The ever-popular world of NASCAR is about to meet the ever-growing world of Nintendo Wii owners, as Electronic Arts today took the wraps off the first NASCAR game for Wii: NASCAR Kart Racing. Click here for the first NASCAR Kart Racing screenshots.
Designed exclusively for the Wii, NASCAR Kart Racing lets players grab the steering wheel as a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver and speed through treacherous landscapes, wind around rocky cliffs, jump rivers and dodge falling boulders. Up to four players can go head-to-head via split screen play.
In addition to the licensed NASCAR drivers (see below), players can also compete as one of 10 original animated characters. Each driver has personal attributes that will determine how the kart will perform on a course, so strategy is key when choosing a driver and a teammate.
The licensed drivers in NASCAR Kart Racing will include: Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Kasey Kahne, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, Elliott Sadler, Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart and two unlockable drivers whose identity has not yet been revealed (our bet: Mario and Bowser).
The courses in NASCAR Kart Racing will span 24 different layouts that wrap through deserts, freeways, back roads, canyons and junkyards. In other words: you may be making a ton of left-hand turns, but they won’t all be on pavement. There will be some pavement, though. Four popular NASCAR tracks will be included: Daytona International Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Dover International Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway.
Each track in NASCAR Kart Racing can also be reversed to provide a different race experience.
NASCAR Kart Racing will include 13 series (levels) against featured drivers from different racing backgrounds. Defeat the rivals of each series, and you’ll unlock new courses, drivers, game modes and of course the next series. Beat all of the events at a given track, and you’ll receive a track sponsorship complete with billboards featuring your driver’s face.
NASCAR Kart Racing will ship in North America on Feb. 10, 2009, just in time for the Daytona 500.