This is a game that you'll either love or hate.
The Mario Kart series is known to be very accessible and this title is [in some ways] a step even further in that direction. The game comes with a free wireless steering wheel which you pop your Wii Remote right into. You turn the wheel just like you would turn a normal steering wheel in a car. It's the very definition of a novelty. It's fun for about half an hour but after that you'll realize that it's very imprecise compared to a Gamecube controller or a classic controller. I can't imagine anyone sticking with the wheel as their main control option.
The crux of the game is racing around Nintendo themed race tracks while using weapons like shells and banana peels to make sure that you maintain your lead. There are some new weapons like a giant mushroom which first appeared in New Super Mario Bros on the DS. The blue shell is just as cheap as it's ever been. It's easily the worst weapon in the series' history, in my opinion.
Mario Kart Wii is something that almost anyone can get into in 10 minutes or less and have a great time. The controls are easy to learn and the game doesn't usually punish you for doing lousy because you can use weapons to try and gain some ground on your opponents. You'll almost never need to use brakes in a race because you can drift around corners and gain a boost of speed if you time it correctly. The drifting is now easier to do because you won't need to jiggle the analog stick back and forth; after a certain amount of time your wheels will attract blue/orange sparks and that's when you should let go of your drift button because you'll get a boost of speed.
Another one of the new things that's been added to this edition of Mario Kart is the ability to drive motorcycles instead of karts. They don't get as much of a boost from turning [when compared to karts] but they can do wheelies which will make you go fast when you're driving in a straight line. Motorcycles are clearly the better choice because you'll never really need to drift for a super long time.
One of the more subtle additions to the game is the trick system. You can press a button when you go off a ramp and you'll pull off a trick as if you're some kind of Motocross star. These tricks all look nice and they're different for each character. They range from back flips to mighty butt smacks.
For your racing needs there are sixteen brand new tracks and sixteen "classic" tracks to choose from. I put the word "classic" in quotes because some of the courses that Nintendo has chosen to bring back are awful. I'm talking about Shy Guy Beach and that stupid ghost house themed track. Those tracks are not balanced at all for the additions in this Mario Kart like the wheel, new weapons and motorcycles so why did they bother to bring them back? Even if they were balanced, they're so poorly designed that it wouldn't matter. That's not to say that all of the "classic" tracks are bad-- in fact, there are some gems like the GameCube tracks. The brand new tracks are unsurprisingly better, though. There's a great variety in their layouts and each one has a unique feel.
Mario Kart Wii's graphics are definitely not on par with Super Smash Bros Brawl or Super Mario Galaxy but they're still impressive. The environments clearly steal the show when it comes to eye candy. You'll notice Miis in the crowd rooting you on which does a good job at reminding you that, yes, this is a Nintendo game through and through. Coconut mall is my favorite as it features the most unique style.
The music is probably the worst thing about the game if I'm being honest. It's so generic that it might as well be that lame stuff that you hear in a hotel elevator. The only thing that stands out as good is Sherbet Land's music. Other than that song you probably won't notice that the music is there because the engines sound much better. The developers of Mario Kart Wii makde the unfortunate decision to record a few cries and yells for each character and they have those noises repeated so often that it's annoying.
Other than the standard grand prix races, you can try to make it higher up in the half-baked leaderboards or perhaps try battle mode. There are some "classic" tracks and some new ones in this mode which is nice, I guess. There's the standard balloon popping or a coin collecting game. It's essentially a watered down car combat mode. Everyone's locked in an arena and there are two teams. They're each trying to collect weapons and then hit their opponents until victory ensues. It's lame compared to the racing.
There's also a decent amount of online options available to you. You can play races or battle mode with up to eleven others. I noticed no lag at all even when I was playing with people in Mexico or France. This means that there was no excuse for Nintendo to release Super Smash Bros Brawl with its lag infested online. Excuse me while I smash my head on this keyboard.
While I'm nursing this headache, let me wrap this up. Mario Kart Wii is a very fun game if you were already a fan of previous games in the series. (This means I qualify) It's one of the best online experiences on the Wii so if you're into that sort of thing then go nuts. It's also a perfect game for parties because it's very easy to get into. Thanks for reading.