With each new format, Nintendo runs the same gauntlet of franchise sequels and updates, occasionally throwing a new series into the mix. Normally the announcement and first showing of these games are big events for the publisher, generating all sorts of hype and discussion amongst the media and fans alike. This wasn't the case with Mario Kart Wii. Apart from a brief vignette and mention at last year's E3, the publisher gave the title very little press. That sort of behaviour from Nintendo should set off the alarm bells – sure, they have Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Wii Fit launching either side of Mario Kart Wii, but the Mario Kart series is one of the company's best-selling franchises, consistently in the top three sellers for each platform which has been graced by its presence. Perhaps that previous success has made Nintendo think that Mario Kart largely sells itself, and they don't need to put effort into its promotion.

Regardless of what Nintendo's reasons were for the relatively stealthy release of Mario Kart Wii, it's here, and the best way to sum it up is that it's ... well ... Mario Kart. There are a number of notable additions and changes, but for the most part, the game still plays much like it always has. Motion control is the most obvious addition, given that the plastic steering wheel shell is included with each copy (though players can opt to use various other control methods). Motorcycles have been introduced as an alternative to karts, and exclusively occupying the 100cc racing series (initially, anyway). On the track, there are a handful of new power-ups, the number of racers has been expanded to 12, and a new mid-air trick system facilitates a few extra turbo boosts during a race. Online multiplayer has been considerably expanded, with statistic tracking, matches for up to twelve players and the inclusion of battle mode.

Initially, many players are going to be disappointed with Mario Kart Wii. It's a bit of a step back from Double Dash in the visual department – it has better lighting and special effects, but the quality of the models and overall track aesthetic has been scaled back, more than likely to accommodate the larger number of racers on the course. The visuals take an even bigger hit when playing split-screen multiplayer; the models are further downgraded in quality, and have this weird shiny look to them. The music isn't really up to the series standard either, and the racers' limited range of vocal taunts quickly becomes irritating.

Balance issues which affected more recent Mario Kart titles are much more noticeable than before. Nintendo has tried to expand accessibility by attempting to give less skilled racers better items and friendly treatment from the AI racers. The problem is that, in the name of balance, skilled racers cop the worst items and everybody is out to get them. It is impossible to go through a race while coming first without being hit by lightning, the POW block or multiple blue shells – power-ups without any sort of countermeasure. It has been this way at least since Mario Kart: Super Circuit and one would have thought Nintendo would have done something to address the issue, rather than making it more obvious. The power slide turbo boost technique has been altered so that the turbo boost a player receives after exiting a slide is now based on the length of the power slide, rather than the wiggling of the analogue stick. This neuters the popular snaking technique, where players could perpetually gain turbo boosts by continuously power sliding, getting a dash and sliding in the other direction. While this change does a lot to balance the playing field, particularly online, the greatly reduced effectiveness of snaking is another example of how Mario Kart is shifting from being based on skill to being based on luck.

Mario Kart Wii is the first game in the series to offer a number of different control options. Nintendo is putting most of its effort into promoting the wheel accessory which comes with the game. It's not the first time someone's done a wheel accessory for the Wii, but it certainly is the best shell available for the console. Using the wheel is generally pretty good, though players are guaranteed to get a bit irritated when executing a power slide – often you will intend to slide in one direction, but the wheel won't have recognised your movement and you'll slide in the other direction. Playing without the shell will result in the same problems, which makes using the shell pretty pointless. The nunchuck/remote combo is probably the best control option, as the classic controller and GameCube pad options, while accurate do not offer the ability to do the various vehicle stunts, which give a rather handy turbo boost.

The introduction of bikes to the Mario Kart series may seem like a pretty drastic change to the formula on paper, but they're not really that different on the track. They're faster than the karts, and handle a little differently due to a smaller turning circle. Bikes can't do the power dash like the carts, but they can utilise wheelies to get the same effect on straight parts of the course. Each cart and bike has a number of variations which will have a great effect on acceleration, top speed, manoeuvrability and such. While in the past, the character selected dictated your capabilities, but now it seems like the vehicle you race in has the most impact. The character roster has been expanded to 25 characters; twelve available from the outset, twelve unlocked through winning the cups on each difficulty, and the last one being a generic Mii slot. Nintendo really scraped the bottom of the barrel to expand the roster though, as most of the new characters are baby or dry-bones variations of existing characters. Increasing the size of the roster was a necessity given that Mario Kart Wii has twelve racers on the track at any one time; previous games featured only eight. More racers on the track makes your average race much more hectic than before – racers are spread more evenly across the track, rather than in packs like before, meaning that you almost always have another racer in front or on your tail.

Power-ups haven't really changed much in the last few Mario Kart games, but the Wii version adds a couple of new ones. The lightning cloud is something of a booby prize compared to the other power-ups, as it hangs over your head and shrinks your racer if it is held for too long – your aim is to bump into another player so that the lightning cloud moves onto their racer, shrinking them instantly. The mega mushroom will increase your racer's size, allowing you to run over opponents, squishing them in the process. Quite possibly the most annoying addition is the POW block, which stuns every racer on the track and causes them to lose their item. You'll often find that you'll get shrunk by lightning, or hit by a POW block followed by a blue shell attack when in first place.

Mario Kart Wii's course selection is comprised of 16 new tracks, and 16 classic tracks, organised into four new cups and four classic cups. The new courses outshine the classic tracks, due to new features like multiple paths and dynamic changes during the race. My personal favourite was a track called Koopa Cape, a very fast track which takes place inside water pipes. Most of the standard Mario Kart modes return, but some have been changed for the worse. The Mario GP mode has always been playable with a maximum of two racers, but the Wii version only allows one player to compete for a cup. Racing with friends against AI-controlled racers is still possible, but players now compete in a best of four series, selecting whatever courses they wish. Battle Mode suffered the most; previously the mode consisted of a free for all fight to the death, each player having 3 balloons which could be popped through the use of power-ups – it's now a team based affair, where players compete to pop the most balloons in the allotted time limit. While it's not terrible, it certainly lacks the intensity of previous Battle Mode outings.

The online component of Mario Kart has been expanded and improved for the Wii game. While it still runs on Nintendo's standard friend code system, the implementation makes it easier to manage than before. Up to twelve players can compete in races in battles online, with up to two players on a single console. Each player profile will have a fixed score which reflects their online performance; the higher the score, the better the player. This score is taken into consideration by the game during matchmaking. Online statistics tracking is much better than before, allowing you to compare your performance against your friends, check each other's online records and share ghost data from time trials. By installing the Mario Kart Channel into the Wii menu, this information can be accessed without needing to boot the game. During our testing, latency was not an issue, either while playing with local or international opponents, which is a big plus.

Mario Kart Wii is perhaps the greatest example of Nintendo playing it safe. They've added a bunch of new extra features to the game, which are mostly appreciated, but the core gameplay remains much the same as before. The big issue with that is that the game's balancing is still infuriating – it's all well and good to make a game accessible to everyone, but when that accessibility starts to interfere with skill, it almost begins to defeat the purpose. The changes to the battle mode and two-player GP are also most unwelcome. If you can get past these issues, then Mario Kart Wii is an enjoyable game which you'll be playing for months to come.