only controller option (but the most fun in my mind!). The most popular other option is the regular Wii Remote with Nunchuk. Turning is done with the Nunchuk stick (not by turning it), and the various buttons either shoot weapons, look backwards, slide (or drift), or go. It is also possible to use the Wii controller (the actual plug-in controller), or a GameCube controller. I haven't tried either of those options, so I can't comment...

Karts / Motorcycles
There are two great features to Mario Kart Wii - the introduction of motorcycles, and the ability to select a specific vehicle (different karts and motorcycles with different attributes)!

Motorcycles
Motorcycles have introduced a great option that was never available before - the ability to perform a wheelie! This is a small boost that you can get by shaking your Wii Wheel, but you can't turn during them!

Various Vehicle Attributes
You start with a limited number of choices for vehicles (I think 3 karts and 3 motorcycles), but you unlock more as you complete various tasks in the game. The vehicles are all different based on their Speed, Weight, Acceleration, Handeling, Drift, Off-Road, and Mini-Turbo.

Tricks
In addition to wheelies for motorcycles, you can also perform tricks while in the air on both karts and motorcycles. You do this by shaking your Wii Wheel just after getting in the air, and you will perform a trick and get a small boost upon landing. This is another great new feature!

Race / Battle
Like all previous Mario Kart's, Mario Kart Wii has both race and battle features, with different types for each. One of the things that I really like about this version, however, is that you can play in battle mode by yourself against the computer. Races are the standard Grand Prix, Time Trials, and VS, while battle mode has Balloon Battle and Coin Runner modes. Balloon Battle is the typical Mario Kart Battle, while the point of Coin Runner is to have your team collect as many coins as possible (losing them every time you get hit).

Levels
I really like the levels in Mario Kart Wii - they have both new levels and throwback levels (levels that were on previous versions of Mario Kart). These new and old levels are available in both races and battles, and have created 8 Grand Prix cups instead of the historical 4 (4 cups are old levels and 4 are new).

Characters
There are a boatload of characters available in Mario Kart Wii - if you don't want to find out about them all, skip to the next section...
You start with 12 characters and continue to add to them as you progress through the game. In all, there are 26 available! To avoid a giant spoiler for those who want to go through the game and get the characters yourselves, I will include a section at the end of how to unlock everyone!

Online Gameplay
Playing online is a great feature of Mario Kart Wii - you can play with two people on your machine, and can play with up to 12 people online! I have not experienced any slow gameplay while playing online, which is pretty amazing and great that it's set up so well. You can either connect on Nintendo WFC to play in games against people, or you can connect through the Mario Kart Channel, where you can enter tournaments, send ghosts to your friends, view rankings, and set friends (so that you can find them if you want to play against them).

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UNLOCKABLE CHARACTERS - If you don't want to know this part, please just skip to the bottom of the stars!
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Baby Daisy - In all 50cc cups, get a one star ranking or better.
Baby Luigi - In Time Trials mode, unlock 8 Expert Staff Ghost Data files - which you get by beating a regular ghost by 7 seconds.
Birdo - In Time Trials mode, play 16 different levels.
Bowser Jr - In all 100cc cups, get a one star ranking or better.
Daisy - In the 150cc Special Cup, come in first in all races.
Diddy Kong - Complete all 50cc cups.
Dry Bones - Win the 100cc Leaf Cup.
Dry Bowser - In 150cc new level cups, get a one star ranking or better.
Funky Kong - In Time Trials mode, unlock 4 Expert Staff Ghost Data files.
King Boo - Win the 50cc Star Cup.
Mii 1 - Win the 100cc Special Cup.
Mii 2 - In Time Trials mode, unlock all 32 Expert Staff Ghost Data files.
Rosalina - In 100cc cups, get a one star ranking or better OR have a saved file on your Wii for Super Mario Galaxy.
Toadette - In Time Trials mode, play on all 32 courses.
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Conclusion
Mario Kart Wii is a fantastic game that is fun for the whole family. You can play for hours by yourself in one player mode either playing Grand Prix, Battles, Times Trials, or you can play online against your friends! It's also a great game to play when everyone's around - everyone can enjoy it and who doesn't know and love Mario Kart?