There is a notable lack of racing games for Nintendo’s Wii platform, a fact that has frustrated many a Wii owner. When a console’s top rated racing game is a kart racer, you may have a problem. Not that there is anything less than great about Super Mario Kart Wii. It’s just that sometimes you want to drive a Ferrari, and Mario doesn’t have one. That’s where Need for Speed: Nitro comes in, or at least where it *should* come in.

Don’t get me wrong, this game is extremely fun. The flaw is in it’s long-term appeal. Nitro suffers slightly from a lack of content and variation in the career mode and course selection departments. There is also only one camera view (chase cam), which is extremely unusual for a modern racer. For those of you old enough to remember what a video arcade was, this racer is much like the racing games of yore: you sit down, plop a quarter in and BAM! You’re speeding down a track and having a blast. Nitro is exactly like that, without the quarter. Or the leaving your house to go to the arcade.

Since it’s for the Wii it better have a great control scheme, and it does. Several, actually. You can use the Wii remote by itself to steer, accelerate, drift and nitro boost similar to the controls for Mario Kart and other racers, or you can use a number of other control schemes including one where you can use the control stick on the Nunchuk to steer. That will appeal to folks more used to racing controls on the Xbox or Playstation platforms.

There is a career mode that spans five locations, and while it’s fun it isn’t nearly as deep as most racing gamers are used to. The arcade mode on the other hand gives you exactly what you might expect: Just pop into arcade mode, pick any one of ten tracks and choose from over 40 different cars, then hit the pavement with your tires spinning.

Nitro offers six different game modes and a star-based rating system that rewards you not only for winning races but also for precision driving aggression in the form of specific challenges. The more stars you earn in career mode, the faster you unlock cars, locations and other goodies. Customization options range from decals to painting your cars by hand — literally, with your Wii remote.

Visually the game won’t impress PS3 or Xbox 360 owners in the slightest, but Wii owners will recognize that the  developers did a great job pushing the graphical limits of Nintendo’s system. Considering the console’s reputation as a casual gaming machine, most Wii owners will probably enjoy this game a great deal. The only real flaws lie in the fact that Need for Speed: Nitro’s career mode won’t keep your interest for hours on end. I almost feel leaving the career mode out entirely would have been an improvement in the sense that the game wouldn’t be trying to be anything that it’s not, but of course that’s silly because some people are sure to enjoy the career mode option. Nitro’s true strength lies in it’s accessible, sit-down-and-play arcade mode though.