Ah, incoming blue shell!
Fundamentally, Mario Kart Wii is a racing game, but that genre label doesn't properly describe the action. The tracks echo the same cartoonish cuteness of the main Mario series, with an assortment of obstacles, power ups and short cuts that gives the game its variety. There's also a Battle Mode, where players generally throw shells at their opponents to score points.

This now traditional Mario Kart gameplay was established on the series' first incarnation on SNES, and it's in full effect here... so what does Mario Kart Wii do differently? First, players can choose motorbikes that have a wheelie speed boost and the number of racers has been upgraded to 12 at a time from eight. Second, Mario Kart Wii comes packaged with the Wii Wheel, a plastic housing for the Wii remote designed to enhance motion sensing play. And finally, the game also features a robust online system, with worldwide rankings and a friends list.

However, Mario Kart Wii has seen its fair share of criticism. The design choice to take out the speed boost by repeated drifting (known as "snaking"), along with the additional players increasing the number of power ups being thrown around, makes Mario Kart Wii a very beginner-oriented game – much to the chagrin of series veterans. The Wii Remote controls were also derided as being less useful than a GameCube controller, and Battle Mode has also removed options for 'free-for-all' and is now a team only event. It is for these reasons that Mario Kart Wii is the lowest rated Mario Kart title ever, with just 82% on GameRankings.com.

"Mario Kart Wii's not perfect, but is still a must-buy game, if only for the online component," reads GameDaily's 8-out-of-10 review by Robert Workman. "The Mario Kart Channel and smooth-running online play will have you hooked for hours, days and even weeks at a time. The addition of a trick system and motorbikes should keep you glued to your system as well. Sure, the design could've been more inspired, and the game might have steered into '9' territory with less use of power-ups. Nevertheless, this Kart is still a mean machine that gamers of all ages will enjoy. See you on the racetrack."

We want more Cowboy Jet!
While we've come to expect certain things from Nintendo Wii advertising campaigns at this point (those same Japanese guys driving around in that same small car saying "Wii would like to play"), Mario Kart Wii was a pleasant exception. The different ad spots for the game are set up like a used car commercial, with a cowboy who pitches the game with an almost embarrassing level of exuberance, emphasizing the game's power-ups, its online play and the motion sensing controls with the Wii Wheel. It's effective and amusing and we highly approve.

Mario Kart Wii is sitting pretty right now, but don't think this success will lead to a sequel anytime soon. Nintendo has never released more than one Mario Kart game on any of their systems and there's little reason to think they'll make an exception for the Wii. After they wear out this game, Mario Kart fans may have the long wait of many years until Nintendo releases their next console and then finally a new Mario Kart title.