It's not meant to be Mario Kart. It's classic racing which felt both true and fun. Check it out - it's worth the price
This is classic open wheel racing. There are 3 or 4 views you can use while driving (behind the car, cockpit view etc) and it's easy to switch views while driving. You can also look left, right and behind you to be aware of your competition. The controls are easy to use for the newbie allowing you to jump right into a race from the start.
The default race mode includes steering, acceleration and brake assistance to help you out but as you become better you can disable these features for a more realistic Indy race car feel.
The mission mode gives you challenges and assignments to complete to unlock additional cars, drivers and race years. The missions include pit stop skills, hazard avoidance and finish placement in actual races among others - all while improving your racing skills.
You can race a friend in 2-player split screen, take advantage of drafting, fishtail other cars off the track or lock wheels with them and get into pile-ups and even flip your car if you're too aggressive.
I would not call the graphics superb; but this a Wii game and for the platform, they are done well enough to give the player a good race feel.
When a good NASCAR game comes out I expect a variety of track options but not in this game. It's Indy racing and it takes place at Indy. That's just life. It's what I expect and the racing is fun enough not to be boring despite the single track argument I find ludicrous. I don't expect a D-Day war game to have the option of fighting that battle out on the sands of Iraq and I don't want my Indy racing in Texas.
Could a few things have been done better? Sure. The pit refueling is done rather weakly for one thing. A four racer option would also be nice as opposed to two. There are a few other things but they don't keep me up at night thinking about what might have been.
This game delivers what it advertises. It's not meant to be Mario Kart. It's classic racing which at least for this couch potato felt both true and fun.