Driving Ms. Mario...
Customer Rating: 
My wife was somewhat excited to finally check out this game. I'll admit - so was I.
I was impressed at how well the steering worked. Now, renting it, we didn't get a wheel, but I was glad to see that you can hold the wiimote flat - buttons up - and tilt it side to side just as well as you can hold it buttons-facing-you and tilt it. Once I learned this, it became more comfortable to play.
But it didn't become more fun. There seems to be some argument over the value of the game as a single-player. I can say first-hand that we had more fun playing together than either of us did on our own.
Mario Kart Wii just bombards you. You can be sitting in first place, minding your business, just driving along when a Koopa shell hits you. You fly into the air, land on your wheels, your character shakes his head, and WAM - some "POW" block goes off, sending you flying into the air again. You land, shake your head, and WHACK - another character smacks into you, forcing you to wait while the car spins in place - shake your head AGAIN - and finally drive off. You're now last place, and have sat there for probably 10 seconds while shouting "Come on!!!!"
This doesn't happen ALL the time, but you can be confident that when it does, you'll be restarting the race, or quitting altogether. Sometimes you can get out of this - the best (and really only way I've seen so far) is if you're carrying a Koopa shell yourself - you can launch it backwards to thwart off the first attack. However, with the POW block, the ink-squirting squid, and the homing "blue shell" that's been mentioned elsewhere, you're pretty much S.O.L. The only good thing is that with some of the attacks - like the POW block, the lightning bolt - it affects everyone around you. So unless the second place character launched it, you probably won't lose your position. But in general it becomes frustrating, and I don't think that randomly generated "frustration" equates to what some might consider a "challenge."
Now, I don't want to hear any of you Wii-addicts start going on about "Oh you have to have the skill." I've said it once and I'll say it again - you're controlling a little cartoon character in a go-kart by tilting a piece of plastic. There's little skill involved. I drive a 2000 Dodge Viper GTS coupe - I truly understand the art of "driving skills." Mario Kart Wii is nothing like driving a Dodge Viper! :)
I think the game would be fun with a lot of people - when it's more of a free-for-all, and not the computer SEEMING like it gangs up on the human player. But I played it for maybe 2, 3 hours, and I'm done. I won't play it again, and I won't miss it. On a good note, it's presentation, control interface, and playability is better than most Wii games to date. My demerits are more against content and gameplay than anything else. It works very well - it just irritates you in the process!
I won't say skip it. It might be just your cup of tea. Just maybe rent it before you buy. These days, it's very easy to waste money on video games.
