Dominate Mario Kart Wii Online With Simple Game Play Tips
Mario Kart Wii has been released recently for the Nintendo Wii, and opinion is divided on whether it's the best yet, or rather overcomplicated and frustrating. One area of the game that's completely undeniable in it's brilliance is the online mode, where you race up to twelve other racers online. Everybody wants to win, of course, but there are some excellent players
Don't Handicap Yourself Before You Even Start
It's best to use offline mode to get a feel for the game as a whole, plus unlock a few of the extra characters and karts. Once you feel confident (general consensus suggests beating at least the 100cc level cups before venturing online), then go online, but remember how you played offline.
The courses are all the same, so pick one you like before you start - don't go random. Of course, it may not get voted to race on it, but at least you stand at the least a 1 in 12 chance of racing on it. Pick a character and kart you are familiar with, and also a kart that plays to your style.
By 100cc class, you should also be playing in manual mode.
Take Advantage of Everything
There are plenty of places to safely get speed boosts without golden mushrooming everywhere. Corners are a great place to drift and you need to hold the drift for as long as possible (generally until you are straight on the straight you are drifting into), you should also stunt jump whenever you jump, and if you are racing on a motorbike, wheelie as often as possible. Also, make sure you hit the power ups. Online racing is more about powerups than offline racing, as such there's very little chance of taking an unassailable lead throughout the race.
Become a Blue Shell Bomber
If you are leading, you have one thing to fear - Blue Shells. The Blue Shells will automatically hit you with an explosion causing you to lose around 5 seconds. And there's nothing much you can do to stop it. Luckily, you are given plenty of warning, so what I try and do is stop, slow down, and take out as many of your opponents as possible. Drive with the A button (if you're using most steering methods) held down when you become aware of it and aim to eliminate as many of your opponents as possible. Sure, you'll drop down a few places, but at least you won't be miles behind when you recover.
Second Is The New First
With that said, it is far easier to do the classic Mario Kart tactic of remaining in second up until the last corner then overtake. The choice of weapons you get in first is terrible, so if you are to lead from the front, pull away and fast before you get attacked by the Blue Shells.
With all that said, the most important thing is to have fun. Playing your fellow human and beating them is a wonderfully satisfactory feeling in this game, and you have a real sense of achievement. I'll see you online!
Rhys Wynne has been playing Mario Kart Wii for almost as long as it's been out, and runs ultrawii.info, an online Wii store that sells Wii Remotes Online. Rhys is also a prolific blogger, and blogs both on The Gospel According To Rhys and Retro Garden, a Retro Games blog
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