Isnt the button on the back of the wheel just a passthrough to hit the trigger button on the wii-mote though?

yep - it works great. you dont have to plug in the wii remote like on the guitar hero controller. it just wedges in there.

That's the only one I'm aware of. And it's used to fire your shells and such.

it sounds like you changed your control setup

the back button on mine is used to jump/power slide

the + control is used to use items (press upwards to shoot items forward, backwards to shoot them behind you, and hold one of the sideways directions to ready the item and carry it behind you)

and the 2 button is used to accelerate

Interesting! I didn't go into any control set-up menu to change the controls. But I think I like how yours is set up - though it'll take a bit of getting use to. Question about the + pad...when you hit left/right to carry an item behind you do you have to hold left/right on the + pad? I'm assuming not.

yea you have to hold it. it's easier than it sounds

you dont have to hold it for the multi-banana peel item or the shells that circle around you, but you do for single shells and single bananas.

when you want to fire those, you just rock your thumb up or down depending on the direction you want it to go

oh and something i have found that seems to be different than past mario karts-- you can't just hold a shell on the back of your cart and block an incoming red shell. listen for the noise the red shell getting close, then drop your item when the red shell is about to hit. you will block it that way

Double Dash was like this too. You heard like this hovering noise. Once you got the trick of it, it was second nature.

oh, cool. i never played double dash. is it worth picking up?

Double Dash was one of those games I thought never really received a fair shake.

Single player was just OK, nothing spectacular. However, it really shined for me when you played multiplayer with 2 players per cart. There are tricks you can't do while playing 1p with the cart (mainly the side dash which is incredibly useful in tight races). We played some 16 player matches over a LAN and it was awesome.

If you were just going to pick it up for the single player though, I'd really say don't bother. Unless you can get it really cheap

Yeah, I haven't quite got the hang of it yet. It's still a shock when I get hit even though I'm carrying something behind me.
Another thing that's kinda frustrating is you aren't able to hit a button to "choose" an item as it's circling through like a slot machine - very frustrating when you hear a shell coming up on you or time is running out on a battle. I don't remember which versions had that ability, but it'd be kinda nice to have. But for me few, small complaints this is still one hell of a game! Oh, but I HATE Delfino Plaza!
Do you think more Battle Arenas will be unlocked? Or are they all available from the first time you play? I hope there are more!

i havent played battle mode yet, so i'm not sure

but if you fix your controls like mine, you'll be able to stop the item selection with the + control

Can't wait to get home...

Man, I want to get home and play some more.
Wish my TV was bigger.

play it with the nunchuck and wiimote. By far the easiest method. You need to drift round each and every corner and when the blue spark appears you get a boost. If you're using a bike you should perform a wheelie on every straight to get a speed increase. Combo these together and you'll get decent times.

Whats your gamercode for MK --NT-- i'll send you some challenge ghosts to try.

Mario Kart code: 3179 6240 2608

I'll have to check my game code when I get home tonight - I'm assuming it's not the Wii Console # you're looking for, but something similar to the Smash Bros Friends Code?
Honestly, I've done very little racing so far because I've been playing so many on-line battles! I need to get back to the basics and improve my technique!

i've not had any trouble with trailing a shell/banana around the whole lap and still block a red shell. The fake item box won't block a red shell at all though (in truth it's a piece of crap).

Delfino Plaza is a great track to get at least half a lap ahead of the computer, even on 150cc. Especially if you snag the shortcut.

The code is similar to the smash bros code

Yeah, I the non-moving items suck (banana peel, fake box) - the only exception is the bob-omb. A string of bananas is okay if you've got the lead, but I hate getting bananas and boxes over and over again.
And regarding Delfino Plaza - I hate that Battle Stage, not the Race Track. I can dig all the Race Tracks!

If you manage to get in the lead the only items you'll ever get are banana's, shells and fake boxes.

I gotta disagree with this

Throwing a banana in front of you and causing an opponent to hit it is possibly the most rewarding thing you can do in the game.

Fake prizes are OK, it just depends on the track.

My Mario Kart code is 5026-5038-7130. Everyone post theirs up! Parka, I'll add you once I get on my Wii.
Oh, and it's Delfino PIER that I don't like, not Plaza or whatever the race track is called.
I gotta go figure out how to set my controller options.

So I've been playing this again recently and there are TONS of people cheating in the on-line mode. Somehow they've been able to get unlimited stars, or unlimited big mushrooms. It's super lame.

Damn. I guess fixing the snaking exploit wasnt enough. So far nintendo is 0/2 in the online mario kart arena.