Beyond the online issues and stupid plastic wheel, maybe this edition of Mario Kart will actually be fair.

The technique was known as snaking. Basically, Mario Kart awarded players for driving like idiots, drifting back and forth repeatedly continually gaining boost. Not only was this completely unfun for those who didn’t get the technique down, it sapped much of the strategy that came from using objects properly and took away some of the simple purity of the game. Mario Kart 64 used it, as did Mario Kart DS.

No more however. The concept is gone, eliminated, finished, kaput. The world rejoices. The shift has now gone to how long a player can hold the slide, certainly more challenging and fair.

The Olympic Games are popular gaming fodder. Each time the event rolls around, a developer takes advantage of the situation and drops some generic button mashing junk onto store shelves in celebration… or for a chance to increase their stock. In Nintendo’s case, we’re still a ways away from the actual Olympics. That didn’t stop the Mario and Sonic mash-up from selling a boatload of copies.

It’s overall rating of 67% on GameRankings speaks for the games overall quality, and it’s hard to disagree. The game is everything Olympic games suffer from, only instead of mashing buttons, you look moronic as you swing the controller around randomly in ways that can hardly be considered interactive. The games only bonus is a decent version of table tennis. Still, the name alone was apparently enough, even though the platforming icons first meeting was less than stellar. Sequel? You bet.

As unofficial as it may be, a GameFAQs poll has revealed an interesting stat. 42% of players are using Gamecube controllers. Add in the Classic Controller, and that number jumps to over half.

A measly 14% are using the actual console’s controller to play the game. While it’s certainly not suited for the game and familiarity with the previous generations device certainly come into play, it’s not hard to see this as a small statement on the “innovation” the Wii remote provides. It’s simply not suited for many types of games, and those that force the issue generally end up in failure.

If you’re spending $250 for game hardware, isn’t it somewhat telling that the hardcore audience (who are certainly the ones playing Smash Bros. en masse compared to their casual counterparts) is rejecting the new control method?

The launch of the one of the hottest titles in the Wii’s short history has finally arrived. If you want an idea of the chaos, Joystiq posted a video of what went down at on specific Gamestop that chronicles the moments before and after the midnight hour.

When a few of those gamers went home however, they may have found a small problem. The game wouldn’t work. According to Nintendo:

Super Smash Bros. Brawl utilizes a double-layer disc which has a large memory capacity. A very small percentage of Wii consoles may have trouble consistently reading data off this large capacity disc if there is some contamination on the lens of the disc drive.

This must apparently be the first Wii disc to use a dual layer DVD, as no other games have been reported with same issue. If your copy isn’t working, you can request a repair through Nintendo. I would NOT want to be Nintendo tech support today, especially after the number of delays people have already experienced waiting for this thing.

Hello.

I win.

That’s about all you’ll be able to type when you head online with Mario Kart for the Wii. As reported on by IGN, “text chat” is a relative term. Instead of offering keyboard support or the 20th century version of communication known as voice chat, you’ll select from a number of pre-determined messages and shoot those out to the people in room. Hello PC Doom circa 1993.

In other somewhat related news, if you like using a steering wheel that isn’t attached to a base, you can plunk down an additional $11 or so dollars for a hunk of plastic know as the Wii Wheel. Why anyone would use the one bundled, let alone spend money for a second one, is beyond all logic.

The deal which angered gamers beyond all recognition a few short years ago has been extended. EA Sports will now be the exclusive holder of the NFL license until 2012, meaning they’ll be the only ones dishing out games based on the brand. Former Xbox exec and recent EA Sports entrant Peter Moore had this to say to GameDaily:

The key is to make sure we’re in a position to invest aggressively in making the most innovative game…

Um, wouldn’t the exclusive deal automatically make yours the most innovative? Look, even die-hard fans will admit the 2K Sports effort, All Pro Football, was a dud. It was a failed attempt to revive a brand on a budget and it didn’t work.

However, what has EA given us with this deal? NFL Head Coach, a miserable simulation attempt that failed to drawn an audience. Also, NFL Tour, an even weaker attempt at spinning off the NFL license. Yes Mr. Moore, innovation is obviously your target.

Fans in Australia waiting to take their Wii’s online and blast fellow gamers in Medal of Honor… err, Honour Heroes were stunned recently. In other countries, the game offered one of the best online experiences the console had seen to date. Up to 32 players could hop into a room in various game modes. This was also a showcase for the Wii Blaster, or as some would call it “piece of plastic that holds the controller when you’re to lazy to do so yourself.”

For those players though, purchasing the game at the same price as everyone else in the world doesn’t give you the full product. For whatever inexplicable reason, Aussie MoH buyers were robbed of one of the few online multi-player games for the Wii. EA has yet to actually give a reason for this snafu, simply stating the marketing and packing are incorrect. They did offer a full refund to any (read: all) disgruntled buyers. Either way, it’s a lame move on the part of the company to eliminate this feature for anyone.

Yes, that’s the (very blurry) final Super Smash Bros. Brawl roster, fresh from some kind Japanese player’s digital camera; no Photoshopped fakes here. As you can no doubt see, Luigi, Captain Falcon, Falco, Ness, Gannondorf, Jigglypuff, Marth, and Game & Watch have all returned from Melee, despite never being officially revealed by the Smash Bros. DOJO. The game’s four new unlockable characters are Wolf from the Star Fox series, Lucario from Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, NES peripheral R.O.B., and Wind Waker’s Cel-shaded Link, who replaces Young Link. Sadly, Dr. Mario, Mewto, Pichu, and Roy didn’t make the cut. All told, the game features 35 playable characters, 14 of which are new to the series.

Brawl doesn’t arrive in stores until March 9 in the United States, while Europe still doesn’t have an official release date. We’re just over a month away here, and somehow knowing the final roster just makes the wait all the more grueling. In the mean time, devour this epic NeoGAF thread, which includes all the information listed here as well as tidbits about new levels, items, and single player modes. I’ll see you online on March 9; I’ll be the R.O.B. player that kicking your ass.

Are people wising up the yearly sports game strategy? Are they tired of the lack of core improvements? Is the $60 too much to ask?

It must be one of those reasons as analysts are beginning to worry about a steady decline in sales of EA Sports titles. Madden 08 sold 100,000 less copies this year than the 07 edition did. NCAA Football took a spill as well, selling measly 325,000 units. The price bottomed out rapidly too, and many stores including Toys R Us offered bargain sales to clear out inventory a short time after release.

The transition is complete from the previous generation, and at the most, players might see one more year squeezed out of the PlayStation 2 before it’s over. Fans have been avid about the quality of the next generation games, and their performance with critics has been brutal at times. The exclusive licenses the company snapped up may be backfiring if the numbers don’t take a substantial leap next year.

Six games this week will hit the Wii, each a Gamestop exclusive. If you needed further proof the Wii is becoming home to cheap, quick, sloppy junk, here it is. Four of them are racing games, and it’s guaranteed these will use the same engine. Developer Mud Duck uses the same strategy, though they typically hold off on releases like this until after the hardware has seen its glory days.

In this case, the Wii is in full effect, and games like this are purely exploitative. There’s no excuse for games like these, even at their budget minded price. Bold Games, the developer responsible for this mass of releases, has given us such “classics” as John Deer licensed PC titles, and the decent Red Orchestra. How they ended up with Monster Trux (much cooler because of the X apparently) is unknown.

No, you didn’t miss it. There was no multiplayer release list last week because no multiplayer games were released. In fact, no games were released. And frankly, we would have been better off had that trend continued for another week. The new year brings with it four budget PS2-to-Wii ports of years old racing games from Destineer. No Pick of the Week or Runner-Up this week; just four games you’d be better off avoiding.

Available this week:

Classic British Motor Racing Originally released in February 2006 for the PS2, the game finally arrives on the Wii this week. It features 13 cars and 6 tracks, and yes, is just as pathetically content-starved as it sounds. Still, if you really love classic British cars and have managed to remain completely uninterested the dozens of great games that hit the shelves over the last few months, this game might be worth checking out. Actually, no. Not even then.

Kawasaki 4X4 Quad Bikes What is it about the Wii that screams “port your year old PS2 game to me!” Oh, that’s right, throngs of new console owners that don’t yet know the difference between quality titles and shovelware. Enjoy your profits while they last, publishers, consumers aren’t as stupid as you think. Right?

Monster Trux: Offroad This game was originally released in Europe in July of 2005 for the PS2. It is two and a half years old. You should only buy this for one of two reasons: (1) You’re extreme “enuff” to handle “trux” or (2) you want publishers to keep saturating store shelves with this garbage, inching out worthwhile labors of love in favor of cheaply developed cashcows.

Rig Racer 2 Wait, hold on. Enough people bought the first Rig Racer to justify a sequel? Hold me. It’s getting dark.

The sequel syndrome continues. Personally, I am getting bored with the same games adding a few more features. Yet, as far as game developing companies are concerned, this is what keeps their profits up. It has been confirmed that Guitar Hero 4, Call of Duty 5, and the 11th Tony Hawk are all in the works.

Obviously, these title games are not anywhere close to their release date, since each game has recently released its predecessor. By the time they come out, these games should have more advanced graphics and other bonus features. Unfortunately, the concepts of the games are surely going to be the very similar. Like the movie industry, original thoughts are lacking. The difference is that a sequel in a video game goes over much better than a movie. However, when is enough, enough?

A year or so from now, I can bet that I will be buying these games and checking them out. The newer technology will cause me to lose interest in the old games for the better quality. Yet, the new games that I will favor are the ones with new ideas. Originality and uniqueness will be first on my list. So, I would like to just send a message to the gaming designers to please give us something different for a change. If you need ideas, I do offer my services as an advisor, and I am sure about 95% of all other gamers would say the same.