So, we picked up Mario Kart Wii and an extra steering wheel on Friday. It's awesome. There are some really cool new maps that sort of showcase the visual sugar that the wii can push, but the best part is playing online. Mario Kart's AI has been referred to as 'elastic AI', meaning that if you get too far ahead the AI will compensate to make the race tighter. What that means specifically, I'm not sure (do the other players speed up?), but I know that you start to feel a little cheated when you are hammered mercilessy by shells, bombs, and other debris while the computer players you were skunking pass you.
Playing online removes the 'cheating computer' equation completely and pits you against other humanoids. It's awesome. I still get a little frustrated, but that's because I don't win all the time against other people. I'm good against the computer, I'm average against other mortals. It's humbling, but that much more delicious when you win.
The only thing that makes online play better, is online play with people that you know. I played against Paige and Scott last night, which was a ton of fun. I need more people to add to my friends list!
And so, here are some things for you wii players out there:
Our wii code: 8312-9262-9418-6041
My Mario Kart friend code: 4425-2080-9305
Let me know what your codes are so we can connect.