Mario Kart Wii

I apologize to my two loyal readers that I was unable to come up with a decent blog yesterday, therefore, did not write one at all.

I am back today, though, as I had more of a chance to play some of Mario Kart Wii to give a better review of the game.

It's odd to be so into video games again. I am not going to lie, but before I got my Wii for Christmas, I can't even remember the last time I had played my PS2. It might have had something to do with the fact that my dog ate my RCA cables on two separate occasions, or the fact that I did have a young child running around the house - but, for whatever reason it was, I had not played many video games in a long time.

Since my wife gifted me the Wii, however, I am back into video games full-force. I was first into the Super Mario Galaxy game pretty hardcore until Super Smash Bros. Brawl came out in March. Since then I have been playing that game pretty much non-stop, with the exception of the week or so that I was playing GH:3 with Erika.

But now, Mario Kart Wii was released this past Sunday and I feel I might be into that for quite awhile. Like Smash Bros. before it, Mario Kart has unlockable characters, as well as new tracks, bikes, karts, etc. to be unlocked with certain things finished.

When we first purchased the game, Erika and I played the 2-player races against the computer and ourselves. The starting roster gives you 12 characters (Baby Mario, Baby Peach, Mario, Peach, Bowser, Toad, Koopa Troopa, Donkey Kong, Luigi, Waluigi, Wario and Yoshi) to choose from and four different races (with four race tracks apiece). We played that for the first night we had the game - and started to do the same on Monday.

Afterwards, however, we went online to play against others throughout the world. I wasn't sure what to expect, because when I received Smash Bros. Brawl the online capabilities were pretty lacking. I wasn't able to find just random brawls, and even when using the friend code, there was a lag - which has improved. But, on Mario Kart it was flawless throughout - it was quite nice.

Yesterday, Erika and I tried the battle mode a little bit. It's not as fun as the actual racing, but it's a nice little bonus that you can do. The battle zones that they have are also pretty amazing.

I would give Mario Kart Wii a solid 9/10. I have been a fan of the series since the original on SNES, but of course I haven't played any of the newer versions until now.

(HIDDEN CHARACTER SPOILER ALERT)

Aside from the 12 characters you can race with when the game starts - there are actually 12 other characters you can unlock, plus two Mii bodies as well.

So far I have unlocked Rosalina and King Boo, but also unlockable are: Baby Daisy, Baby Luigi, Birdo, Bowser Jr, Daisy, Diddy Kong, Dry Bones, Dry Bowser, Funky Kong and Toadette.

(HIDDEN CHARACTER SPOILER FINISHED)

Another good thing about Mario Kart Wii is that my wife actually enjoys playing it. I have always felt guilty/bad when playing Smash Bros. when she is around, because it is not really her type of game - although she has played it with me, which I appreciate. But, she thoroughly enjoys Mario Kart, so it's something else we can do together.

That's it for now - I will try not to miss any other weekday blogs. And I am always looking for hints on topics. I enjoy doing lists and having certain annual topics (like the Random Netflix Movie or Watch From Wherever Series) so if you have any, give me a shout.