Mario Kart for the Wii was well worth the wait. I was a fan of the Nintendo 64 version of Mario Kart, and I was addicted to the gameplay. It has been several years since that came out, and the Wii version does offer some new twists on the game.

For starters, the new controller – the driving wheel. While an interesting thought, Nintendo should have passed up this idea because the control scheme doesn’t offer anywhere near the freedom that using the Nunchuk, classic controller or GameCube controller does.

The gameplay, on the other hand, is well done. There are loads of new stages with very creative maps for driving through, combined with new powers and extra abilities like mini-slide boosts. The new powers – the items picked up while driving – are unbalanced, though, as too many players get the best powers very often. Sometimes you spin out of control a little too often, especially when you increase the difficulty of the CPU players, i.e. 150cc. The mini-slide boosts are a nice addition when you slide through turns, and trick jumps are also a welcome addition.

Overall, Mario Kart Wii expands its racing empire with solid level designs, great new online abilities and a worthless (for this game) steering wheel. The ride is a great trip down memory lane.

Mario Kart Wii released April 27, 2008 for $50