Mario Kart Wii: The Review

I was curious about how the Mario Kart games have progressed over the years. After all, I hadn't played one since the seventh grade or so. Mario Kart 64 is probably one of the all-time classic video games of all time and easily one of the best released for the Nintendo 64. I didn't play Mario Kart: Double Dash for the GameCube since my system stopped working. Thus, I was curious to see how this one would work.

I started up the game and decided to kick it off by playing a two-player vs. match, since that's what I'm accustomed to from childhood. The game was extremely frustrating. I was in first place for approximately ten seconds, then I was hit with some kind of flying blue shell, and then I was in 12th place. The person in 12th place managed to edge me out and get into first place with some magic weapon. To say the least, it was unnecessary. I put it down and stopped playing.

The next day, I was bored. My arms inexplicably moved and picked up a Wiimote and turned on the game. I played the game. And then I kept playing. And then I didn't stop playing.

Mario Kart Wii is a lot of fun. Yes, it's sort of a game of chance, and yes, it's very frustrating at times, but it's addictive. I went from despising the game to wanting to own it in about a day.

People have complaints about the Wii Wheel, which I understand. It's just as easy to shove the Wiimote into a Birkenstock and spin that around. Plus, the controls are better if you just use an old GameCube controller. Regardless, it's easy to get the hang of the steering on the Wiimote.

The soundtrack is obnoxious. The character selection is, at times, pretty unnecessary. There are a lot of different characters to choose that at times, it's hard to imagine wanting to play as Baby Mario or Baby Peach or Rosalina (the woman from Super Mario Galaxy).

More than anything, this is just a fun game to play with your friends. The multiplayer potential is awesome. There's nothing better than a room of people screaming obscenities because they've been hit by a red shell when they had a substantial lead. Ahhh...childhood in grown-up form. Thank you, Mario Kart Wii (because there's nothing more magical then someone loudly complaining about getting a banana peel as a weapon).

Grade: B+

Super Smash Bros.: Brawl - the Review

It was 11 a.m., but due to Daylight Savings Time, I thought it was 10 a.m. I looked at my computer screen when it dawned on me that I was an hour late to go to Best Buy and pick up my own copy of Super Smash Bros.: Brawl.

I rushed out the door, jumped on a bus, and waited in tooth-chattering anticipation to run into Best Buy and snatch up one of the few remaining copies. After all, the Chicago RedEye told me that it was going to be a hot commodity.

The bus pulls up next to Best Buy. I run in. I look frantically around. And there it is. An entire shelf full of the game, none of them to have been bought.

Now to the actual review. Sorry for the prosey intro about my internal struggle.

Super Smash Bros.: Brawl, in short, is every nerd's greatest dreams come true. You don't have to pay for online mode, you get to play as Solid Snake, Sonic, or Mario (although you gotta love Luigi in this one), and it's incredibly fun.

Play it with your friends, play it alone, or play it online - this game will be eternally fun. Like Melee before it, this game isn't dated. It just keeps being fun.

There are mini-game time wasters and you may very well fry your brain playing this game for hours and hours, but its worth it. With songs from games in years past and even the classic Donkey Kong level as one of the possibilities, this game is a nostalgic overload.

Plus its really surreal seeing Sonic become invincible from one of Mario's classic stars.

I love this game. I could write volumes about how much I love this game. I could write ballads and love notes to this game. You can use a variety of controls, play a number of characters, and go through the extensive adventure mode without getting bored. The soundtrack isn't even annoying! In all honesty, I wish I wasn't reviewing this game so I could go and play it.

Buy this game - take it in.

Grade: A+