Gamespot.com made the hilarious comment that you might as well stick your Wii in a soft bagel if you want to use a wheel.  The wheel often requires too much over-steering, depending on the vehicle or character attributes, but the good news is that driving with a nunchuck and Wiimote is just fine.  The power of the thumb can not be denied. 

 

The game can also be controlled by a classic controller or even a Gamecube controller.  Just think of the wheel as marketing gimmick, then maybe you can forgive its seemingly trivial existence.  Then again, Gamespot spoke too soon.  If you hold the wheel in the air, control is poor, but the wheel should not be dismissed. 

 

Nintendo should have made a point to tell consumers to sit in a chair with one knee up, then press the wheel firmly against the knee or thigh.  With the wheel in a solid position against the body, it controls perfectly, especially with Yoshi and a standard kart.  The pressure also keeps you from wanting to move the wheel left or right during hectic gameplay, and instead you rightfully rely only on rotating the wheel clockwise or counter-clockwise. 

 

The items and power-ups you expect are all here. Slipping on your own banana peels is still humiliating, but not as funny as it used to be.  The squid ink blocking your view is a clever use of a recognizable enemy from the series.  Mushrooms boost speed, and stars grant invincibility.  Bullet Bill allows you to shoot past other racers with thrilling speed in a cockpit point of view.

 

The tracks are as varied in location and course layout as you would expect. Nothing is too dramatic at first, but later courses like the snow level and the roller coaster level are simply magical.  Some free-roaming ability would have been nice, or perhaps a track that doesn't loop back or start and end in the same place.  Racing modes include the standard Grand Prix, Time Trial, Versus, and Battle. 

 

New racers like Baby Mario (and other babies) join traditional characters like Toad, Peach, Luigi, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, and Wario.  The fun comes more from your friends than anything else, unless of course everyone wants to be Toad!  For best results, sit near the screen; reaction time is improved that way.