Going through the motions with Mario Kart Wii
April 2nd, 2008IGN wasn’t too thrilled with the Wii Remote “wheel” motion controls for Mario Kart Wii in their preview a few weeks ago:
“However, it’s much more fun with a GameCube or classic controller, I’ve found. The Wii remote makes an already loose control scheme feel even looser and it is particularly difficult to quickly switch from a right curve or a left one (or vice versa) using the peripheral. After some frustrating rounds in which my Kart became very friendly with the barriers surrounding the tracks, I plugged in the GCN controller and found a much tighter experience waiting. I immediately noticed a dramatic improvement in my rank throughout the courses, too.”
Ok, so, the motion controls, as I have feared, apparently don’t work all that great. So, it’s a good thing that it supports the GCN and Classic Controller, right? Well, according to Kotaku, the GCN and Classic Controller won’t really do, well, everything. From the press release:
• Classic Controller: Mario Kart veterans can let their thumbs do the driving with the Classic Controller. However, players cannot perform certain moves with this control scheme.
• Nintendo GameCube™ Controller: Experienced Mario Kart fans may also enjoy this familiar scheme, although some maneuvers cannot be performed.
Ok, so the question is… what exactly can’t be done, and how does it affect the racing? It sort of sounds like you may not be able to pull off the “tricks” that need a “shake” of the remote to pull off, that also give you a speed boost upon landing. That would seem to be a major disadvantage for people using GCN and Classic controllers, so they couldn’t do that, right? Well, according to IGN’s preview, they didn’t:
“I know that Bozon had mentioned in our podcast that he couldn’t find a way to perform tricks or wheelies in Mario Kart Wii using a GCN or classic controller. You can, though – the functionality is just mapped to the D-Pad. So when you go off a jump, tap up on the D-Pad and you’ll trick. Same for wheelies. That seeming omission was the biggest drawback to using the old controllers, which otherwise offer improved maneuverability mapped to the analog stick, but have no fear because it’s all good. It’s in there.”
Ok… so, if it isn’t the tricks, what is it? Or if it is the tricks, then this would appear to be a recent change as the feature was available in IGN’s pre-release build. Or, is this just a mistake in the press-release?
If it’s correct (and it actually refers to the tricks), I wonder whether this is a way to counter the “advantage” the traditional controller has over the motion controls. So, if you use motion controls, you can get your boosts, but you may have trouble steering. Use a GCN or Classic controller and you’ll probably steer better, but you won’t get your “trick” boosts. Is that a fair trade-off? I’m not convinced.
Posted in Commentary, Nintendo, Wii |
April 2nd, 2008 at 9:21 am
The real answer is just to fix the motion controls. After all, if it doesn’t play better with them than it does without, you’ve pretty much gutted the reason for having a Mario Kart Wii to begin with.
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:02 am
Geoff-
Nah, I disagree with that. Those games always need sequels… new levels, new mechanics, and in this case, new multiplayer (online).
April 2nd, 2008 at 4:20 pm
Frankly, I think the series has only gotten worse as the sequels have arrived. The people who thought snaking was a good idea should be shot.
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:48 pm
- theres no snaking in MK wii, for the first time.
- that said, despite the fact that MK wii looks to be most feature-rich edition of Mario Kart, its controls reinforce the fact taht Wiimote = disappointing failure! ;p
April 4th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
1. I think that the “some maneuvers can’t be performed” may simply be a poor translation of “don’t expect shaking the classic controller to do anything”.
2. I also think that his “better” performance with the classic controls can easily be chalked up to the fact that he’s used to it. I’m sure when I first started playing excite truck, I could have done much better with a gamecube controller. But with time, I got VERY competent with the motion controls. Combine that with the fact that a novice can grasp motion controls more quickly and you have a recipe for a successful control scheme. My 67 year old dad was able to roughly control Excite Truck while he was completely unable to control Mario Kart DD.