Things I Like: Mario Kart Wii

Even though it's not the best Mario Kart, doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the Wii game. 

It's a shame Nintendo spent so much time trying to plug the Wii Wheel thing. Such an awful method of control too. Trust me, you'll be using a GameCube controller after your first race. 

As long as you have a decent control method, Mario Kart Wii is pretty sweet. It's a shame this was the first game really missing something that makes it unique. Mario Kart 64 was the first to use 3D, Super Circuit was the first handheld MK, Double Dash had the two racers, Mario Kart DS had online play, and Mario Kart Wii has motorcycles.....Hooray? 

I did enjoy the online mode for Mario Kart Wii though. Also a few additional features besides just racing and battling. Less cheating in Mario Kart Wii versus Mario Kart DS during online play as well. 

It may have been a disappointing sequel, but it was still a good game. Forget the haters, Mario Kart Wii is a gem. 

My Top Ten Mario Spin-Offs #2: Super Mario Kart

Even though it's the least powerful, and has no online play, I really liked Super Mario Kart the best out of all the others. 

Plenty of tracks, powerful but not game-breaking items, and none of that rubber band racing crap. Pure skill, and you will need it to win some of these championships. 

Rainbow Road for example in it's original SNES form is harder than you could imagine. It looks like a simple track, but trust me you'll fall off more times than you can imagine. Kinda sad how easy the Rainbow Roads in the later games had become. 

Also worth nothing is that Super Mario Kart had the best battle mode for some reason. I can't stand the other game's battle modes so much that I didn't even try it out on Mario Kart Wii. 

My Top Ten Mario Spin-Offs #3: Mario Kart DS

I waited a long time for this game to come out. Not only was it a decent time gap since Double Dash, but it was a killer-app for the Nintendo DS not only as one of the first awesome games, but the first to really take advantage of online play through Nintendo Wi-Fi connection. 

Granted online play was slow to connect, but I had a lot of fun after the game was set-up. Then snakers cheated in every match a few months after the game came out, and it was no longer fun to play over the net. 

I guess it's not that big of a loss. It has plenty to chew on in single-player, and offline multi-player. Even if everyone doesn't own a copy they can still play in some limited modes and tracks. Such an awesome game, one of the best Mario Karts to come out in recent years. 

My Top Ten Mario Spin-Offs #7: Mario Kart: Double Dash

I really liked Double Dash, it was really my first Mario Kart since the original. 

I really liked the 2-racer concept. Can't believe it was pretty dropped from every other future installment. 

It had really fun multiplayer too, it's a shame that it has such a little number of tracks to compete on. 

Regardless, it might have some flaws, but I played this game to death. I'm glad to see at least some track make a return in future Mario Karts under the Retro tracks. 

Super Mario Platformer and Mario Kart Get New Names

Say hello to Mario Kart 7

And Super Mario 3D Land

Things I Hate: Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz

The Super Monkey Ball series kinda hit a slump after the first two games. I was hoping the Wii game would be a revival of a great game, but not so much. 

I like the graphics, and the stages are decently designed, however there is one big problem. 

You can only use motion control, and like Mario Kart Wii (which gives the option) you'll be longing to go back to the traditional joystick. 

Things I Hate: Sonic R

This was obviously trying to tap at the success of the Mario Kart series. 

It had the right idea, Sonic sorta copied Mario the first time so why not racing?

Well if you count just running around boring tracks with crappy controls fun then you're in luck! Otherwise you will hate Sonic R about as much as I did.

Things I Hate: Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec

Granted I was never a fan of the series on PS1 and I don't like racing games in general. 

But even though it's a damn fine simulation, I just find it boring. I'm not a car nut, and for expensive cars, there seems to be a very little sense of speed in this game. I'd rather have Mario Kart.