Posted by Amber Ahlborn
Mama Mia!
Every weekend I try to get together with a group of friends to play Mario Kart Wii online. We have a blast battling it out for first place and lobbing weapons of happy destruction at each other. I really love this game and it is, hands down, my favorite console iteration of the series to date. I'm definitely a fan of the bikes and the stunts and I quite enjoy the “Whiil” (sorry). Alas, it has no voice chat so communicating with my fellow racers involves a little racing of my own; from my living room, where the Wii is ensconced, to my studio where my computer sits. But, I know why there is no voice chat. It's because of me.
Nobody wants to listen to me scream expletives at the top of my lungs because I just got hit with a blue bhell, followed up by a Bullet Bill and three red shells; surviving the item onslaught only to get sumo-ed off the track by one of the heavy weight characters. Five seconds of agony later and I've dropped from first place to tenth. No worries right? I'll just grab this item box and...CRAP! It's a Lightning Cloud! I've always liked the crazy items in Mario Kart but I think things are starting to get a “wii” bit out of control (sorry again).
I honestly wouldn't get rid of any of the items, but I would tweak them a bit. It's nice that the game gives hope of ranking positions to the folks in the rear but now the front of the pack is getting overly punished. Sometimes it just doesn't pay to fight my way into first place. And yet, I keep coming back to race once again. I'll just have to remember to keep the windows shut lest the neighbors complain. Remember folks, don't drive angry.
Yep, that's about right...
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About Amber Ahlborn
Artist, writer, gamer and DigiPen survivor, she maintains a day job as a graphic artist. By night Amber moonlights as a professional Metroid Fanatic and keeps a metal suit in the closet just in case. Has lived in the state of Washington and insists that it really doesn't rain as much as everyone says it does.