Mario Kart Wii preview

Nintendo's trailblazing Super Mario Kart was that typical Nintendo release, simultaneously inventing and perfecting a genre that has now become as commonplace as analogue sticks. The Wii edition ditches some of the experimentation of the Gamecube's Double Dash to concentrate on the core game mechanics, with boosting, firing off power-ups and power-sliding ahead of everyone else at the fore, and an online mode slapped on for good measure.

Words by Colin Whiteside , playing on a Nintendo Wii.

Race modes will likely make up the bulk of games played over the web, the option to play full 4-round Cup games a welcome one- even with a second player hopping in on the same Wii. Split-screen is still likely to be where the most fun is to be found, two- and four-player options that will send beer and insults flying in the classic style. It's a perfect release with Wii Sports and Wii Play surely wearing thin after well over a year on release and Smash Bros. Brawl not due in Europe for some time.The 24-character roster may not be as preposterously concise as Smash Bros., leaving for now the "baby" variations, but with Mii support that may not be an issue. Neither will the lack of voice chat in the online mode - if the language in Gamestyle's regular SNES games have anything to go by, it would be nothing but torrents of foul abuse anyway. British gamers can start aimlessly shouting at complete strangers through their TV from 11th April.