Mario Kart Wii - possible release date and info

[Akanbe-]

Of course, this is a rumor, but still worth getting excited about.  12 people can race online at one time, but sadly only 16 total tracks (wouldn't mind 20 or so myself.. or port in some from the N64 to add more perhaps).  You can race as your Mii, but I wonder how many other characters you can race as.

*Akanbe is excited

http://kotaku.com/353090/japan-gets-final-mario-kart-wii-release-date

edit:  http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=92157.  Nevermind the release date.  I guess it could still be possibly true but official date is still listed as "Spring".  Was going to delete the topic, but it's still worth discussing.

[Eusis]

I'm hearing higher for the player count! 16 is pretty nice, means a lot of people can play without any being left out.

[Akanbe-]

Excellent find.

I was looking through older Kotaku news which had mentioned 32 tracks as well, but since the new article mentioned 16, I figured it was a rumor nixed.

I'm glad as hell that they are including 32 tracks: 16 new and 16 remakes.  Not only that but 10 battle stages?  Nice.  Nintendo seems to have learned their lesson.

Amazing.

[Prime Mover]

Let's hope the battle modes don't suck, in my experience, the battle modes have all gone down hill since the first SNES installment. The MK64s battle mode was great, but one of the 4 courses was boring (big donaught), and some peopled hated Skyscraper (I liked it, though), leaving only 2 courses available for parties.

Double Dash's battle mode, on the other hand, was a joke. Double Dash's problem, overall, was that it was too heavy on item pickups. Usually, people with skill came in last because they'd get trounced by people in back with random rapey item pickups late in the game. Hopefully you can turn off rapey items, or make item selection completely random, and not based on current possition (people in first place never get good items).

[Wilsongt]

The Japanese release date is April 10th. That was reported in Famitsu. I'm hoping for an early fall release in NA.

[Akanbe-]

1up Preview

You can use the classic controller or gamecube controller to play.  Fuck yes!

I agree with you on the N64 battle mode, Prime Mover.  I never had a problem with people hating skyscraper in my experience, which is good because that was probably my favorite track.

As for the Gamecube version, I don't recall the itemizing being a big problem, but I can count on two hands how many battle mode games I played probably.  The tracks did blow major ass though.  I did enjoy the co-op 1p mode though.  It was great for playing with my gf since she did not like racing against me and made a fun experience for people who aren't gamers but are willing to give it a shot.

edit:  a minor review is up: http://www.wiiwii.tv/2008/02/27/hands-on-with-mario-kart-wii/

[Degolas]

So, anyone playing this?

I got it today and I'm enjoying it a lot. It's nothing wildly different, but the wheel works really well and the bikes add a good bit of variety.

Online play is working really well too. Pretty bloody difficult though! Some people game too much, damn them! I think I'll be spending a lot of time battling random people on this thing :P

[Blace]

It's not out until the 27th here in the U.S., so I bet alot of people here are waiting.

[Sketch]

I'm stealing this directly from the Brawl thread.

I hate you all.

"All" meaning "Deg". :P

[Degolas]

Oh, I really had no idea! That's pretty odd, considering that we're still waiting for Brawl over here and all.

Also, the Germans are criminally efficient at Mario Kart it would seem :P

[Superflat]

I'm really not psyched for this release. It seems like they're not doing enough new and exciting to warrant a purchase, especially at $50.

[Eusis]

It seems good to me and all... I'm just not interested enough in Mario Kart right now. MGS4 is coming up soon and there's a plethora of awesome portable titles.

[Degolas]

I was a bit iffy before it came out, but I'm so glad I picked it up. The online play is just so damned fun.

I mean, it's the most infuriating thing I've ever played in my life. The amount of times I've been arse-raped by a German to fall from 1st to 10th on the finish line is ridiculous. But man, I keep going back for more rape!