Mario Kart Wii - Gameplay

Gameplay

Mario Kart Wii is a racing video game where the player races in each of the 32 different tracks, including sixteen new tracks, and sixteen "retro" tracks from previous Mario Kart games; four each from Mario Kart 64, Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Kart DS, and two each from Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart: Super Circuit, and up to 12 characters can participate in a race instead of the traditional eight. Game modes include "Grand Prix", in which the player races against eleven computer-controlled players on four pre-determined tracks, "Time Trials", in which the player races alone or against a "ghost" (which can be either Nintendo's pre-recorded staff ghosts, ghosts from other players on the same Wii console, the player's own ghost data, or ghosts downloaded from other players on the Mario Kart Channel) in order to finish in the fastest possible time, "VS", which is similar to Grand Prix in that the player races against eleven CPU players, but they are allowed to choose any course they have unlocked and can customize extra options for the race, and "Battle", which consists of 2 different modes, Balloon Battle or Coin Runners. In Battle, the objective is to obtain items that are scattered across the stage and hit the opposing team with them within the time alloted. Battle mode contains ten stages (5 new stages, and 5 stages from previous Mario Kart games) which are separate from the 32 standard racing tracks, and are more open-ended than the race tracks. In addition to the single-player modes, the game allows 2-4 players to play offline in VS or Battle mode, either with or without the CPU players. Players obtain items by driving through item boxes placed at certain intervals throughout the courses, which can be used for either defense, offense, or for benefiting themselves, such as getting a speed boost from using a Mushroom. The game utilizes new items from Mario platform games not found in past Mario Kart games, including the "Mega Mushroom" from New Super Mario Bros., which allows the character to grow enormous in size and flatten opposing characters, and the "POW Block" from Mario Bros., which allows the character to send a shockwave to all the characters in front of them, spinning them out of control and causing them to drop any items they may be carrying (there is no effect, however, on those who are airborne). One additional item new to the series is the "Lightning Cloud", which raises the user's top speed briefly, but shrinks the user if it is not passed on to an opponent by colliding with their vehicle within a certain amount of time.

Mario Kart Wii features 24 selectable Nintendo characters, more than any of its predecessors. In addition, there are twelve variants (3 weight classes, 2 genders, 2 outfits) of a Mii, a digital avatar created by the player.

There are other characters that may hurt or help the racer in-game. Some of them included in the game are Lakitu, Piantas, Shy Guys, Monty Moles, and many others.