The online in this game makes it one of the best in the Mario Kart franchise.
Presentation 8/10:
The presentation of this game is easy to follow. No story, just pick up a Wii Wheel and go. You start at the Mushroom Cup and unlock many more cups, tracks, vehicles, and characters.
Graphics 8.5/10:
The graphics of this game are just good enough that they don't really need to be addressed. But in some ways, they do. The graphics on the character select screen are kind of mediocre. But once you start playing, the graphics are good enough.
Sound 8/10:
This soundtrack is not Nintendo's best, but it does alright. The music sometimes gets annoying and repetitive. The voice acting is the best in the Mario Kart series.
Gameplay 9.7/10:
First of all, the Wii Wheel works great. It is very responsive and makes driving spectacularly easy and fun. You can even drive with one hand. The game also offers four other control methods: Wii remote, Wii remote and Nunchuk, Classic controller, and the Gamecube controller.
Replay value 10/10:
The replay value in this game is marvelous. There is so much in this game to play through and unlock that it will have you busy for endless amounts of time. To completely beat the game, you will need to get 3 stars in all cups 50- 150cc, find all of the unlockables, beat all of the expert staff ghosts, etc. The online mode, which will be addressed later, also immensely adds to the fantastic replay value of this game.
Online 10/10:
Ah, the part you've all been waiting for. As you have probably heard, the online is about 90% of what most people are paying for. You can play online alone of with a friend. There are three modes, Worldwide, Regional, and Friends. After that, there are two sub-modes. VS (racing) , or Battle.
Character variety 9/10:
This would have gotten a 10/10 if it weren't that you had to unlock so many of them. I mean, you don't even start out with Diddy Kong. But besides that, there are a load of characters to choose from in the three weight classes. Another thing, you have to unlock playing with your Mii.
Environments 8.5/10:
There are 16 new tracks, and 16 old. Most are great fun, but some of the older ones feel out of place. One upside is that the N64 tracks look like N64, the SNES ones look like SNES tracks.
AI 7.5/10:
In 50cc the AI is too easy. In 100cc the AI is still easy. In 150cc the AI is unfair and is allowed to cheat.
Multiplayer 9/10:
The multiplayer is fun, but the frame rate drops noticeably when you have more than two players onscreen.
Overall, Mario Kart Wii is greatly recommend by me.
9.0/10 Overall